Khalifa Innovation Center – Khalifa University

Khalifa University and KIC Presenting Eleven Research Innovations and Startups at UMEX2022 in Abu Dhabi

Ara Cruz — Tue, 22 Feb 2022 08:04:32 +0000

Khalifa University Booth Features Six Projects Including Four from EBTIC, while KIC Booth in Startup Hub Has Five Projects ��

Khalifa University of Science and Technology today announced it is featuring six projects including four from the Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC), while Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) – a strategic partnership between Khalifa University, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Tawazun Economic Council, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan – is showcasing five startups at the fifth edition of the Unmanned Systems Exhibition (UMEX) Abu Dhabi 2022.

The Khalifa University booth includes Dexter Robotics which offers the affordable, programmable, and modular CLING robot that can crawl and climb vertical surfaces to perform several tasks with high-load capacity, including painting and drilling, and Macro Hexapod robot that is designed to transport heavy load through extreme terrain autonomously. EBTIC, founded by Khalifa University, Etisalat, and BT Group plc (UK), and supported by the ICT Fund, is presenting four projects including Wasim, Next Generation Resource Planning and Muzamana.

The KIC stand at the ‘Startup Hub’ section is featuring five projects including�� FabCast Solutions, DroneLeafs, ADIIR, 3D Nano Printing and SPL Solutions. These advanced technology startups – outcomes of research and innovation at Khalifa University – have been incubated at the Khalifa Innovation Center.

The startups include DroneLeafs, which has developed an innovative and intelligent flight controller software, and ADIIR, an autonomous ‘terrain ground vehicle’ that performs non-intrusive inspection and identifies oil and gas pipeline defects in real-time and geo-tagging them for future maintenance. Other startups include FabCast Solutions which offers a range of Carbon Nano-Tube sheets customized with a higher performance-to-cost ratio, and Additive Light Fabrication, which offers customized solutions for micro-scale 3D printing of souvenirs using various types of materials and coatings. An EBTIC spin-off and award-winning startup SPL Solutions, which offers a special platform to simplify and streamline software governance, development, and cloud migration, is also part of the KIC stand.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “These startups and innovations reflect some of the cutting-edge and advanced technology research outcomes from Khalifa University laboratories that have been translated into new commercial ventures. We believe these startups, incubated at Khalifa Innovation Center, and the other research projects at Khalifa University and EBTIC stands will be well-received for their innovative solutions by investors and interested stakeholders visiting UMEX 2022, which provides a professional platform to establish lucrative business relationships and opportunities.”

Among the four EBTIC projects Wasim, a dedicated Arabic language solution, is the region’s first Machine Learning data labelling solution provider for the Arabic market for both national and international clients, while Next Generation Resource Planning is a complete end-to-end resource planning solution that allows proactive planning of a mobile workforce to help optimize deployment, maximize utilization, and minimize maintenance. Muzamanh is an EBTIC start-up which offers an intelligent timing solution that reduces the dependency on GPS, as it allows accurate synchronization by utilizing existing standards such as Precision Time Protocol (PTP).

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
22 February 2022

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Khalifa Innovation Center Organizes ‘Innovation Open House’ on 5 October at Khalifa University Main Campus

Ara Cruz — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 10:08:45 +0000

Event Offers Researchers and Students An Entrepreneurship Forum to Interact with Professionals and Better Understand Insights into Establishing Deep-Tech Startups ��

Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC –), a strategic partnership between Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Tawazun Economic Council, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan, hosted an ‘Innovation Open House’ to enable students and researchers interact with innovation and intellectual property professionals to have first-hand insight�� on how to protect inventions, prosecute intellectual property, deploy technologies and establish deep-tech�� startups.��

The Innovation Open House titled ‘Make an Impact for a Better Life’ was organized by the Khalifa University Office of Technology Management and Innovation and the Khalifa Innovation Center at the Khalifa University Main Campus. It included panel discussions, inspirational talks, and parallel innovation clinics, as well as networking events. An impressive array of some of the most advanced technology patents from Khalifa University showcased some of the deep-tech startups in the KIC’s startup portfolios.��

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Chairman, KIC, and Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University, said: “The Innovation Open House provided a unique opportunity for university students and faculty members to have an overview on resources available to enable them commercialize inventions through formation of startups. They not only gained insight on how to translate their inventions into patents but also further understood and learned about programs available in KIC that would help with their journeys as entrepreneurs moving these inventions into successful startups.”��

