OAPFD, Bell sign major pact
MUSCAT: The Omani Authority for Partnership for Development (OAPFD) signed a contract with the US Bell Company for the implementation of the “Prototyping Centre” project.
The centre will support Oman’s innovation and industry system, transfer of knowledge, enhance research and development studies, promote new technologies, train Omani researchers to transform ideas, scientific research, innovation and industrial products into experimental products and prototypes usable on the ground and the establishment of institutions capable of entering the labour market efficiently and is considered one of the integrated centres.
The agreement was signed by Dr Dhafer bin Awadh Al Shanfari, CEO of OAPFD, and Brian Volmer, Bell’s Senior Director of Industrial Cooperation and Offset.
The agreement signed between OAPFD and American Bell states that the company will establish an equipped and integrated centre, consisting of manufacturing workshops, specialised laboratories and a number of modern studios furnished with the latest equipment and technologies that enable the centre’s users from small and medium enterprises, industrial institutions, various research centres, university students, colleges and various training institutes, from turning ideas and innovations into live models that can be manufactured on the ground.
The centre will also contribute to the transfer of the international expertise and practices in the field of innovation and modelling to the Sultanate, as well as its role in supporting and upgrading Omani-registered intellectual property, and establishing small and medium enterprises.
Al Shanfari said that economic diversification and the promotion of different and promising sectors in the Sultanate is a key objective for OAPFD, and the prototyping centre follows the Sultanate’s orientations to promote the culture of innovation in the Sultanate and create an integrated environment to support innovators, whether individuals or institutions.
He expressed his happiness with this strategic partnership with Bell and the TechShop Company, which is implementing the project.
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