Under the high patronage of HE Mr. