RIYADH, January 16 (CIC) – King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) ranks seventh among the top 10 universities in the world in terms of the number of patents granted by the US Patent Office.
The Riyadh-based university filed 183 patents in 2017, surpassing Johns Hopkins University, Harvard College and California Institute of Technology.
The ranking was recently announced by IFI Claims Patent Services, which monitors patents filed in the US Patent Office by universities globally. Separately, the university secured 173rd rank globally in 2018, a significant improvement over the past year’s 189.
Dr Khaled Al Sultan, Rector of KFUPM, said that the university had exceeded the objectives of its strategic plan in the field of patents. The integrated innovation system is the cornerstone of the university’s success in optimising investment in its patents, he pointed out.
Dhahran Techno Valley – a wholly owned subsidiary of KFUPM – which was set up to promote a knowledge economy in Dhahran and in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, has significantly contributed to the university’s success story by focusing on excellence in basic research. This ecosystem includes KFUPM, as well as Saudi Aramco, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) and Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), technology partners and small to medium size enterprises.
Dr Sultan said the university had gone beyond focusing on patents to the selection of innovative activities in specific areas to ensure their feasibility and to develop specific methods of marketing for each of them.
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