More than 500 leaders from international businesses, governments and universities took part in a recent forum in Abu Dhabi that focused on innovation in engineering and design.

The summit entitled “What’s Next? Navigating Global Challenges with the Innovation Generation” showcased game-changing ideas and the individuals, who are transcending borders to solve the world’s most pressing problems in areas including next-generation aerospace engineering and design, sustainable and diverse energy economies, big data and mobile technologies.

Education is essential to innovation and helping the next generation to pursue its dreams and ideas and contribute to society, Boeing chairman and chief executive officer Jim McNerney said at the summit.

Universities in particular play an important role in advancing innovation through academic research and early-stage technology development. Boeing maintains strategic alliances with over 200 universities and higher education institutions globally including the Middle East, he added.

“We make this investment in support of our most valuable resource – our people, current and future,” said McNerney.  “Critical to our global reach is a skilled and diverse workforce so we can lead Boeing’s second century of innovation. As a company with a global footprint, Boeing sees growing aspirations for increased skills and technology development around the world, and the UAE is no different.”

According to McNerney, governments, too, play a central role in spurring   innovation, helping to shape business environments, providing basic R&D funding and taking the lead in setting education policies.

Governments across the Middle East region, and in particular the United Arab Emirates, have already started incorporating innovation into their development plans, he said.

Recently, the UAE launched a national strategy that aims to make the country the most innovative nation in the world within seven years, with a specific focus on renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space exploration.

“In many of the countries across the region, we are fortunate to have visionary leaders who have recognized that innovation can play an important role in powering the country’s growth and development,” said McNerney.

“It is this forward thinking that has ensured the Middle East remains a key component of our future strategy, and has allowed us to develop strong and enduring partnerships in multiple industries throughout the region.”

Organised by The Atlantic and underwritten by Boeing, the summit invited large numbers of university students from across the region, who participated in workshops focused on the business of innovation, the source of big ideas and space travel.

Boeing displayed a full-scale mock-up of the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft, designed as a part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to transport astronauts and space flight participants to low-Earth orbit destinations such as the International Space Station and the planned Bigelow station. – TradeArabia News Service