The new development comes within the framework of its long-term vision of becoming a knowledge-based economy by 2025.

A joint memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed here yesterday with Thomson Reuters for protection of Intellectual Property & Science. The landmark agreement takes KACST a notch up in the field of scientific research and patents by vesting proprietary rights in the apex body for developing science and technology in the Kingdom in collaboration with Thomson Reuters as a conduit for providing scientific solutions.

According to Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Swailem, KACST vice president for scientific research support, this MoU would help both sides to undertake joint initiatives for fostering scientific pursuits.

Al-Swailem observed that this tie-up would have far-reaching consequences in terms of exposing the Kingdom’s intellectual property to the global scientific and business communities. Thus, it will have a positive impact on all research projects conducted in the Kingdom.

Elaborating on the agreement, Al-Swailem said the cooperation would result in KACST’s collaboration with specialized databases.

Using these data could help provide advanced analytical tools that effectively contribute to orienting scientific research activities toward technologies of priority to the Kingdom that have been specified in the National Science Technology and Innovation Plan (NSTIP) besides monitoring basic performance indicators of scientific research outcomes in universities and research centers of the Kingdom, such as scientific publication and intellectual property through interactive dashboards that enable users to carry out necessary comparisons and analysis.

According to this MoU, KACST would coordinate with governmental institutions, scientific entities and research centers to support scientific researches and exchange information and expertise among themselves.

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