Hussain Mohamed receives the ‘Catalyst Government Leader Award’ from Ronak Samantaray (left) and Tushar Sahoo (right) on Monday. Kamal Kassim/Gulf Today

Mariecar Jara-Puyod, Senior Reporter

The best approach to the abuse and misuse of technology is to trek the positive and let this be the architect/engineer towards further development and progress, taking into consideration the inevitability of investments in human capital.

“That (abuse and misuse) is everywhere. There are always two sides (of a coin). It is always better to take the positive side,” Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP) chief executive officer (CEO) Hussain Mohamed Al Mahmoudi told Gulf Today on Monday.

That positive route is among the drivers for the existence of the SRTIP, a 20-million square feet hub with current total investments of Dhs300 million within the University City of Sharjah established in 2016 by a Royal Decree of His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council of the UAE and Ruler of Sharjah. Taking that positive route alongside Abu Dhabi’s Masdar and the Dubai Future Foundation for the UAE’s post-oil-and-gas era, SRTIP is deep into water technology, digitalisation, transport and logistics, environmental technology, renewable technology including production, design and architecture.

Al Mahmoudi said that with a special zone as the harbinger for improving technologies

in all current and emerging sectors/industries, is the unavoidable investment in human capital by way of constant support and improvements on education for all.

“You see, this (SRTIP) is an enabler. It is very near 22 universities and educational institutions where 47,000 students (study). We have the sciences here. Yes, Science is important,” Al Mahmoudi said, pointing out the crucial government-academe-industry partnership.

Also the American University Sharjah CEO, Al Mahmoudi was interviewed ahead of the “7th Edition of the Future IT Summit (FITS) & Catalyst Awards” held in-person and live streamed to over 34 countries from one of the halls of the colossal SRTIP headquarters. He keynoted.

The awards were for the 50 individuals in the UAE who successfully raised their companies amidst the doldrums of the Novel Coronavirus Special zone all set to boost advancement of technology (COVID-19) in 2020, said event organiser Global CIO Forum co-founder/GEC Media Group CEO Ronak Samantaray.