Dr. Al Hammadi added: “This open house is also in line with our commitment to Abu Dhabi’s business and technology startup initiatives and incubators such as Hub 71, a flagship initiative of Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator program for business in the capital. Our objective is not only to drive innovation but also to encourage commercialization of our research outcome that can contribute to the fast-expanding knowledge-based economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”

Dr. Yehya Mohamed Al Marzouqi, Advisor to Tawazun CEO, said “The Innovation Open House is an ideal forum whereby the Tawazun Economic Council and our partners can demonstrate our commitment to building Emirati capabilities in multi-disciplinary R&D areas. Through the panel discussions we can also ensure participants have valuable insights on the best ways to incorporate applied research with practical application and then on to the next stage of actual development of industrial prototypes. Tawazun fully supports the creation of favorable conditions for the development of innovative, local solutions and the ability to take them to market.”��

Hind Baker, Director-General, Sandooq Al Watan, said: “Sandooq Al Watan was established with a clear mandate outlined by our wise leadership, to promote and support innovation and innovators, and provide talented UAE citizens with promising opportunities to thrive and accomplish great success.”��

“The ‘Innovation Open House’ organized by our partners at the Khalifa Innovation Center perfectly embodies this mission.” Baker continued. “It offers talented students and researchers a platform to interact with accomplished innovators and leading experts. This not only develops their innovation skills but also helps them draw on experiences and success stories for charting their own path to excellence.”��

“Our leadership has ambitious objectives for diversifying the UAE’s economy and rendering it more resilient in the post-oil era. Talented creative thinkers and bold, innovative ideas are essential for accomplishing our goals,” Baker asserted.

Dr. Sami Bashir, Director, Technology Management and Innovation, Khalifa University, said: “This Innovation Open House event was intended to address some of the questions inventors and entrepreneurs have and to provide some clarity on their paths to innovation from research discovery to a market product. Such platforms and events are critical to have insightful dialogue with inventors, entrepreneurs and partners or investors to materialize impact of our patents and startups.”

The event included panel discussions led by experts who shared first-hand information on the importance of intellectual property (IP), ways to establish a startup from scientific research, tips on navigating the innovation ecosystem in Abu Dhabi, and suggestions for attracting investors or customers. Inspirational talks were delivered by thought-leaders, inventors, and entrepreneurs who shared their experience on creating value and an impact out of scientific research.��

The open house included two parallel Innovation Clinics – ‘Intellectual Properties and Research Commercialization’, and ‘Establishing Deep-Tech Startups’. The clinics were intended to answer specific questions on handling IP while performing or commercializing scientific research, and translating ideas, patents and research results into successful startups. Participants interacted with peers, IP experts, startup mentors, inventors, researchers, and entrepreneurs.��

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
5 October 2021

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Meet the KU Alumna Helping Businesses Modernize

Ara Cruz — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 10:09:48 +0000

With the right support to kick off her journey, this entrepreneur took her research to market.

Salwa Alzahmi is the founder of the tech startup SPL Co. Ltd, award-winning research scientist and multiple patents holder. Having received her Master’s Degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from Khalifa University in 2014, she is leading the software engineering research group at the Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC, established by Etisalat, British Telecom, and Khalifa University, and supported by the ICT Fund). Here, she shares her story of making the jump from researcher to entrepreneur and the challenges in taking her research work to the market.

There is a fire inside that is fuelled by passion and a willingness to solve problems

I have always been passionate about building my own products and addressing new trending market segments in technology, particularly software governance techniques, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing.�� I participated in a number of research projects during my studies and even won the UAE IT Challenge Award for Best Educational Application, the Best Master Student Award at Khalifa University and the Khalifa University Research Excellency Award.

After my studies, I joined the workforce, starting as a software engineer for a start-up company, managing enterprise software. Working with smaller private companies that actually develop and deliver projects and with government companies leading the modernization agenda equipped me with vast and relevant hands-on experience.

The journey often starts with unique insights acquired during the early career and an inspiration that keeps you motivated

I had exposure to the struggle and limitations in IT processes and technologies when maintaining outsourced and legacy software systems. This gave me a unique advantage in understanding the gaps and opportunities in current IT systems. Hence, I was confident in my skills and the business opportunity for my research (SPL project). Based on this, I leveraged the output from my research at Khalifa University’s Emirates ICT Innovation Center (EBTIC) to build a successful product that became the foundation for my business.

