Umm Al-Qura University in Makakh on Saturday announced its plan to establish a techno valley project to develop technologies and industries that would improve the Kingdom’s Haj and Umrah services.

The university’s council chaired by its President Bakri Assas has made a proposal to the Higher Education Council to approve its plan to establish a company for Makkah Techno Valley. Nabeel Koshak, vice president for business and innovation, said the project was aimed at facilitating the Kingdom’s transition to a knowledge-based economy by establishing a partnership between research institutions, businesses and investors. “This project also aims at developing technologies related to Haj and Umrah services, such as communication technology and geographical information systems,” Koshak said.

Another main objective is to achieve economic benefits from the university’s research projects and transform technological inventions into commercial products. He said the move would also contribute to creating new job opportunities for Umm Al-Qura students. Koshak said the project would help facilitate transfer of modern technology to the Kingdom and the university students and teachers achieve expertise. The new company will establish technological incubators and invest in various knowledge-based economic and industrial projects.

The move to establish a techno valley in Umm Al-Qura comes after the successes achieved by King Saud University by setting up a similar project. A number of new projects have been established at Riyadh Techno Valley including King Abdullah Institute for Nanotechnology. KSU is also building Prince Sultan Advanced Technologies Research Institute as well as Prince Naif Center for Health Science Research at the valley. KSU has now more than 100 research chairs, financed by individuals and institutions and has set up a SR3-billion endowment fund to finance educational projects.

SPA