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24-12-2018

Oman Observer

SALALAH, The Research Council (TRC) and Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) have called upon the students and entrepreneurs of all sorts to take part in OCCI Innovation Award 2019 and be the winner by submitting original innovative ideas.

At a meeting held in Salalah the representatives from the OCCI, TRC and Salalah College of Technology (SCT), which has been selected as an assessment centre for Dhofar Governorate, exhorted all sorts of innovative minds to participate in the Award. The registration for the Award participation is on and the entries would be entertained till December 31. Any innovative person aged 10 and above can take part in the Award.

Amir Nasser al Haddabi, Intellectual Property Specialist at TRC, gave a presentation on the Award and said everyone including students, entrepreneurs and employees working both in the government and in private sectors, scientific researchers and job-seekers are free to take part in the Award, as it is open for nationals as well as expatriates living in the country.

The only strong participation condition is the subject or topic, which according to Al Haddabi, should be truly innovative, scientific, technical and with economic viability. “The proposed idea must never have won in any previous competitions. The idea can be developed into a prototype. Number of participants in one team must not exceed three,” he said.

“The award has been initiated by TRC and sponsored by the OCCI. It aims to stimulate and adopt innovative ideas of citizens and residents in the field of science and technology. The Award seeks to encourage and promote cooperation and partnership among all components of society from individuals, institutions of both the public and the private sector, and the academic sector among all governorates of the Sultanate to support and development of innovation,” Al Haddabi said in his presentation.

The main objective of the Award is to encourage and spread the culture of innovation in the Sultanate as also to promote outstanding innovators to showcase their innovative activities. “It is based on the idea of enhancing cooperation and partnership between the private sector and various government and academic sectors. To support young Omani innovators to sharpen their creative talents and guide them to develop their ideas into products that can offer innovative solutions in many scientific and technical fields. It is aimed at capacity building of a qualified human capital to support and develop innovative projects in different governorates.”

Interested participants can apply online by visiting TRC website till December 31, as the Award has been divided in three stages: The first is Financial Prize for the best five innovative proposals from each centre. Stage two also has Financial Prize for the best two prototypes from each centre and phase three has Incubation opportunity at Innovation Park Muscat, while there is Financial Prize for best three innovative projects.