stc Group, the region’s leading digital enabler, participated in the recent Sustainable Partnerships Conference held in Riyadh, where it signed a number of partnership agreements with several Saudi universities, to support research and innovation projects in the technical field in the Kingdom.
Foremost of its partnerships signed at the event is that with King Saud University. It includes the establishment of a chair for scientific research in the field of artificial intelligence, aiming to find solutions to technical challenges facing the private sector.
stc also joined forces with the Saudi Telecommunications Engineering Society, Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University, and Taif University. The aim is to develop the communications sector by innovative means, develop engineering communications, and raise the scientific and professional level of communication engineers in the Kingdom. The partnerships will also contribute to the digital transformation of the universities’ services and projects.
During his session, stc Group Chief Strategy Officer Abdullah Abdulrahman Alkanhl highlighted the group’s pioneering role in encouraging research and innovation through several of its initiatives, including the InspireU program, which the group launched in 2015, to support emerging entrepreneurs and university students. The program succeeded in graduating 75 startups that provided more than 600,000 direct and indirect jobs. The group also supported direct investments in the research and innovation area through venture capital funds, with its contribution of $500 million to STV Fund.
“We recently elevated the value of investment to $800 million,” added Alkanhl.
stc Group believes the partnerships will encourage the exchange of scientific and technical knowledge as well as support the development of educational programs, joint research projects and innovative activities such as competitions and hackathons. Moreover, stc seeks to enrich the registered intellectual property content.
“The signed partnerships stand out as one of the main elements for achieving our goals in sustainable development in the field of research and innovation, as our strategy revolves around enabling more vibrant sectors in the Kingdom. This will facilitate and accelerate the process of digital transformation because of its positive impact on public interest, whether on individuals, society or the business sector,” said Alkanhl.
The two-day conference, held under the theme “Research and Innovation Towards A Prosperous Economy” was part of an initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Education to foster ties between Saudi universities and the industrial and development sectors. More than 50 cooperation and research partnership agreements were signed between universities and various sectors at the event.