• 1185 applications from 34 countries, including 24 healthcare winners
• H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa: “ADDED provides support to inventors through The Technology and Innovators Pioneers Program (TIP) in order to enhance the environment for innovation and build a knowledge economy”

Abu Dhabi, 23 December 2019: The Technology Innovation Pioneers (TIP), an initiative launched by the UAE Ministry of Economy and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), announced the winning inventors Mr. Ahmad Al Hamadi and Mr. Wissam Kamaleddine, two of the 24 inventors who have received awards at the first edition of TIP Healthcare 2018, to turn their ideas into a marketable product.

Since its inception in 2017, the Technology Innovation Pioneers (TIP) program has achieved great success locally and internationally, so far 1185 applications from 34 countries have been received, including 24 winning entries in the fields of “Healthcare” and “Environment”, where each winning applicant has a unique opportunity to communicate with entrepreneurs, specialized leaders, main influencers and decision makers in this field, at the local and international levels.

His Excellency Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman, ADDED, received the winners of the first edition of the 'TIP Healthcare award 2018' at his office, where he expressed his congratulations to them, stressing on Abu Dhabi Government’s keenness to support innovation and inventors.

His Excellency said that the Department is keen on providing support to inventors through the Technology Innovation Pioneers program (TIP) with the aim of enhancing the innovation environment and building a knowledge economy based on modern technological solutions that add value to the local product.

The winners highlighted that the TIP initiative offered an unmatched platform to present and pitch their creative ideas and inventions to leading local and international investors who have turned their small-scale concepts into commercially viable solutions in the UAE, and soon, across the globe.

Ahmad Al Hamadi, inventor of the Advanced Urinary Catheter, explained: “The invention is a result of my need to solve a personal problem by providing a catheterization that limits the risk of leakage and infection – common problems that current urinary catheters in the market suffer from - while avoiding discomfort and resentment from unnecessary urethral disorder.”

Al Hamadi, a UAE national and resident of Abu Dhabi, further highlighted that “TIP allowed me to finalize the patent procedures and see my idea developed for market use. It makes me proud that I am able to collaborate with the UAE’s ambition to be a global solution provider and part of Abu Dhabi’s community of inventors.”

According to Wissam Kamaleddine, inventor of the Hospital Location Technology Implementation, “The TIP initiative is testament of the country’s commitment to accelerate the development of technology and innovation in the UAE. Through TIP, we were able to connect with the country’s largest hospital group and we are actually near the end of our first implementation.”

Kamaleddine explained that the invention is akin to a hospital internal GPS, it will help hospitals manage their internal processes, run better, and ultimately provide better care with a healthy return on investment.

He said: “Using location technology, the hospital will be able to know, in real-time, where the patients are, where the staff is, where the equipment is – optimizing its usage - and integrate all of the data into their procedures to help run the hospital better.” Kamaleddine further adds “We are essentially giving nurses more time to spend with patients, helping hospitals improve their operations by working out where bottlenecks and delays are, and giving the hospital the ability to even identifying if a patient has been left alone too long.”

Since its inception in 2017, the TIP initiative has exhibited great success locally and internationally. To date, it has received 1,185 applications from 34 countries, with 24 winning submissions across the healthcare and environment fields. Each winning applicant has had the unique opportunity to network with local and international industry-specific leaders, key influencers, and decisions makers.

Individuals, organizations and start-ups from all over the world have submitted their proposals to meet the challenges of this year in the areas of healthcare, energy (Energetic) and environmental technology (EnviroTech) to address the predetermined challenges. Winners will be announced during the TIP Summit in February 2020.