I was curious about business when I was a researcher because it aligns very well with my goal of supporting the UAE’s growing knowledge economy. The UAE’s futuristic vision of championing the creation of smart government services, artificial intelligence solutions, cutting-edge data analytics, and other futuristic technologies has inspired me to put great effort into building my company. Such home-grown innovation entrenched in technology is exactly aligned with the government’s economic development priorities.

The mindset shift that was needed to move into entrepreneurship

I faced a number of challenges as I entered the entrepreneur space. As a scientist, I used to make decisions based on complete data or information. In contrast, an entrepreneur must have the ability to make decisions—such as starting a company—on incomplete data, and that means taking a risk, particularly when introducing a new technology like SPL that essentially creates a new market segment.

I had to get a basic understanding of the elementary financial aspects involved in business and legal topics such as contracts, liability and intellectual property. However, being a scientist, my research and learning skills helped me navigate the entrepreneurial pathway much faster. Coming from an engineering technology background, learning to put my thoughts into a business-oriented context was one of the most challenging parts. This was critical for enabling me to learn how to explain my business to customers and investors, as well as learn how to define my product’s unique selling points and to position my product in the market.

Global challenges addressed through local technological and business leadership

The UAE is a global leader in digitalization. A huge part of this is related to supporting local corporations to move to the cloud, integrating new forms of technologies that speed up, automate, and improve business. Since these technologies require heavy computational power and storage space, cloud computing is the optimal solution. My start-up, SPL Co., was founded to speed up the process of migrating software systems to the cloud, as this can take a long time and require a lot of resources with the traditional manual approach. Upgrading company-wide software was a challenge due to a lack of documentation and expert guidance. Adding to the complexity, the companies I worked with often lacked the resources and skills to modernize enterprise applications. SPL’s solution can reduce the cost of migration to the cloud by up to 30 percent. It is one of the first tools of its kind that provides an AI model for automatically identifying and composing the part of the system code that should be lifted to the cloud, and assists with micro-service implementation. SPL solution maps out the entire architecture of the software code within hours through the runtime and static code analysis powered by cutting edge artificial intelligence and automation technologies. It reduces the cost of re-architecting the monolithic application by up to 30% and transforms it into a cloud-native architecture.

Getting the right local support to kick-off the journey

Khalifa University, EBTIC and the Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) helped me along the way. Khalifa University management realized at an early stage the importance of bringing industry and academia together at the research level to realize and accelerate innovation in the UAE. A great example of this is EBTIC, where the SPL project was born. SPLCo is a product of this system, which has provided me with the right platform and infrastructure to build the research foundation of SPL, prototype my solution and productize it with leading industrial partners. After a successful trial with BT in the UK, and the great recognition we got from the local and international communities, I received further support from EBTIC to fund the SPL product development. Through this, I was able to form my great team, Dr. Corrado Mio, Ahmed Sulaiman, Dr. Sid Shakya, and Dr. Ivan Boyd, who have supported me in this journey, along with the support received from EBTIC management, especially Dr. Nawaf Almoosa. EBTIC helped tremendously in developing my entrepreneurial skills, giving me the opportunity to work very closely for three months with an international consultancy firm to build the SPL business case.

Getting the right local support to accelerate the startup journey

The Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) is a one-of-a-kind center in the UAE, focusing on deep tech start-ups derived from successful research projects conducted in local universities and research centers. The center supports innovation and the knowledge economy of the country, and the incubation program clearly outlined the key steps to develop my business from different perspectives. Coming from an engineering background, learning to put my thoughts in a business-oriented context was a huge benefit. Early intervention by industry professionals through a mentoring program was also vital in supporting the initial development of my start-up.

Digital transformation is a reality that a corporation cannot escape. SPL Co. is here to help overcome the challenges involved in upgrading legacy software and moving companies to the cloud.��

Jade Sterling
Science Writer
29 April 2021

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Khalifa Innovation Center at Khalifa University Receives First “Incubator License” from Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development

erica solomon — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:19:31 +0000

Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC –�� ), a strategic partnership between Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Tawazun, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan, today announced it has received license from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) to operate as an incubator, thus becoming the first institution in Abu Dhabi to receive such a license.

