Saudi Arabia: Research Olayan, Kaust to Develop Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Suliman S. Olayan Foundation and the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) recently held a ground breaking ceremony in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia to establish an institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Gulf nation. The institute is expected to prove beneficial for Kaust's intellectual property-based startups that specialize in water, agtech, energy, advanced computing, biotech, robotics, mobility, and advanced materials.

Thuwal/Saudi Arabia – The Suliman S. Olayan Foundation and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (Kaust) recently broke ground for The Suliman S. Olayan Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia. The Institute is named after the founder of the Olayan Group, the late business leader and luminary of the Saudi economy, Suliman S. Olayan.

The establishment of the Institute comes as a partnership between Olayan Financing Company and Kaust. Nestled in the Research and Technology Park of Kaust, the Institute will be a valuable incubator, fostering a collaborative environment for science, technology, industry, business and entrepreneurship in the midst of Kaust, facilitating sustainable solutions for many of the problems facing society today. The Institute will harness the University's state-of-the-art laboratories and equipment and its highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, goal-oriented research capabilities.

Comprised of three main components – Startup Scaling Spaces, Teaching & Learning Spaces, and Public and Shared Spaces - the Institute will drive constructive and impactful conversations amongst students, scientists, industry partners and entrepreneurs. With a strong focus on sustainable solutions for water, food, and energy, it will attract the brightest collaborative minds and Saudi-bred Intellectual Property start-ups in key areas such as water technologies, energy engineering and management, electronic and communication systems, biotechnology, food, and petrochemicals.

President of Kaust, Tony F. Chan, expressed his confidence stating "this Institute will become the center of Saudi Arabia's nascent deep-tech ecosystem as it becomes the home for Kaust's intellectual property-based startups in a number of key areas, including: Water, Agtech, Energy, Advanced Computing, Biotech, Robotics, Mobility, and Advanced Materials. This focus will feed the Institute's directive to nurture university developed technologies into innovative market-ready products that will play their part in providing world-changing solutions to global problems."

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