India-aided tech park in Palestine becomes IASP member

An India-aided technology park at Bir Zeit University in Palestine has become a full-time member of an international network of science parks.
India has made a commitment of USD 12 million worth of investment in the Palestine-India Techno Park which is a part of New Delhi's broader framework of capacity building in Palestine.
Chair of the Board of Directors and President of Birzeit University, Abdellatif Abuhijleh, Chief Executive of the Palestine-India Techno Park (PTP), Laith Kassis, and PTP board member Alaa Alaa Eddin attended the 34th World Conference on Science Parks and Areas of Innovation in Istanbul, a statement from the university said.

The technology park is now the member of the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (IASP), a leading global network of such initiatives.
As a part of the conference, the participants took part in a specialised training that tackled issues on the design, creation, and management of science and technology parks.
"This is a platform for accumulating knowledge, gaining experience, and sharing it all in a professional atmosphere. We need to focus on learning how other countries manage and govern their technology parks, such as understanding the role of the private sector in empowering and developing the work of the parks," Abuhijleh was quoted as saying.

The Bir Zeit University head also stressed at the need to provide such projects the funding needed to conduct research, network with markets, and build concrete systems that support entrepreneurship, in cooperation with local institutions, partners from the private sector, and higher-education institutions, in addition to funders, researchers, and students.

The Palestine-India Techno Park plans to connect with Palestinian academics and institutions from the private and public sectors, in addition to non-governmental organisations, to launch new projects that can benefit the local economy.
It will also try to attract new foreign investments in the fields of technology and knowledge production, said the press release.

Besides the technology park, India has invested in opening educational institutions, extended scholarships to hundreds of Palestinian youngsters and launched several other programmes to support capacity building in Palestine.