Hosted at Khalifa University but is open to all university students and researchers in the UAE, KIC will now be able, through the DED, to issue Innovative License to entrepreneurs incubating their newly established startups in KIC . This is critical to enable startups to validate new technologies and business models while remaining independent and engaging in business traction activities such as attracting investors or engaging with collaborators to scale up and grow their businesses. Startups in KIC can now engage in business acceleration activities with minimum financial and legal risks, beginning their initial journey in the innovation business.

Moreover, this “Incubator License” will support KIC’s efforts to accelerate validation and introduction of technology-based startups into the Abu Dhabi market and industry. Most importantly, it will encourage more young scientists and entrepreneurs in the UAE to apply and take part in the KIC programs to get their ideas and inventions moving from concept stage to impactful business opportunities.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “This incubation license is a great milestone in the journey of KIC, especially with the operation and management of its startup portfolio which are mostly founded on research discoveries. KIC plays a pivotal role in embedding and incubating scientific research outputs within entrepreneurial business settings, producing promising startups and new companies. This is a new paradigm in the overall knowledge-based ecosystem in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and therefore, it requires a new approach for including incubators like KIC within the economic fabric in order to achieve maximum economic and innovation potentials.”

Mouza Al Nasri, Acting CEO, Khalifa Fund, said: “At Khalifa Fund, we’re constantly searching for new opportunities and identifying best practices to enhance the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. That’s why we’re extremely proud to contribute towards this strategic partnership that enables the Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC) to deliver imperative services to our startups and SMEs.

KIC’s new capability to issue incubation licenses is a monumental step that will cement Abu Dhabi’s position as an entrepreneurial hot-spot. The licensing process will provide UAE entrepreneurs with a multitude of integral operational benefits, that will accelerate their validation process and thus empower them to elevated innovation levels and optimal performance.

She added: “I’d like to thank Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Tawazun, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan for sharing Khalifa Fund’s dedicated efforts towards enhancing the UAE’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development for helping to create this important milestone.”

Dr. Yehya Al Marzouqi, Advisor to the CEO of�� the Tawazun Economic Council, Board Member of Khalifa Innovation Center said: “KIC’s incubation licenses would contribute to strengthening the ecosystem and would instill innovation and creativity especially for projects that are based on technical and advanced technology.

��“Tawazun Economic Council would continue supporting KIC in its effective contributions to the development of a sustainable ecosystem through cooperating with strategic partners to empower the Center and strengthen its role in embracing innovative technology projects. The Center offers many exclusive services like training the creative youth and empowering them to transform the ideas of their projects into real practical models and develop them further to ensure alignment with the market requirements taking into consideration the possibility of promoting each.”, he added.

Al Marzooqi expects a positive impact to this approach in creating�� various innovative projects that would feed to the benefit of the national economy and lead to strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a global destination in the field of technical and advanced technological industries and projects that can be employed in various sectors in future.

The first incubator license for KIC also reflects a recognition that KIC fulfilled all standard requirements for an incubator to conduct its operations efficiently. This includes available space for inventors and entrepreneurs to receive appropriate training, as well as the ability to provide office spaces for newly established startups where they can run their businesses and develop their technologies. In addition, inventors and entrepreneurs can have access to technical expertise and scientific laboratories to validate their technologies and prototypes.

All of these services are part of KIC’s offerings to entrepreneurs. Moreover, KIC provides financial support and funds to startups and entrepreneurs who successfully engage in its bootcamp, incubation and acceleration programs. Such a fund is targeted towards developing prototypes, validating business models or any other activities that can help entrepreneurs scale up their ideas.

Dr. Sami Bashir, Interim Director, KIC, said: “This incubator license means KIC has the required technical and expertise resources to support and mentor inventors, entrepreneurs and their startups to go through robust and successful innovation programs that are tailored to push technologies from labs to the market. Moreover, the nature of the technologies and discoveries incubated within the KIC fit with the overall innovation strategy in areas such as advanced materials, health sciences, artificial intelligence, security and agriculture.”

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
21 April 2021

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Khalifa Innovation Center Organizes 5-Day Virtual Innovation-Based Entrepreneurship ‘Lab-to-Market’ Bootcamp

erica solomon — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 08:20:09 +0000

Eight New Technology Concepts in Electronics, Communication, Energy, Healthcare, Water and Robotics��Showcased at Bootcamp

Khalifa Innovation Center (KIC), a collaboration initiative by Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, Tawazun, Mubadala Investment Company, and Sandooq Al Watan, announced a total of 24 participants representing 8 startups joined its Virtual Innovation-Based Entrepreneurship Bootcamp that aims at develop technical innovation in these startups and put it into commercial context for further discussions towards potential funding.

