Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on December 16th announced plans to build a science and technology park on the University of Bahrain’s Sakhir campus in southern Bahrain.
According to Bahrain’s Ministry of Education, the King Hamad Oasis for Science and Technology will have a faculty of science and technology that will offer a number of new science and technology courses, host research programmes in collaboration with world-renowned centres so Bahrain can develop its scientific research base, and boast finance offices to fund such research.
The project seeks to both create new programmes and advance the state of applied scientific research in the country, according to University of Bahrain president Ibrahim Janahi.
In the first phase of the project, a faculty for sought-after specialisations including renewable energy, water engineering and nanotechnology will be established at a cost of around 10 million Bahraini dinars ($26.5 million), he said.
Huthayfah Ibrahim al-Debbo, a civil engineering student at the University of Bahrain, said he is happy that a park dedicated to scientific research and innovation in non-traditional fields is being established.
He told Al-Shorfa he hopes the park will give rise to “innovative Bahraini inventions at the hands of young [Bahrainis], so they can contribute to supporting the local economy and improving productivity and the competitiveness of Bahraini industries”.
The park “will remove many of the obstacles that previously hampered university students and will encourage them to innovate with the help of additional logistical, technical and legislative facilities”, he said.
In order to keep pace with the latest advances in technology, Bahrain must build on work that has already been completed, al-Debbo said.
“We must start from where others have left off,” he said. “We cannot start from scratch, especially since we have [already] achieved a lot locally. We are capable of starting from advanced stages and even surpassing those who preceded us.”
‘First of many innovative ideas’
The new science and technology park represents a new tributary of the national economy that supports human development efforts and accelerates the transition to a knowledge economy, said Waheeb al-Nasser, vice president of the Bahrain Astronomical Society and professor of applied physics at the University of Bahrain.
The park will be distinguished by advanced labs that provide all means of development and communication for companies and students, as well as government facilities for investment in science and modern technologies related to nanotechnology, renewable energy, pharmaceutics, the environment and more, he said.
It also will facilitate the procurement of patents for new inventions and will foster partnerships between commercial enterprises, universities and academics, he said.
Bahrain’s move to build the park is the first of many innovative ideas, such as the establishment of an internet city and a new technology centre to attract foreign investment, said Jassim Hajji, who heads Gulf Air’s information technology department.
“The Oasis for Science and Technology will help Bahrain achieve a level of self-sufficiency in terms of manufacturing and training in critical technology sectors, and will provide advanced labs that are capable of producing and supporting inventions,” he said.
The private sector in Bahrain has long anticipated a project of this type aimed at improving locally-made products and upgrading the national industry, said Adel Al Safar, chairman of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s information technology committee.
The park will help put Bahrain on the regional and global map of technology parks by providing a framework for the operations of many technology companies, and by encouraging global companies to establish a base of operations and a regional presence in the kingdom, he said.
“The park will support non-traditional industries that we sorely need in this age of speed and high technology, and we see it as a blessed step towards graduating a new generation of innovative young Bahrainis,” he added.