HBKU and Alfardan Group sign pact on digital innovation – The Peninsula

HBKU and Alfardan Group sign pact on digital innovation – The Peninsula

Doha: Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Alfardan Group to engage in strategic collaboration that advances Qatar’s technological and economic development while strengthening its innovation and entrepreneurial culture.

Cooperation under the three-year agreement will take the form of collaborative initiatives leveraging their respective expertise and networks across four focus areas. These will aim to meet their institutional missions as well as address national priorities. Joint projects will foster knowledge exchange across government, academia, and business, and the development of regionally and globally competitive digital industries.

The agreement paves the way for the creation of an innovation lab that fosters a national ecosystem for Qatar’s emerging technologies and solutions. The lab will also enhance the innovation capabilities within the Alfardan Group and serve as a space for HBKU graduate students and researchers to apply their ideas and solutions in a real-world context.

HBKU and Alfardan Group will cooperate on developing a virtual Digital Cluster, with platforms and programs aimed at improving the capabilities and competitiveness of the country’s digital entrepreneurs as well as small medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) focused on digital innovation.

A third area of focus leverages HBKU’s pioneering programmes in smart sustainable energy to design renewable