«Makers of Oman» .. Ideas and innovations are living models and emerging companies

■ Cooperation with various institutions contributed to the production of a tablet device, the manufacture of a 3D printer, the establishment of a school laboratory, an electronic bag, a smart valve for oxygen, and a device to sterilize the clamps ■ Director of the Oman Makers Center: the hardware and software industry.. Soon ■ The center is working on transforming ideas The center attracts researchers from the categories of innovators, creators, inventors, entrepreneurs and university and college students

The dialogue was conducted by Mahmoud Al-Zakwani: ■ ■ The Oman Makers Center, one of the components of the Muscat Innovation Complex of the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, is working on transforming ideas and innovations into living models, contributing to the national economy, promoting sustainable development in most promising economic sectors, and providing support For all national outputs entering the labor market, as it attracts various segments of job seekers from innovators, creators, inventors and entrepreneurs, in addition to university and college students, and aims to support their innovative work, and provides them with advice and cooperation, whether when choosing their graduation projects or identifying and supporting their various projects until they are achieved And see the light on the ground. ■ ■

The Oman Makers Center has sufficient capacity to supply the national economy with emerging companies annually in various aspects and fields, in addition to empowering them in the local, regional and international markets in various countries of the world.

In this context, Al-Watan conducted a dialogue with Engineer Hilal bin Nasser Al-Shibli, Director General of the Oman Makers Center, in which he discussed the most prominent efforts and works that the Center is working on.

At the beginning, the engineer, general manager of Oman Makers Center spoke about the center, saying: The Oman Makers Center, formerly called the (Modeling) Center, is a workspace open to all, where it implements the idea of ​​open doors or what is called easily accessible, so that it is possible for all groups to reach it The target, and the segments of society, whether they are researchers, innovators, creators or retirees and from various categories of students, and the center still adopts the same policy, which is the same international approach in following open doors, due to the ease and accessibility of the center’s devices and equipment, as the world has become destined for a participatory economy in the sense that Sharing resources, workspaces, human resources, machinery and equipment, and in addition to financial flows, the center is currently working in this way and the mechanism used by us.

The most prominent contributions of (Sanaa Oman) and about the number of projects that the center contributes to implementing during the past period in various aspects and creative fields, Eng. Al-Shibli said: We have produced with our partners a number of services and products, the most prominent of which are: The smart phone (Morsal) and it is currently in the investment stage of what are called tours Investment, as it has a great resonance and interest in the local, regional and state markets, for example, such as the markets in Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran, as well as in the markets of African countries, so the idea came to produce a smartphone to suit these different markets, stressing by saying: You saw what happened during the pandemic stage of the Corona virus. Where the study was transferred to (distance) education and blended education, and therefore the Oman Makers Center, in cooperation with (Mersal) Company, contributed to the production of a tablet device (tablet) to be used in (distance) education and its use includes most groups in different educational levels.

He added: The center is also currently working and cooperating with the 3D FACTARY company to manufacture a 3D printer, and in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, and in cooperation with our partners in the private sector, specifically with (OXY) company, we succeeded in signing a work memorandum to establish a mini school laboratory in One of the schools, and through the establishment of this laboratory, we had other opportunities to assign the work and manufacture of printers to the company (3D FACTARY) and to supply electronic and mechanical parts to other specialized Omani companies. And the hopes of young people looking for work, and in order for sustainability to be available, there must be an abundance of various projects. Noting that there is also cooperation with (Oasis Company), we have produced an electronic bag, which is a bag meant to support educational curricula, and of course it was in cooperation with the Oman Oil Company Through it, we produced (100) electronic bags, and they were distributed to the visitors of the planetarium previously and now it is called (the world of knowledge), and also in cooperation with (Oasis) company in the design and production of a smart valve for oxygen to help in Except for the number of beds in emergency rooms for critical cases in hospitals as a result of the Corona virus pandemic, this project started as a research project, then we manufactured the prototype with the Sohar Production Corporation at Sohar University, and it included our cooperation with the German University to produce a room or device to sterilize the clamps used by doctors, which Previously since the start of the pandemic it was not available in abundance and had to be sterilized and reused again.

