Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee, TDC, yesterday officially opened the INNOVATOR Space, the region's first open-access makers' space designed to enable the transformation of ideas into reality for the UAE's budding inventors and innovators.

The Space opened its Innovation Week activities in the country's capital, which was attended by Major General Mohammed Khalfan Matar Al Rumaithi, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Abu Dhabi Police and a member of the Executive Council, and Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of the Health Authority and a member of the Executive Council.

Located in the popular Al Zeina development near the Sheikh Zayed Abu Dhabi-Dubai Highway, INNOVATOR Space is packed with professional grade equipment and staffed by trained professionals, the Space creates an ‘innovation hub' for professionals, amateurs, entrepreneurs, artists and start-ups to share, learn, make and create under the guidance of highly skilled experts.

The Director-General of TDC, Ahmed Saeed Al Calily, said, "Realising the UAE Vision 2021 is dependent on taking people on an ‘innovation journey'. In line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan announcing 2015 as the ‘Year of Innovation', we are determined to inspire, engage and empower the local community with science, technology and innovation through four key stages: education, knowledge transfer, knowledge generation and knowledge utilisation. By doing this, we can diversify our economy, increase our productivity and create a skilled workforce that drives our position among the most innovative nations in the world. INNOVATOR Space, inaugurated on the first day of innovation week, brings together technology, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning to create a truly interactive ‘knowledge-exchange' network set to catalyse innovation within our community."

The Space is designed and operated in partnership with TechShop, the leading operator of "makers' spaces" in the USA and globally. The facility provides affordable access to cutting edge technology such as 3D printers, laser cutters, welders, various computer numerical controlled machines, and many more, in addition to CAD/CAM state of the art software, as well as specialised training programmes for all levels of skill and hands-on support and mentoring to transition ideas into prototypes and products.

The Innovator space adopts the "open innovation" philosophy and aims to become a platform for cooperation between individuals, companies and public institutions ushering new models of engagement. In the US and elsewhere, TechShop has been able to establish fruitful partnerships with leading government and industrial counterparts, including GE, Ford, NASA, BMW and DARPA, among others.

Commenting on this, Paul Duggan, CEO, TechShop Global, said, "TechShop's mission is to help drive global innovation by engaging, enabling and empowering everyone to build their dreams. In establishing a TechShop here in Abu Dhabi, we are furthering that global mission and I'm proud to see the maker movement, with its focus on innovation, accessibility and opportunity for all, embraced and executed with the great support of our partners at the Abu Dhabi Technology Development Committee."

Intel Corporation, the global leader in semiconductors, has partnered with TDC to provide technology and training in the space.

"For over a decade, Intel has been committed to supporting young innovators through investments in science and technology and entrepreneurship initiatives to build a more competitive workforce in the Arab world. By providing the adequate technologies and resources through entities like the TDC INNOVATOR Space we are helping to develop the ecosystem and contribute to transforming ideas into solutions," said Nassir Nauthoa, Intel's GCC Country Manager.

Source: WAM