Ahlia University and SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (2020–2025)

Ahlia University in Bahrain has demonstrated a robust commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) through numerous initiatives and partnerships since 2020. These efforts span collaborative research with industry and government, support for entrepreneurship, investments in modern infrastructure, the promotion of technology transfer, and active engagement of students and the broader community. The following report highlights Ahlia University’s key contributions in each of these areas, backed by evidence from 2020 onward, in alignment with the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings criteria for SDG 9.

Research and Industry Collaboration

Ahlia University has pursued strategic research partnerships with both local and international industries and government bodies to drive innovation. Notably, in 2021 the university signed two Memoranda of Understanding with global technology company Huawei. This partnership established a Huawei ICT Academy on campus and formed a research group focused on the Internet of Things (IoT) as part of Ahlia’s pilot project “Sustainability and Life Quality in Smart Bahrain Cities” newsofbahrain.com . The collaboration brings advanced smart solutions into the university’s research centers and provides specialized ICT courses and certification programs for students and faculty through Huawei’s academy program (HAINA) newsofbahrain.com . Such industry-linked research initiatives not only enhance Ahlia’s research capabilities but also align with national innovation goals.

In addition to international collaborations, Ahlia has forged partnerships with government agencies to support research and societal development. For example, Ahlia University signed a mutual MoU with the Bahrain Institute for Political Development (BIPD) aimed at jointly promoting academic research and student awareness in areas of national development ahlia.edu.bh . This agreement facilitates knowledge exchange and training programs, with Ahlia’s faculty providing expertise for BIPD activities while the institute offers workshops for Ahlia students on civic engagement and policy topics ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Such collaborations illustrate Ahlia’s role in multi-sector partnerships that address local challenges through research-based solutions. Furthermore, the university’s long-standing academic partnerships (e.g. with Brunel University London and George Washington University) also bolster its research output and industry relevance ahlia.edu.bh , but Ahlia’s impact on SDG9 is most evident in the direct industry linkages that inform its curricula and research agendas. Through these alliances, Ahlia ensures that research is applied to real-world needs – from IoT applications to public policy – thereby fostering innovation and supporting sustainable industrial development.

Entrepreneurship and Innovation Support

Entrepreneurship and innovation are actively promoted at Ahlia University through dedicated centers, programs, and external collaborations. The Ahlia Centre for Entrepreneurship (ACE), established in 2017, leads many of these efforts. ACE provides workshops, mentorship, and incubation support to students and aspiring entrepreneurs, both within the university and in the wider Bahraini community ahlia.edu.bh . Its mission is to cultivate a new generation of entrepreneurs who can drive economic diversification, in line with Bahrain’s Vision 2030. To achieve this, the center works closely with key economic agencies and funding entities – bringing together the Ministry of Industry & Commerce, Tamkeen (Bahrain’s labor fund), Bahrain Development Bank, the Chamber of Commerce , and others – to build the capacity of student innovators ahlia.edu.bh . Through these collaborations, Ahlia offers its students entrepreneurship training, access to financing opportunities, and exposure to industry mentors, creating an enabling ecosystem for startup creation.

Ahlia University also hosts events and programs that directly support venture creation and innovation. In 2022, the university launched the Ahlia Invention Centre (AIC) as an on-campus innovation hub open to both Ahlia members and external innovators. In March 2022 the AIC, in cooperation with startup accelerator Brinc and telecom partner Batelco, organized the “We Invent” Hackathon – a nation-wide innovation competition ahlia.edu.bh . This three-day hackathon invited inventors from across Bahrain (each team including at least one Ahlia student) to develop smart technology solutions, with objectives to discover local talent, improve participants’ software development skills, and create applications addressing real-world challenges ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . By hosting such inclusive events, Ahlia provides students and young entrepreneurs practical experience in innovation and connects them with industry experts. The Invention Centre and hackathons exemplify Ahlia’s hands-on approach to entrepreneurship support: students receive mentorship from faculty and industry during the project development, and top projects are recognized and often guided towards implementation. Additionally, Ahlia regularly collaborates with Tamkeen and other economic development agencies to support student innovators. For instance, in July 2023 the College of Business & Finance hosted a Tamkeen seminar titled “Tamkeen as a Major Ecosystem Component for Bahraini Entrepreneurs,” featuring a senior Tamkeen manager sharing insights and resources with students on how to grow startups in Bahrain ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Such initiatives indicate Ahlia’s strong support infrastructure for entrepreneurship, ranging from academic courses in business creation to extracurricular competitions and industry networking events.

