"Future of Semiconductors Forum 2023" Stresses Importance of Sustainable Supply Chain to Achieve National Priorities
Jeddah, May 17, 2023, SPA -- The second edition of "Future of Semiconductors Forum 2023" was launched Tuesday at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
The Forum was organized by Research Development and Innovation Authority (RDIA) in cooperation with KAUST and King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST).
Saudi Minister of Investment, Eng. Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, attended the inauguration of the Forum, which also saw the attendance of Japanese-US Eng. Shuji Nakamura, the 2014 Nobel Prize Winner in Physics, and an elite of local and international experts and researchers.
In his opening speech, Eng. Al-Falih reviewed the Kingdom's prominent role in supporting digital investments to achieve its ambitious vision of transforming into an innovation-based economy, through national aspirations and priorities for research, development and innovation, which would enhance efforts to make the Kingdom a global hub for semiconductor innovation.
In this regard, Eng. Al-Falih pointed out that the Kingdom recently launched economic zones focusing on cloud computing, including data centers, cloud computing services, infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI).
The Minister also highlighted King Abdullah Economic City's (KAEC) hosting of the largest embracing of special economic zones, which include new sectors such as the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs).
He stated that, according to Lloyd's, the indirect value of electronic support in the sector is estimated at $2.2 trillion, stressing that the Kingdom is determined to harness the power of semiconductors to drive innovation in several sectors, and through ambitious projects such as NEOM, which is the world's first hyper-connected cognitive city.
Dr. Mounir bin Mahmoud Al-Desouki, President of KACST, and Supervisor of the founding team of RDIA, stressed that a sustainable supply chain for semiconductors is essential for the Kingdom to achieve its four national priorities in the field of research, development and innovation. These priorities are Health and Wellness; Sustainable Environment and Supply of Essential Needs; Energy and Industrial Leadership; and Economies of the Future, as previously announced by HRH the Crown Prince, and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for Research, Development, and Innovation.
The forum started with three scientific sessions, which discussed the development of the semiconductor industry, the semiconductor ecosystem in the Kingdom, as well as automotive and aerospace electronics.
The Forum will continue its events on Wednesday and Thursday, with five scientific sessions to discuss photonics, the Internet of Things: communications and sensing, emerging semiconductor technologies, hardware acceleration for machine learning, and micro-LEDs.
Those interested in the Future of Semiconductors Forum 2023 can follow its events via live broadcast by visiting the link: https://kaust.link/Dn6f.
--SPA
