Masdar Institute 'is key to knowledge-based economy'

Abu Dhabi: General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, chaired the inaugural meeting of the Board of Trustees for the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, last Wednesday at Mina Zayed.

The meeting was also attended by board members Shaikh Diab Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority and Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and other senior officials.

Shaikh Mohammad welcomed the group of academics and leaders from the civil society and government and noted the important role the institute plays in transforming Abu Dhabi into a knowledge-based economy.

He also reminded the board of the support from Prince Charles of England, who serves as patron of Masdar Institute and is respected throughout the world as a role model for embracing and establishing new standards for renewable energy technology.

Shaikh Mohammad expressed his great confidence in the Masdar Institute, noting that it is integral in supporting the national vision to transform Abu Dhabi into a knowledge-intensive economy, providing mankind's urgent need for clean energy and sustainable development and in increasing the overall intellectual capital of the region by creating excellent educational institutions.

During the meeting, the board discussed the institute's development and academic progress to date including specifics on current faculty research projects in the areas of solar thin film photovoltaics, technology strategy and forecasting, power generation and conversion of waste to energy.

The Masdar Institute lies at the core of Masdar's effort to develop the scientific and human resources required for the new clean technology sector to thrive.

It has been created as a private, independent institute developed in cooperation with The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Key to the success of the Masdar Institute is its affiliation with MIT. Dr Fred Moavenzadeh, Director of the Technology Development Programme at MIT is working with the Masdar Institute in several integral areas including recruitment of faculty members, development of degree programmes, joint collaborative research and support for capacity-building at the Institute in terms of organisation and administrative structure.

"Our vision is to create an institute on par with the best institutions in the world such as MIT CalTech, Imperial College and Oxford which will transform not only the economy of Abu Dhabi, but contribute to addressing the world demand for new and sustainable technologies. It will be the heart of the Masdar Initiative, feeding talent and innovative solutions to the initiative's other programmes," said Masdar CEO Dr Sultan Al Jaber.