RIYADH: King Saud University is hosting from tomorrow Sunday the Forum on Entrepreneurship and Knowledge-Based Economy 2011, under the patronage of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The three-day event, organized by the Prince Salman Entrepreneurship Center at King Saud University in Riyadh, and the Wadi Al-Riyadh Technology Company, will have in attendance notable figures including former British and New Zealand prime ministers Gordon Brown and Mike Moore, and 2005 Nobel laureate and head of the Max Blanc Institute in Germany Theodor Hansch. The forum will seek to identify the requirements and incentives for building a knowledge-based economy and the procedures to put it into action in the Kingdom through encouraging the government's role and developing relations between organizations, and to develop a knowledge ecosystem by improving the role of the government and institutional relationships. Five key topics of discussion will be the focus of the three days of the forum, concentrating on developing investment in the knowledge-based economy and promoting its culture. The first area will be investment in human resources and the role of society in encouraging creativity and innovation, with the second looking at legislation related to promoting creativity and investment, the introduction of technology, and protecting intellectual ownership. The third area will focus on investment and financing, government financing and the provision of infrastructure and the role of the private sector, while the fourth focal point of discussion will consist in the complementary roles played by the public and private sectors in development and investment, coordination between entrepreneurial programs and projects and international relations. The fifth and final discussion point will look at the role of research in applied science, science oases and technology regions, centers of creativity and invention, and the strengthening of technology. The forum will also see discussion and training workshops held on its sidelines covering a wide range of related areas, including steps towards setting up small businesses and the complementary functions of supporting bodies, as well as promoting awareness in students and society at large for engaging with a knowledge-based society. Wadi Al-Riyadh Technology Company is the investment arm of King Saud University and works to recruit local and international companies for investment in advanced technologies, the promotion of scientific research at the university, the employment of their capabilities in the development of companies with a scientific grounding, and the provision of high-quality facilities.
