The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) hosted the third interactive panel discussion of the 2022 HCT InnCuVation Forum at EXPO 2020 Dubai, with a captivating, discourse on societies’ abilities to ensure the sustainability of the hot-button topic of sustainability, and how to leverage sector trends.
The 2022 InnCuVation Forum, convened under the theme of Reach. Connect. Launch, is a unique opportunity for innovators and game changers, academia and industry & government representatives to collaborate on and explore current issues, trends, world-class research and i
The Sustainability sector panelists were:
- Yousif AlZarouni, Director, Business Development at CRI, Bee’ah
- Ghanim Kashwani, Civil Engineering Research Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology
- Dina Storey, Director of Sustainability Operations, Expo 2020 Dubai
- Nicola Bettio, HCT Executive Director of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship
- Mohammed Bin Kuwair, HCT Executive Director of General Services
- Ammar Natsheh, HCT Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering
Dr. Alex Zahavich, HCT Chief Academic Officer, set the tone for the discussion when he said sustainability is a flavor of the month concept, which is comprised of three components. “There’s financial or commerce, social (awareness) and environmental. All three have a symbiotic relationship. We can’t have one without the other to achieve sustainability. If you get these three right, the world will be a better place,” he said.
The panelists agreed that greater partnerships between industry, government and academia are needed to advance sustainability and discuss issues, such as climate change, carbon footprints, environmental impacts and to deal with the significant challenges.
Yousif AlZarouni, Director, Business Development at CRI, part of Bee’ah said a driving issue was how industries and the corporate world are considering sustainability.
“Today, every company, being industrial companies, are all looking at sustainability in general and how sustainability can take them to the next stage. In five years from today, there will be new industries or companies, entering the business and shifting from their current focus to be on sustainability. These are the future of the sustainability industry in the UAE and outside,” he said.
Mr. Nicola Bettio, HCT Executive Director of Applied Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, pointed out that the UAE may become worldwide leaders in sectors like energy, water and new materials due to technology needs which are structurally different from Europe or the US.
He added that the UAE, and the GCC in general, will address such needs, like water scarcity or extensive deployment of solar power generation, through original solutions that will be first pioneered in our region and very likely adopted worldwide. Finally, he noted that sustainability is a generic responsibility of every citizen, and we need to strengthen our culture of respect for the environment and to infuse responsible practices from large corporations to the general public.
Mohammed Bin Kuwair, HCT Executive Director of General Services said the responsibility to align all sectors – government, community, private and education – into sustainability was on everybody’s shoulders.
“HCT has a big mandate to ensure the students who graduate from HCT are well-equipped with the right knowledge, experience and tools to apply sustainability and to become a life style; moving sustainability from being a KPI to become a value in our life,” he said.
“At HCT we are showcasing our potential to be transformed into a sustainable education institution,” he added.
Dr. Ghanim Kashwani, Civil Engineering Research Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, said: “if we want to survive as a human race we need sustainability as a value. To do that we need the contributions of all the stakeholders. We need to choose the right language and the right audience.” He added there needed to be a cultural change among all stakeholders and particularly the community to ensure the viability of sustainability.
The panels agreed that the issue of sustainability needed mass acceptance and awareness, rather than just a passing fad. “One main thing that we need to do is to ensure sustainability is part of our daily life is part of our culture and related to a good cause. Without that people will not feel the importance of it or as something they have to do every day,” Yousif AlZarouni said.
Dina Storey, Director of Sustainability Operations, Expo 2020 Dubai, said the COVID-19 pandemic has created a shift towards environmental social governance and sustainability as the “next big thing”.
“It may be a fad, but we as sustainability professionals are the ones who can move this fad to a different way of thinking, just by continuing to do what we do and introducing these policies and procedures and best practices,” she said.
“How do we hand this inheritance of knowledge and of this approach in the UAE to other who can take it and utilize it,” she added.
It was also agreed that the enhancement of the sustainability eco-system could be facilitated by greater collaboration between all stakeholders, through PPP- public, private partnerships – playing a critical role, and more mature regulations. “We need to look at the solutions coming out of academia,” Dina Storey said.
Dr. Ghanim Kashwani saw it as a need to encourage private companies “to take a leap of faith”. “We need to introduce policies and incentives. We need to encourage academic people to get involved in applied research, entrepreneurship and start-ups. The key to enhance sustainability is in the private sector. Give them the freedom and incentives,” he said.
The panel discussion gave HCT the opportunity to showcase its own innovations and applied research in the sustainability eco-system. Dr. Alex Zahavich, HCT Chief Academic Officer, said the Forum highlighted the corollary between applied education, research and innovation, where HCT was leading a hybrid world and facilitating innovative concepts being transformed into reality, through its hybrid InnCuVation, being a “mash up” of innovation and incubation.
“This forum is very unique globally. I don’t think there is one like it anywhere, focusing on “inncuvation”. It’s a feature of the very unique HCT mash up of Innovation and Incubation. Innovation is very much part of HCT’s hybrid model and we need to convert that innovation,” he said.
Echoing the sentiments of his fellow panelists, Dr Zahavich highlighted the importance of academic-industry partnerships, facilitated by HCT’s Industry Advisory Committees. “They are very important to HCT. Without industry partners there is no innovation and no incubation,” he said.
“We need to invite, listen, act and move forward (with the IACs),” Dr. Zahavich added.
The HCT’s 2nd InnCuVation Forum is held at the EXPO 2020 Dubai site on February 14, 15 and 17, 2022. The Forum interconnects with the official, nation-wide UAE Innovates 2022 initiative, which itself is borne out of the annual UAE Innovation Month, one of the world’s largest celebrations of innovation, in different formats and across a wide range of sectors.
The InnCuVation Forum wraps up on February 17, 2022 with an entertaining Start Up Pitch Day organized by HCT in partnership with the Emirates Angels Investors Association. HCT students will be given the opportunity to pitch their innovative concepts to a panel of judges and potential investors, with a view to obtaining financial backing for the commercialization of their ideas.
For more information about the InnCuVation Forum visit: https://hct.ac.ae/en/events/inncuvation-forum-2022/
nnovative startups through a series of panel discussions and presentations in four strategic sectors of Health, Education, Sustainability, and Emerging Technologies.
