Muscat – The Public Establishment for Industrial Estates (Madayn) officially launched its Industrial Innovation Academy in the Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM) on Sunday under the patronage of H E Dr. Khamis bin Saif al Jabri, chairman of the Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-Up Unit.

The launching ceremony was attended by H E Dr. Saleh bin Said Masan, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion (MOCIIP) for Commerce and Industry and chairman of Madayn’s board of directors; and Asila bint Salim al Samsamiyah, Undersecretary of Investment Promotion at MOCIIP.

Hilal bin Hamad al Hasani, CEO of Madayn, said that the Industrial Innovation Academy has been set up to explore and study value-adding investment opportunities in various sectors, and develop and incubate these opportunities to enhance the local content.

He said, “The academy aims at boosting the performance of factories in Madayn’s industrial cities, enhancing their operations through incorporating innovation components, as well as developing the skills of the national cadres. Besides, the Industrial Innovation Academy focalises on keeping abreast of current and future phases, unifying efforts, enhancing performance, reducing costs, and achieving sustainable and added value to the factories in Madayn’s industrial cities,” Hasani elaborated.

On his part, Dr Hussain bin Suleiman al Salmi, chairman of Industrial Innovation Academy’s board of directors, pointed out that the academy presents a valuable addition to the industrial sector with its six strategic programmes that address vital elements.

“These programmes were previously distributed over several sectors but are now under one umbrella to accelerate identifying challenges, finding solutions and exploring innovations while linking them directly to the academic sector in the sultanate,” Salmi added.

Six programmes

Speaking at the ceremony, Dr Ayman bin Abdullah al Fudhaili, acting CEO of Industrial Innovation Academy, stated that the launch comes along the lines of Madayn’s Vision 2040 which is centred around creating world-class business cities while maintaining the Omani identity to contribute to economic growth.

“Acting as an innovation arm of Madayn to ensure the realisation of its 2040 vision, the Industrial Innovation Academy revolves around achieving six strategic programmes that present a roadmap to enhance the objectives of Madayn,” Fudhaili pointed out.

He explained that the first programme ‘Connection’ aims at linking the local products and services of companies operating in Madayn’s industrial cities with the government tenders, while the second programme ‘Supply’ focuses on finding SMEs that provide goods and services within supply chains networks for the majority of economic sectors.

Moreover, the third programme ‘Development’ lays emphasis on maximising the use of local raw materials and building downstream industries through industrial complexes, and the fourth programme ‘Sustainability’ aims at identifying the troubled factories in the industrial cities, identifying their challenges, and formulating innovative solutions.

Additionally, the fifth programme ‘Innovation’ corresponds in integration with Connection, Supply, Development and Sustainability programmes to emerge innovative products that are capable to compete in the local markets. Lastly, the sixth programme ‘Omanisation’ pays attention to qualifying and training the national cadres to ensure the provision of job opportunities at the middle and senior levels.

These programmes have been developed after conducting in-depth studies to get familiarised with the needs of the local market and taking into consideration that Oman Vision 2040 focuses on achieving a diversified and sustainable economy that is centred around technology, knowledge and innovation.

Cooperation pacts

A memorandum of cooperation was signed during the launching ceremony between the Industrial Innovation Academy and Oman Vision 2040 Implementation Follow-up Unit to enhance joint cooperation between the two sides. The pact was signed by H E Jabri and Hasani.

Another memorandum of cooperation was signed with the National Employment Programme through which the academy will act as the strategic partner and operational arm of the ‘Supply’ programme. The programme aims at identifying priority sectors, analysing the supply chains of these sectors, and benefiting from the investment and employment opportunities emanating from the analysis of these chains.

The second memorandum of cooperation was signed by Dr Fudhaili and Eng Al Azhar bin Ahmed al Kindi, technical director of the National Employment Programme.