KUWAIT: KuwaitScience Club (KSC) will be hosting the 11th International Invention Fair in theMiddle East from Jan 27 to 30, 2019. The fair is being held under the patronageof His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This wasannounced during a press conference held at the KSC premises on Monday.
Secretary Generalof KSC Ali Juma appreciated the generous sponsorship of HH the Amir for thisfair since the first edition in 2007. "This generous support has made thisfair rank as the second biggest and most popular fair for inventors in theworld. KSC organizes this fair as part of its strategy that aims to support anddevelop the creativity of inventors," he noted during the conference.
This fair hasmany benefits. "The main purpose of this fair is to bring the inventorsand investors together. Through organizing this fair, we give an opportunity toKuwaiti inventors to meet other inventors from all over the world and exchangetheir experiences. KSC is morally and financially supporting the inventors toturn their creative ideas into inventions. It also helps them meet investorswho may transfer their inventions into commercial projects," added Juma.
The winninginventions will receive valuable prizes. "The total value of the prizes isaround $50,000. The main prize is $15,000, KSC's prize is $10,000, theInternational Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva presents a $5,000 prize andthe GCC Patent Office presents 50,000 Saudi riyals, in addition to a prizepresented by the World Intellectual Property Organization and another prize bythe International Federation of Inventors' Associations," concluded Juma.
Investment andmarketing opportunity
Treasurer of KSCAws Al-Nisef said that the main reason for holding the International InventionFair in the Middle East is to offer an investment and marketing opportunity forKuwaiti inventions to be realized. In the past, the Kuwaiti inventors did notfind support or adoption for their inventions to develop into commercialprojects, but today they do. From here we inspired the title of the fair -'Investors meeting the Inventors'," he explained.
"I invitebusinessmen, producers, universities and institutions that are willing to adoptinventions to come and visit this fair, as they will find top inventionspresented by creative Kuwaiti and international inventors. Also, this fairspreads the culture of inventing among the community, in addition to strengtheningthe relations between inventors and different companies and authorities,"Nisef added.
Head ofDevelopment and Competitive Programs Sector at KSC Dr Mohammed Al-Saffar notedthat participation in the fair is still open. "Currently we don't have theexact number of participants, as we are still accepting registrations, but weexpect the number to be higher than last year. The huge attendance in this fairin the past years reflects its success. We started preparing for this hugeevent from the end of the previous fair," he pointed out.
The participatinginventions must follow certain criteria. "The judging committee consistsof specialists from the field with long experience from different institutionsand nationalities. Different criteria will be considered for the inventions,including the time since the invention was made, its creativity and ability tobe marketed. Also, judges will consider the importance of the invention andwhich category it serves. The winners will be awarded on the last day of thefair," Saffar said.
By NawaraFattahova