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NEWS |
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25-30
April, 2003
Subsequent to
earlier discussions, ESCWA provided
follow-up recommendations to the UAE University, and also participated in
the Fourth Annual Conference for Research. The issues of a portal of R&D
institutions and activities, an incubator for commercialisation of
university R&D outputs, and virtual laboratories were discussed. Outcomes of
these follow-up discussions rendered mechanisms for linking higher education
and R&D institutions closer to the economy in the Gulf countries, and
modalities for promoting R&D at the UAE University. |
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16-21 March,
2003
ESCWA advised the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in
Saudi Arabia on the establishment
of a technology incubator for the
private sector, and produced an initial project document. |
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Click here for more |
Initiatives for
Technological Capacity Building in the ESCWA Member Countries
Sustainable development in the ESCWA and the Arab countries is
contingent upon the acquisition of a wide range of technologies in
the production and services sectors. Initiatives such as
technology parks, incubator schemes and high technology
manufacturing and service clusters can integrate a number of new
concepts in technological capacity building. The need to study and
adapt these initiatives to address the needs of ESCWA/Arab
countries is widely evident. In particular, there is pressing need
to acquire technological capabilities to address a number of
priority areas that include:
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Diversification of
ESCWA economies;
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Rising
unemployment;
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Deteriorating
environmental conditions and natural resource profiles;
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A number of
resource-related issues, especially water-related needs of
agricultural, industrial and urban development.
ESCWA could
play a direct role in the above-mentioned areas through focused
effort aimed primarily at the creation of technology parks,
technology incubation schemes, including effective
technology-based enterprises and high-technology manufacturing and
service industry clusters.
What could
ESCWA and cooperating organization do to promote technological
capacity building initiatives?
The role that ESCWA could play - hopefully in cooperation with
other international, regional and national organizations - through
multidisciplinary activities within its regular work programme as
well as through advisory services could focus on the following
tasks:
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Preparation of
documents on the role played by technology park and incubation
schemes as well as high-technology clusters;
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Analysis of their
constitution, organizational structures, operational modalities
and resource requirements supported with case studies from
developed and developing countries, and emphasizing the
requirements and the conditions prevailing in ESCWA/Arab
countries;
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Elaborating
frameworks for establishing the above-mentioned initiatives with
at least three ESCWA country models in mind, grouped in relation
to the nature and diversity of their economies and degree of
sophistication of their science and technology systems;
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Monitoring
activities aimed at launching the above initiatives and their
subsequent operations in ESCWA/Arab countries with the aim of
facilitating exchange of know-how and expertise;
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Playing the role
of hub for networks of specific technological capacity building
initiatives in the ESCWA/Arab countries and facilitating
linkages between individual initiatives in the region with their
counterparts abroad.
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