He explained that we have a plan every year to contribute to the national economy with three emerging technology companies.

Aspirations of the center in the next stage The first quarter of the current year 2022 to incubate (3) emerging technology companies and cooperate with them until the end of the year, and it is hoped that they will supply the market with their production during the next two years. He added: The Oman Makers Center is different from government investment agencies, where the center does not provide capital but rather provides Workspaces and technical support and provides machines and tools from equipment and this is called the (empowerment) process.

International Participations As for the number of projects that the center has participated in at the international level, Hilal Al-Shibli explained: We participated recently last year in the Qatar Challenge and Innovation Exhibition, in which (100) innovators from (38) countries around the world participated, and the modeling services and technical support were for these innovators. It was done through the Oman Makers Center in cooperation with our partners (3D FACTARY) who entrusted these global innovators in the global club of the country hosting the event. The pandemic, where our colleagues in the General Secretariat of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh participated in various specialized workshops in the fields concerned with intellectual property, entrepreneurship and innovation, as we had an exhibition in the State of Kuwait in the field of entrepreneurship. In two exhibitions during the past two years in the exhibition organized by the Ministry of Education (Science Week and the Scientific Olympiad), and we also participated in the Makers Fair, which was organized e (leadership).

New projects are being implemented As for the type of new projects that the center hopes to implement, he said: There are projects, but they are still not announced. They are in cooperation with one of the ministries, and the center will open new branches in the various wilayats of the Sultanate. In the first level, which is the transfer of knowledge, and also the second level was the localization of knowledge, so we are in the third level to generate knowledge, this in itself can represent a lot of institutions that need support and cooperation from the Oman Makers Center, where we have sufficient capacity for manufacturing and production in various Economic aspects and fields, as we have become a support for these stakeholders, in addition to a viable solution to the problem of supply and supply chains caused by the pandemic in the previous period of closures due to the Corona virus, as air freight and sea freight were closed..and other situations, indicating that our next stage will be ( Hardware industry) and (software) together .. and other various projects that we will publish later.

Oman Makers Centers in the Governorates Scientific and Innovation, the Ministry of Finance..and other ministries that provide logistical, infrastructural and digital support.

The most prominent challenges and difficulties On the main challenges and difficulties facing the center, the director of the Oman Makers Center said: The biggest challenge is achieving financial sustainability, and we are working hard to ensure the provision of financial income for the center, stressing that the pattern used to operate centers around the world is that the operator is paid, but here in the Sultanate the operator has not been paid Rather, he must hold a lot of educational events and activities and develop products in order to obtain a proceeds, in addition to some economic challenges such as: the Corona virus pandemic, which caused closures and financial revenues, explaining that the Oman Makers Center works in a sustainable manner in cooperation between the competent authorities and with The private sector provides the necessary support, such as machines and equipment necessary for the center, and from here we are keen to highlight the events and activities and achieve performance and indicators that rise to the level of the center. Regarding the presence of some machines, tools and devices in the center, he explained: There are a number of machines, tools and devices in the center, some of which are owned by the center and others provided by companies, the most important of which are: laser machines and 3D printers... and other machines and tools.

Ease of access to the center As for how to reach the Oman Makers Center, Eng. Hilal Al-Shibli said: There is coordination between school and university students with the management of the center, whether in terms of visits or in terms of access to the center. By communicating with us directly, all roads are easy and all doors are open to them.

In conclusion, the Director General of Oman Makers Center gave a word of thanks and said: After we were given the responsibility to entrust the management and operation of the center, and we have succeeded - praise be to God - we are proud of what has been accomplished so far. We create the knowledge society and the knowledge economy together.