Qmic, CMC sign MoU on advanced mobility technologies, services

Qatar Mobility Innovations Center (Qmic) and California Mobility Center (CMC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on initiatives and activities for promoting the development and commercialisation of advanced mobility technologies and services.The collaboration was facilitated by the Office of the Commercial Attaché, Embassy of Qatar in Washington, DC, US. The MoU was signed, during a virtual event, by Qmic CEO and executive director Dr Adnan Abu Dayya and CMC chief operating officer Mark Rawson in the presence of representatives from the Qatar Embassy in the US.The MoU was announced at a showcase event held to commemorate the CMC’s first anniversary at the CMC Ramp-up Factory in Sacramento, California on March 17, where CMC board chair Arlen Orchard revealed the new partnership in front of an audience of almost 400 industry leaders from around the globe, including early-stage company founders, C-level executives and governmental dignitaries. “The MoU with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center is exciting for us because it offers enormous potential for cross-collaboration that can lead to a high-value partnership between two leading innovative institutions in the fields of intelligent mobility and smart cities,” Orchard commented.The MoU is a first step towards setting up a strategic partnership between the two leading innovative institutions in the fields of intelligent mobility and smart cities. The MoU signing was driven by the desire of both entities to explore the possibility of entering into a definitive agreement to mutually support each other’s initiatives and work collaboratively to meet both Parties partiesparty’s goals and targets.Dr Abu-Dayya commented: “We are very glad to partner with global institutions like the CMC which share our ambition and goal of building and deployment of innovative mobility systems and services. We are confident this partnership will allow us to demonstrate and benefit from the significant progress we have made in the last 10 years, in terms of technical expertise and the digital assets, to tackle mobility and smart city challenges. We believe many of the challenges are global in nature and the expertise of both the CMC and QMIC can strengthen the contributions and support of the goals of each other’s centers . We are very grateful to the staff of the Embassy of Qatar in the US for facilitating this partnership to the benefit of both parties”.As part of the MoU, the parties will conduct a number of activities including:•    Sharing information about their own strategies and programmes to support development and delivery of mobility solutions and services•    Capitalise on strengths and capabilities of each party to potentially develop joint programmes of mutual interests•    Sharing information about respective market info, key industry and R&D players, and best practices in the field of mobility and smart cities•    Access information about regional and global government funding and deployment strategies in intelligent mobility and smart cities•    Pursue opportunities to organise and host joint webinars and /events related to new and innovative mobility technologies“The CMC is advancing mobility technologies, strategies and policies for the benefit of citizens globally,” said Mark Rawson, CMC’s chief operating officer. “Partnerships like this with Qmic demonstrate the CMC’s value on a global scale, which will continue to expand as we enter the next phases of our build-out.”This important collaboration comes as part of the Qatar Embassy’s efforts to establish technological partnerships and collaborations between local Qatari and American entities to facilitate exchange of information and expertise for mutual benefit.Fahad al-Dosari, Qatar’s commercial attache to the US, commented, “The CMC-QMIC MoU is emblematic of how Qatar is leveraging US technology and expertise to further develop and diversify our economy. Indeed, this partnership is a critical component of Qatar’s digital transformation.”