Bridging science, business key to enhancing Jordanian products, stakeholders say

AMMAN — Researchers and businesspeople on Wednesday called for building stronger partnerships to boost innovation and the competitiveness of research-based products and services.

Speaking at the national brokerage event on transferring innovative science into business, which is part of the second phase of the Support to Research, Technological Development and Innovation (SRTD) in Jordan project, stakeholders agreed that the two fields complement each other and should work in closer coordination.

Speaking at the event, SRTD II Project Implementation Office Director Omar Amawi said bridging science and business is a "big challenge", as they work independently in most cases, a matter that wastes efforts and resources.

The project seeks to promote a culture of partnership between the two sides, particularly in fields of priority to Jordan — water, food, health and energy, he added at the event, organised by the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST) and the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI).

Fadel Labadi, the manager of the Industrial Development Department at the ACI, said innovation helps businesses, especially small- and medium-sized enterprises, enhance competitiveness and reach out to regional and global markets.

He said the technology transfer office at the chamber examines proposed research ideas and provides support to those with feasible investment opportunities to help bridge the gap.

Supporting innovation in Jordan is key for the Kingdom to benefit from the EU relaxed rules of origin to export locally produced products and services to Europe, according to Ibrahim Laafia, EU head of cooperation.

"The EU is looking forward for supporting innovation and applied research in Jordan," he said, citing the event as an opportunity for Jordanian researchers to network with their European counterparts. 

For his part, Fawwaz Elkarmi, acting secretary general of the HCST, said the second phase of the project builds on the achievements of the first in updating focal point networks of universities and institutions, and supporting technology transfer offices as well as renewing the focus on applied research and commercialising research results.

Researcher Mohammad Qasem, specialised in agriculture and food industry, is one of 62 researchers benefiting from the project.

Qasem, who works at the National Centre for Agricultural Research, has developed an organic commercial product to replace chemical products that fight nematode diseases in plants and functions as a biological fertiliser.

He told The Jordan Times that he benefited from the 25,000-euro grant offered through the SRTD project to develop the product based on previous research he has conducted.

Like other researchers taking part in the project, Qasem has prepared to present his product and its market potential to members of the business community attending the event.

But Lama Khazaleh, a representative of Amman Pharmaceutical Company, attended the event for a different reason. She was looking for a researcher in the health sector with an innovative idea that could upgrade the company's manufacturing process. 

She told The Jordan Times that usually researchers in the health field come up with innovative products, not innovative ideas that can be applied to the company's production lines.

The event included one-to-one sessions between researchers and businesspeople to discuss possible business cooperation.