Dammam

      Chairman of the Education Evaluation Commission, Dr. Khalid Alsabti, revealed that $17 billion devices use the internet today, while a study predicted that the number will reach $31 billion by 2020. Industrial intelligence today consumes around 30% of the data with a market size of $8 billion; however, the number is expected to reach $32 billion by 2020. In automated robot technology, 200 million robots were sold in comparison to around 400 million by 2020. 

      This was presented during the second day of the Sixth National Quality Conference on Wednesday in Dammam, organized by SASO, under the patronage of HE Minister of Trade and Investment and Chairman of SASO's Board, Dr. Majid Alqasabi, under the slogan (Quality .. the path toward excellence and leadership.)

      During a lecture titled "Innovation as a Key Driver of National Excellence", Dr. Alsabti reviewed distinctive examples for the roles of governments and private sector establishments in a number of countries including America, South Korea, China and Malaysia. 

      Dr. Alsabti explained that Switzerland comes first in the index of innovation, followed by Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and Denmark. In addition, he said that innovation is a key driver of all industrial revolutions. He also proposed SASO's vision to be a stimulator in raising the quality and efficiency of education and training in the Kingdom to the highest international standards. 

      ​Dr. Alsabti suggested developing an integrated innovation strategy in line with Vision 2030 to make innovation a major driver of national excellence, define strategic objectives based on the Kingdom's competitiveness, and align the incentives and actions of all stakeholders in the innovation system based on major objectives. In addition, the strategy would encourage national engines and develop a system of incentives for the private sector to invest in strategic areas. Furthermore, it can support coordination between the public education system, vocational training, universities, and lifelong learning to expand the circle of talent; enhance entrepreneurship and adventure spirit; and support the youth of the Kingdom to contribute to national innovation.