Under the patronage of His Excellency Mr. Youssef bin Abdullah Al-Banyan, the "Sustainable Partnerships Conference" will be held from 23 to 24 November, under the theme of "Research & Innovation to Build a Thriving Economy" organized by the Ministry of Education at Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, hosting over than 150 ministers, decision-makers and local and international leaders, as well as 6,000 senior officials in 100 industrial and developmental sectors, presidents and leaders of 40 Saudi universities and colleges, as well as officials of a number of government agencies, factories, national companies, research centers and academics. The Ministry of Education seeks this World Conference, the first of its kind in the Kingdom, to support the research, innovation and development system in the Saudi universities, and to promote strategic partnership and integration between universities and industrial and developmental sectors, identifying the needs of national research and innovation priority, providing effective solutions, supporting the Kingdom's indicators globally in research, innovation, industrial and developmental sectors, in a way that contributes to building a knowledge economy based on innovation and supporting sustainable economic development in accordance with the objectives of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. The conference starts its events next Wednesday with a speech by His Excellency the Minister of Education, and an opening session of Their Highnesses and Excellencies ministers on integration and sustainable partnerships. A large number of leaders, at the local and international level, will participate, to name a few; His Royal Highness the Minister of Energy, His Excellency the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, His Excellency the Minister of Investment, His Excellency the Minister of Economy and Planning, His Excellency the Assistant Minister of Defense for Executive Affairs, Deputy Minister of Education for Universities, Research and Innovation, Deputy Minister of Transport and Logistics, Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and Deputy Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, His Excellency the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, His Excellency the Governor of the General Authority for Defense Development, His Excellency the CEO of the Saudi Food and Drug Authority, the President of Rolls-Royce Middle East, Africa and Central Asia, the Co-founder of Hyperloop Virgin, the CEO of Clarivate, the Director of Global Product Management at Pitney Bowes, the Chief of Medical Scientists from Moderna Company, Chief Medical Scientist at Microsoft, and the CEO and Head of Emerging Innovations at AstraZeneca. The agenda of the Sustainable Partnerships Conference include 25 interactive sessions and main lectures, 40 specialized workshops, various panel discussions and innovation groupings with the participation of more than 150 speakers. It highlights research and innovation in the development of the industries, military industries, the health care system, energy, digital transformation, transport and logistics and localizing modern technologies, commercializing research outputs, and the important role of Saudi universities in achieving Vision 2030. In addition, it reviews the best international models to support national research and innovation trends, highlights the research and innovative capacities of universities, identifies opportunities for joint cooperation between universities and industrial and developmental sectors, and reviews the major projects, national priority initiatives, the Saudi Green Initiative, Hajj and Umrah, and food security. The conference is accompanied by a number of events, notably the launch of the Research and Innovation Partnerships Initiative, which focuses on partnerships between universities, national and developmental sectors, innovative and technical transfer centers, transitional research centers, as well as the exhibition of promising technologies and innovations with the participation of Saudi universities and the most prominent national companies. It includes the display of more than 1,000 research products and industrial models for universities, success stories of successful university-industry-government sectors partnerships; to promote sustained cooperation between them. In addition to signing more than 60 Cooperation Agreements and research partnerships between universities and different sectors to support the research and innovation system, commercialize technologies, cooperate in innovative fields, as well as launch research and innovation platforms, such as fundamentals and solutions of pioneering universities and knowledge exchange.
