KUWAIT: Kuwait Science Club (KSC) will be hosting the 11th International Invention Fair in the Middle East from Jan 27 to 30, 2019. The fair is being held under the patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. This was announced during a press conference held at the KSC premises on Monday.
Secretary General of KSC Ali Juma appreciated the generous sponsorship of HH the Amir for this fair since the first edition in 2007. “This generous support has made this fair rank as the second biggest and most popular fair for inventors in the world. KSC organizes this fair as part of its strategy that aims to support and develop the creativity of inventors,” he noted during the conference.
This fair has many benefits. “The main purpose of this fair is to bring the inventors and investors together. Through organizing this fair, we give an opportunity to Kuwaiti inventors to meet other inventors from all over the world and exchange their experiences. KSC is morally and financially supporting the inventors to turn their creative ideas into inventions. It also helps them meet investors who may transfer their inventions into commercial projects,” added Juma.
The winning inventions will receive valuable prizes. “The total value of the prizes is around $50,000. The main prize is $15,000, KSC’s prize is $10,000, the International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva presents a $5,000 prize and the GCC Patent Office presents 50,000 Saudi riyals, in addition to a prize presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization and another prize by the International Federation of Inventors’ Associations,” concluded Juma.
Investment and marketing opportunity
Treasurer of KSC Aws Al-Nisef said that the main reason for holding the International Invention Fair in the Middle East is to offer an investment and marketing opportunity for Kuwaiti inventions to be realized. In the past, the Kuwaiti inventors did not find support or adoption for their inventions to develop into commercial projects, but today they do. From here we inspired the title of the fair – ‘Investors meeting the Inventors’,” he explained.
“I invite businessmen, producers, universities and institutions that are willing to adopt inventions to come and visit this fair, as they will find top inventions presented by creative Kuwaiti and international inventors. Also, this fair spreads the culture of inventing among the community, in addition to strengthening the relations between inventors and different companies and authorities,” Nisef added.
Head of Development and Competitive Programs Sector at KSC Dr Mohammed Al-Saffar noted that participation in the fair is still open. “Currently we don’t have the exact number of participants, as we are still accepting registrations, but we expect the number to be higher than last year. The huge attendance in this fair in the past years reflects its success. We started preparing for this huge event from the end of the previous fair,” he pointed out.
The participating inventions must follow certain criteria. “The judging committee consists of specialists from the field with long experience from different institutions and nationalities. Different criteria will be considered for the inventions, including the time since the invention was made, its creativity and ability to be marketed. Also, judges will consider the importance of the invention and which category it serves. The winners will be awarded on the last day of the fair,” Saffar said.
By Nawara Fattahova
