EQUATE sponsors GPCA R&I Summit 2016 – Company supports open innovation by its employees and others: Husain

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KUWAIT CITY, March 3: EQUATE Petrochemical Company, Kuwait’s first international joint-venture in this industry, sponsored the 3rd Research & Innovation (R&I) Summit 2016 organized by the Gulf Petrochemicals & Chemicals Association (GPCA) to promote excellence in Research & Development (R&D).

EQUATE President & CEO Mohammad Husain said, “Innovation has become a critical element for sustainability, not merely an expression or set of guidelines. Through innovation, our industry can maintain its global competitiveness especially in terms of contributing to economies around the world. Naturally, innovation relies greatly on progressive R&D that realizes milestones for the benefit of humanity through industrial growth. With global spending on petrochemical and chemical R&D reaching nearly USD 530 million in 2014, progressive open innovation in this field is a strategic objective for our industry.”

Husain added, “Certainly, any effective initiative, has to be driven by the human capital, at EQUATE and beyond, as they possess untapped capabilities in open innovation. For that, EQUATE is always willing to support open innovation by its employees, as well as other individuals and organizations, provided that such initiatives are relevant to our field of business.”

Husain noted, “The GPCA R&I Summit is truly an opportunity for our stakeholders to encourage open innovation through applying ‘Partners in Success’ by the association, its members, academic bodies, other organizations and individuals from various countries. Addressing innovation’s challenges, fundamental for innovation, as well as emphasizing the role of end-to-end collaboration between academic bodies, institutions and companies are emphasized by the summit to facilitate fostering and nurturing innovation-oriented cultures.”

In addition to Husain, EQUATE was represented at the summit by R&D Leader Arif Al-Qattan and Innovation Program Leader Abdulrahman Al-Munyaes.

As part of its participation in the summit, EQUATE sponsored a professor and students from the College of Engineering & Petroleum at Kuwait University to attend the event and interact with other delegates. The college is represented by faculty member from the Department of Chemical engineering Dr. Abdulwahab Al-Musallam, as well as the students, Bader Al-Nashmy, Yousef Al-Shamlan and Mohammad Al-Ajmi. EQUATE’s sponsorship of the professor and the students for this event and other previous GPCA activities is part of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the college during 2008 for overall partnership and cooperation in industrial and academic fields.

The 3rd GPCA R&I Summit 2016, was held in Dubai, UAE. Under the theme “Managing R&D during Difficult Times: Creating Global Competitiveness,” the event gathered top executives from petrochemical and chemical companies, as well as government bodies and other entities to discuss various topics regarding R&D and innovation.

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