Tawazun Economic Council and Masdar Institute launch research program on land systems and advanced materials

Collaboration to drive human capacity development in UAE's industrial and manufacturing sectors

Abu Dhabi, 18 July 2013 - Tawazun Economic Council, which is mandated to oversee implementation of the UAE Tawazun Economic Program, and Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, an independent, research-driven graduate-level university focused on advanced energy and sustainable technologies, have jointly announced a collaborative research project focused on land systems and advanced materials.

In the presence of His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar, and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Masdar Institute, the collaboration agreement was signed today by H.E. Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, Chief Executive Officer of the Tawazun Economic Council and Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, President, Masdar Institute.

Following the signing, His Excellency Dr Sultan Al Jaber, said: “Collaboration between the renewable energy industry and academia is crucial in strengthening the UAE's competitiveness, especially across knowledge-led fields. We are confident that our partnership with Tawazun sets the foundation necessary to enable the UAE to develop and accelerate technologies for advanced defense and aerospace industries. This promotes human capital development efforts and supports economic growth, in line with the wise guidance of our leadership.”

H.E. Al Hajeri said: “We are delighted to enter into this collaboration agreement with Masdar Institute, which specializes in sustainable and advanced technology research.”

He added that the agreement bodes well for Tawazun Economic Council's endeavors to contribute to driving and building capabilities in the industrial and advanced manufacturing sectors in the UAE, creating opportunities for UAE nationals in knowledge-intensive and high value-added projects as well as speeding up technology transfer.

He said, “We are confident that our collaboration will contribute significantly to the drive aimed at developing the UAE into a globally-recognized center of manufacturing excellence and we believe the scientific and research expertise of Masdar Institute will help us achieve this goal. We hope this agreement will pave the way for more collaboration in the future.”

Dr Moavenzadeh said: “The agreement with Tawazun Economic Council focusing on research related to land systems and advanced materials is the first project in a broader collaboration Masdar Institute is developing with Tawazun Economic Council. The collaboration reflects the support that our research focus areas receive while enabling knowledge and human capacity development in the country. We hope the outcome of this research collaboration will benefit both partners.”

Tawazun Economic Council was established in 1992 to oversee implementation of the UAE Tawazun Economic Program – with the purpose of generating economic and commercial value from defense procurement programs.

Over the years, the program has created sustainable businesses with international partners in various sectors. Recently, the focus has been concentrated on developing technology and advanced defense and aerospace industries to meet the country vision.
 
Serving as a key pillar of innovation and human capital, Masdar Institute remains fundamental to Masdar's core objectives of developing Abu Dhabi's knowledge economy and finding solutions to humanity's toughest challenges, such as climate change.

Established as an on-going collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Masdar Institute integrates theory and practice to incubate a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, working to develop the critical thinkers and leaders of tomorrow. With its world-class faculty and top-tier students, the Institute is committed to finding solutions to the challenges of clean energy and climate change through education and research.