Launching BITTC At UoB, Under the Patronage of The Minister of Education.

Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Khadijah Abdusalem)
06 September 2022
His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Ali Al Nuaimi, Minister of Education and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Bahrain (UoB), sponsored the opening ceremony of the Bahrain Innovation & Technology Transfer Center (BITTC) at UoB, on Tuesday evening (06 September 2022), which came as a result of the University’s partnership with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) of the Ministry American Commerce and George Mason University.
The opening ceremony was attended by His Excellency Mr. Zayed bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Industry and Commerce, His Excellency Mr. Stephen C. Bundy, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Kingdom, Her Excellency Dr. Jawaher bint Shaheen Al-Mudhahka, President of the University of Bahrain, and a number of state officials.
On this occasion, the Minister of Education praised the inauguration of this advanced center at the National University’s headquarters, which comes in the context of the close relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and the United States, and to enhance areas of joint work between the two countries, appreciating the contribution of the Ministry of Industry and Trade in this project, and the university administration’s role in its implementation.
Furthermore, the Minister indicated that this center is a promising step towards transforming into the new institutional model for prestigious universities, based on achieving a balance between theoretical and applied academic education, research and development centers, science and technology parks, and innovation and entrepreneurship programs, by encouraging a culture of innovation, creativity, and entrepreneurship among university students, researchers and academics, embracing, promoting, marketing and investing innovative products, and providing an environment supportive of efficiency and quality.
In addition, the minister affirmed that the Kingdom of Bahrain sees a true wealth in its children that must be invested in and whose energies must be unleashed, especially by providing advanced and up-to-date education and training, the acceleration in technological development and the growing interest in innovation, creativity and scientific research, that contributes to qualifying them to support the comprehensive national development process and build a society based on knowledge, intelligence economy, and sustainability system, which are the focus of the Board of Trustees of the Higher Education Council.
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Trade stated, ” Bahrain Innovation & Technology Transfer Center will play a key role in sponsoring innovation and supporting research and development, to activate the pillar of promoting innovation, one of the five pillars of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council, in addition to stimulating innovative startups. All of this leads to improving the targeted indicators of innovation and intellectual property in the Kingdom of Bahrain in relation to the number of intellectual property rights and patents filed for registration or those already registered, in addition to the number of commercially exploited intellectual property rights and patents.”.
He added that, “There is no doubt that the launch of Bahrain Innovation & Technology Transfer Center today is an important step towards making the Kingdom of Bahrain a center for innovation thanks to the adoption of international best practices, and the transfer of knowledge and experience to the center from its counterparts in the United States of America through experts and specialized advisors.”
While the President of UoB stressed the importance of the partnership established between the University and the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and the relevant authorities in the United States, which resulted in the establishment of this center, referring to the role of technology transfer centers and offices in universities to support innovative research and technology transfer from the academic sector to the private sector, to improve enterprise productivity and stimulate the growth of innovative and digital startups. Noting the importance of adapting research results to serve society, and private and governmental institutions, through innovation, technological development, and increased productivity, as they are the basis for sustainable economic growth.
In addition, she stated that the National University is working to achieve the principles and objectives of the Economic Vision 2030 and to achieve the initiative of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council to promote innovation, through the establishment of BITTC – the first of its kind in the Kingdom of Bahrain – in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the CLDP of the US Department of Commerce and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
BITTC – which is supervised by Dr. Mohammed Reda Qadir, Vice President of Academic Programs and Graduate Studies at UoB- aims to protect the rights of innovators, and transfer technology from UoB to the private sector, by developing and strengthening the system of innovation, research and development at UoB , marketing innovative products and services, providing an attractive environment at UoB to embrace these innovations and promote them commercially, and provide financial return for inventors and innovators, and the university.
In addition, the center will issue licensing agreements and patents, and work to increase economic income by increasing the number of start-up companies, creating job opportunities, developing productivity, and increasing the effectiveness of budgets allocated to research and development.

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