Infrastructure Development

Significant investment in sustainable and digital infrastructure underpins Ahlia University’s efforts in innovation and quality education. The university continuously upgrades its campus facilities to meet the needs of 21st-century learning and research. This includes building state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories equipped with modern technology . Ahlia’s campus features smart classrooms, well-equipped labs, and digital learning tools that create an interactive, tech-enabled learning environment ahlia.edu.bh . These facilities support advanced research and give students hands-on experience with emerging technologies, from computing and engineering hardware to data science software. For example, engineering and IT students benefit from specialized labs with industry-standard equipment, which were further enhanced by partnerships like the Huawei ICT Academy (which provided cutting-edge networking equipment and training tools to the campus) ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Access to such technology on campus prepares students for the digital transformation occurring in industry and helps bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application.

In addition to educational facilities, Ahlia has embraced digital infrastructure and smart systems to improve its operations and services. During the 2020–2021 period, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the university expanded its e-learning platforms and invested in IT infrastructure to ensure seamless remote and hybrid learning. All classrooms are now smart-enabled, and the university library provides digital access to over 128 international research databases to support innovation and research across disciplines ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Ahlia’s strategic plan explicitly aims to “maintain and develop campus infrastructure as appropriate for a 21st century modern university” ahlia.edu.bh , reflecting ongoing projects to upgrade facilities (for instance, recent refurbishments of science labs and creation of collaborative innovation spaces). Notably, the establishment of the Ahlia Invention Centre facility in 2022 provided a new dedicated space on campus for innovation activities. The AIC is outfitted as a fabrication and prototyping lab (“innovation and invention fab”) open to students and external innovators, allowing them to design and test prototypes with the university’s resources ahlia.edu.bh . By investing in such physical and digital infrastructure – from smart campus technology to research labs and innovation centers – Ahlia University ensures that both students and faculty have the tools and environment needed to foster innovation and support industry-relevant learning. These infrastructure upgrades also contribute to sustainability, as modern facilities are designed for efficiency and the university explores smart solutions (like the planned Smart Campus initiative in line with Bahrain’s digital government goals) to reduce waste and optimize resource use. Overall, Ahlia’s infrastructure development strengthens the nexus between academia and industry, creating a platform for cutting-edge research, practical training, and collaborative innovation in alignment with SDG 9.

Technology Transfer and Commercialization

Ahlia University actively encourages the translation of research and innovations into practical applications . Through its Deanship of Graduate Studies and Research and centers like AIC, the university has put in place mechanisms to support technology transfer, intellectual property creation, and even the launch of spin-off ventures. The Ahlia Invention Centre’s mission is explicitly to harness invention and innovation for sustainable economic growth – “creating original IP leading to a new order of sustainable wealth creation” as a foundation for Bahrain’s future economy ahlia.edu.bh . In practice, this means guiding students and faculty in developing patentable ideas, providing mentorship on the commercialization process, and connecting innovators with industry partners or investors. The AIC and Entrepreneurship Center run workshops on topics such as protecting intellectual property, developing business plans, and pitching to stakeholders. Several faculty research projects in recent years have had applied outcomes; for example, Ahlia researchers in the College of Engineering have worked on smart city solutions (under the Huawei-partnered IoT research pilot) with the intent to deploy these innovations in local urban infrastructure ahlia.edu.bh . Likewise, business faculty have produced research on FinTech and digital economies that has potential for commercialization in Bahrain’s financial sector ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Ahlia supports these efforts by providing internal research grants and recognizing faculty and student innovations that show market potential.

Figure: Ahlia Invention Centre’s structured idea development framework for nurturing innovators. The Ahlia Invention Centre (AIC) serves as the hub for technology transfer activities. Open to the public, the AIC fosters a culture of innovation by welcoming inventors from both within and outside the university to collaborate ahlia.edu.bh . It offers a structured pipeline for developing ideas into prototypes and ultimately into viable products or startups. Participants in AIC programs receive guidance through all stages of innovation – from ideation and design to prototyping and testing – with input from faculty experts and industry mentors. This process (illustrated above) ensures that creative ideas are refined and evaluated for real-world feasibility at each step. By networking innovators with experienced practitioners and providing training in agile development methods, the AIC improves the “innovation readiness” of projects ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . In several cases, promising student projects have evolved into entrepreneurial ventures under the mentorship of the AIC and ACE. While specific patent and licensing counts are still growing, the infrastructure Ahlia has built is laying the groundwork for future spin-offs and licensed technologies to emerge from its research. Importantly, any technologies or solutions developed through university projects are often shared with the community or industry partners for implementation. For instance, during the 2022 “We Invent” hackathon, solutions developed for public services (such as a safety monitoring app) were showcased to relevant industry judges for potential adoption in the market instagram.com . This exemplifies Ahlia’s role in not only generating innovative ideas but also in proactively transferring those innovations beyond campus. By promoting applied research, facilitating patentable work, and creating avenues for commercialization, Ahlia University significantly contributes to SDG 9’s target of upgrading technological capabilities and fostering innovation in the region.

