From left: Salim Shehade, Dr Alex Amato, Rinal Chaaban, Dr Mohieddine Benammar, Dr Nesibe Gozde Ozerkan, Khalifa Haroon and Tamer Farouk Saleh during the press conference at the Hilton Doha yesterday. (Salim Matramkot)
BY RAYNALD C RIVERA
DOHA: The first Innovate Qatar, an exhibition on new technologies and innovations, is set to open on Monday at the Doha Exhibition Centre, organisers announced yesterday.
The Chairman of the Administrative Control and Transparency Authority, H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah, will inaugurate the exhibition, Rinal Chaaban, Exhibition Manager at Innovate Qatar, said at a press conference at Hilton Doha.
Innovate Qatar will showcase innovation and new technology in sports, communication, construction and real estate, education, consumer and home electronics, green industries, as well as future technologies in industrial, medical and analytical sciences.
“The thread linking all the exhibits is innovation and future technology. The idea is to showcase cutting-edge ideas, concepts, and products creating a dynamic environment for innovation and business in Qatar,” said Chaaban.
Exhibitors are led by Qatar University (QU), College of the North Atlantic Qatar, Qatar Green Building Council (QGBC), Al Ahli Hospital, Al Emadi Hospital, Qatar Skills Academy, Cedar White Bradley, the German Business Council and Red Bull.
Dr Mohieddine Benammar, head of the Department of Electrical Engineering at QU’s College of Engineering, said: “QU is establishing itself as a regional centre of excellence, particularly in the fields of research and development. At Innovate Qatar we will showcase some of our key initiatives and discuss how these new technologies can be brought to market.”
QGBC will be showcasing its flagship initiative Project Baytna — a joint initiative with Barwa Real Estate and Kahramaa.
“Project Baytna aims to create an ultra-low energy, airtight building that requires little energy for space cooling, reducing its ecological footprint. It will help save 50 percent power/energy consumption, water consumption, and produce less operational CO2,” said Dr Alex Amato, Head of Sustainability, QGBC.
RedBull will put on a memorable showcase of a game that used to be played a long time ago in Qatar – Dahrooj – involving a stick and a wheel. It will set up a life-size circuit for visitors to play in and experience the roots of sports innovation.
ILoveQatar.net will be sponsoring an Entrepreneurship Zone — a place to showcase some of Qatar’s budding entrepreneurs and innovators.
Khalifa Haroon, Founder of ILoveQatar.net, said: “By sponsoring entrepreneurs as they showcase their inventions and ideas, we hope to boost Qatar’s entrepreneurship scene locally and globally. This is an excellent opportunity for up-and-coming entrepreneurs to meet potential clients, partners and other entrepreneurs.”
The exhibition will also feature a zone where exhibitors and other organisations in the community will showcase their latest innovations.
The area is also set to be a hotbed for product launches and prototype presentation.
Another feature of the three-day expo is a mini-conference for entrepreneurs and inventors, where fresh voices from the world of innovation and new technologies will present an in-depth discussion on what it takes to innovate and how innovation can be sustained and fostered in Qatar and beyond. David Taji, President of the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, will be one of the speakers.
Present at the press conference were Salim Shehade of Cedar White Bradley, Dr Nesibe Gozde Ozerkan of QU’s Centre for Advanced Materials and Tamer Farouk Saleh of Hilton Doha.
Innovate Qatar will be open to the public from 3pm to 9pm. Visitors may pre-register at www.innovateqatar.com.
The Peninsula
