ABU DHABI // A new aerospace research and innovation centre is to be established in Khalifa University within a year.
The project is in cooperation with Mubadala Aerospace, WAM, the state news agency, reported yesterday.
The Aerospace Research and Innovation Centre will aim to provide a global research hub in the Emirates, providing an opportunity for professors and students to come up with innovations that are needed in the market.
"Our role is that we will be providing the centre with technology exchange and updates regarding new technologies they can use," said Dr Jasim al Ali, the senior business development manager at Mubadala Aerospace. "We can also communicate to them the needs of the market or of our strategic partners, Airbus, Boeing and GE, so they can come up with innovations that will benefit them, such as construction composite material."
As the centre grows it will also provide internship programme for UAE nationals.
The centre will serve as a collaborative unit for academic institutions, aerospace businesses and researchers.
According to Professor Tod Laursen, the president of Khalifa University, the partnership with Mubadala is part of the university's research strategy to find ways to develop the economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE.
"The Aerospace Research and Innovation Centre will deliver educational and research benefits to a new generation of aerospace engineers in the UAE," he said. "It will offer Khalifa University's faculty and student's greater opportunities to participate in and contribute to prestigious research and development projects."