Student and Community Engagement

Ahlia University’s initiatives under SDG 9 place a strong emphasis on engaging students and the broader community in industry-related experiences . All undergraduate students at Ahlia are exposed to practical industry environments through a structured internship program. As part of the curriculum, every bachelor’s program includes a credited internship (course “INTR 400”) that students typically undertake in their third or fourth year ahlia.edu.bh . The university’s Directorate of Professional Relations coordinates with a wide network of public and private sector organizations to secure meaningful internship placements for students across various industries ahlia.edu.bh . During 2020–2024, Ahlia students interned in sectors ranging from banking and telecommunications to healthcare and design, applying their academic knowledge to real workplace projects. Each student intern is jointly supervised by a workplace mentor and an Ahlia faculty member to ensure the experience is educational and aligned with learning outcomes ahlia.edu.bh . This close supervision and evaluation process not only helps students gain practical skills and professional connections, but often leads to job offers – many Ahlia graduates secure employment with their host companies upon completing the internship ahlia.edu.bh . Through these internships, hundreds of students have contributed fresh ideas to local businesses and industries since 2020, embodying the SDG 9 spirit of linking education with industry innovation.

Beyond internships, students regularly participate in industry-linked projects, competitions, and community programs . Ahlia encourages students to take part in innovation competitions such as hackathons (e.g. the AIC “We Invent” hackathon discussed earlier) and national contests. For example, Ahlia student teams have excelled in events like the Khalid bin Hamad Innovation in AI Competition, where they won awards for proposing AI-based solutions ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . These experiences let students work on cutting-edge technologies and solve practical problems, often under mentorship from industry experts. Ahlia also integrates community engagement into its innovation agenda by opening certain facilities and resources to the public . The Ahlia Invention Centre, as noted, welcomes external innovators – meaning local entrepreneurs, school students, or professionals can attend its workshops or use its “fab lab” resources alongside Ahlia students ahlia.edu.bh . Similarly, the university frequently hosts public lectures, expert panels, and conferences on topics of industry and infrastructure. Notably, Ahlia organized the International Conference on the Fourth Industrial Revolution and Beyond in January 2022, which brought together international academics, industry leaders, students, and the Bahraini public to discuss emerging technologies and innovation policy ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . By making such events open to students and the wider community, Ahlia provides a platform for knowledge sharing and skills development beyond the classroom. Community members gain access to the university’s research labs and tools during open days and collaborative projects , for instance in joint initiatives with local schools or through partnerships like the Huawei ICT Academy which allows any Bahraini learners to benefit from ICT training at Ahlia ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . This inclusive approach ensures that the university’s resources in innovation and infrastructure support not only its own students but also the upskilling of the broader society.

In summary, Ahlia University’s engagement with students and the community under SDG 9 is characterized by real-world learning opportunities and public access to educational innovation. From on-the-job training via internships to inviting the community into its innovation ecosystem, Ahlia is helping to build human capacity and societal readiness for an industrially innovative future. These efforts strengthen the linkages between academia, industry, and the public – a crucial aspect of sustainable development in line with SDG 9.

Conclusion

Through the initiatives detailed above, Ahlia University has established itself as a proactive contributor to Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure development in Bahrain. The university’s collaborative research with industry partners and government agencies has led to practical innovations (such as smart city research and ICT skill programs) that benefit the economy newsofbahrain.com ahlia.edu.bh . Its robust support for entrepreneurship – via training centers, hackathons, and mentorship – is cultivating a new generation of innovators and startup founders in the country ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Meanwhile, ongoing investments in modern, sustainable infrastructure (from smart classrooms to invention labs) provide the foundation for high-quality education and research ahlia.edu.bh . Ahlia’s focus on technology transfer is evident in the creation of pathways for ideas to become impactful solutions or enterprises ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Finally, by deeply engaging students and the community in these processes (through internships, public workshops, and open access to facilities), the university ensures inclusive participation in innovation-driven development ahlia.edu.bh ahlia.edu.bh . Overall, Ahlia University’s aligned actions since 2020 demonstrate a comprehensive and measurable impact on SDG 9, underlining its role as an academic institution driving industry collaboration, fostering innovation, and building resilient infrastructure for a sustainable future.