Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Jubail Industrial College, together with InSITE BAVARIA and VDI/VDE-IT of Germany, will jointly establish an international Cluster Excellence Center at the campus of JIC. The Cluster Excellence Center will include:
a) An international Research and Application Center
b) A Cluster Academy
c) An International Cluster Hub
d) A Business Incubator and Park/ SME's
For Jubail Industrial City, the Cluster Excellence Center shall become the leading coordinator of technology transfer from science to industry, and an accelerator of Saudi-European business cooperation. For the Kingdom of Saudi-Arabia, the Cluster Excellence Center shall support creation of a cluster organization to network kingdom wide clusters, prepare professional cluster management structures and initiate market-driven partnerships with cluster networks from Germany and other European countries.
TUM will make a detailed roadmap for implementing the research and application center with focus on energy efficiency in petrochemical processes, environmental engineering, clean tech, and innovation management. Additionally, TUM International and JIC will organize workshops with local companies in order to identify the first set of R&D projects, which can be realized together with researchers and students of JIC, but also including international experts; providing industry solutions will be at the forefront of the business plan of the center.
The phases of the project will include setting up the center with its service portfolio, cluster training and match-making, implementation of a high-level application center, operation of an incubator and the development of a business park in JIC campus, a set of pilot projects with industry, and a detailed business plan for long-term operations.
By setting up the Cluster Excellence Center in Jubail Industrial City, JIC and TUM International enter into a sustainable strategic partnership with the aim to build one of Kingdom's leading drivers for technology-based value creation and its international flagship in cluster management excellence.