All the participating projects have sound technologies but they face ‘startup’ challenges. Just as any startup, they require either funding, or a complete team, or a partner who can provide co-development project support, which are offered by KIC, an innovative incubation center based at Khalifa University premises. The eight startups validated their entrepreneurship concepts during the five-day ‘Lab-to-Market’ bootcamp.

Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Executive Vice-President, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: “The intense participation and the technologies that were showcased at KIC’s Lab-to-Market bootcamp illustrate the extent of youth involvement in launching science and engineering startups. These transformative ideas also reflect their awareness of the latest technology trends and their enthusiasm for bringing into existence promising concepts with potential commercial applications, in line with the Innovation Strategy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE. We believe the startups chosen for further discussions would lead to the fruition of those young entrepreneurs’ dream projects with KIC’s support infrastructure and encouragement.”

Mouza Obaid Al Nasri, Acting CEO, Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development, said: “Since its inception, Khalifa Fund – one of the founding partners of the Khalifa Innovation Centre – has heavily contributed towards spreading the spirit of entrepreneurship and encouraging innovation in the market, with a particular emphasis on the ever-thriving technology sector.

“We’re delighted to example this through the ‘From the Lab to the Market’��training program, which aims to enhance the capabilities and skillset of entrepreneurs and contribute to the�� further establishment of a strong and favourable business environment for the development and growth of emerging projects in the tech industry, as well as all other innovative sectors. We are fully prepared to continue to offer our expertise beyond��From the Lab to the Market��program, by providing counselling and training for entrepreneurs in the Khalifa Innovation Centre on a frequent basis.”

She concluded: “The ideas and participating projects reflect a tangible development in the quality and distinctiveness of advanced projects, both in terms of their economic viability and in terms of applicability of their impact in enhancing the business environment in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”

The bootcamp, organized at the KIC premises, was led by Dr Sami Bashir, Director, Technology Management and Innovation Office, Khalifa University, and Nouf Naser Al Jaafari, as well as KIC’s Mohamed Al Hashmi and Tariq Ahmed Syed. An elite panel of experts and judges who joined the final pitch sessions included Ahmed Fikri, Acting Director-General, Sandooq Al Watan, Elodie Guillerm from Gotham (Hub 71 Accelerator), Salim Bin Shabib, Chairman, Innovative Committee, Department of Economic Development-Abu Dhabi, Johan Maree from Mohamed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC) and Qussay Abdul Wahab, Manager, from the Innovation Unit at Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development.

The 24 participants, representing eight science/engineering startup projects in the fields of electronics, communication, energy, healthcare, water and robotics, pitched their concepts before the panelists, who provided them with additional insight on how to translate their ideas into successful products.

In addition to external participants with science/engineering ideas, eight Khalifa University researchers, five faculty members and an alumnus joined the bootcamp, which aimed to develop science or engineering transformative ideas into successful startups. The event provided participants with insight and tools to help translate their ideas into successful products, using a defined commercialization roadmap.

The five-day KIC Virtual Innovation-Based Entrepreneurship Bootcamp helped participants to understand innovation aspects associated with the idea, validate the technology through execution of successful proof-of-concept and prototype projects, establish effective business models, develop robust financial framework, and be ready to pitch the technology to potential investors.

Each day of the bootcamp was focused on one key area, with the first day highlighting ‘Mindset Change and Ideas Evaluation and Scoping’, which helped participants to state clearly the problem and the solution that their technology can provide. The second day introduced aspects of ‘Intellectual Property and Market Landscape’ to help participants identify the knowhow resources, potential stakeholders and customers, as well as competitors related to their technologies.

In the following days participants engaged in hands-on exercises to develop efficient ways to identify novel attributes related to their technologies, effective ways to build prototypes and proof-of-concepts to validate their technology, and establish more engaging and realistic business models. The concluding day on ‘Let Us Think Startup’ saw teams working together in finalizing a clear identity of the startup and preparing a brief presentation.

Clarence Michael
English Editor Specialist
6 September 2020

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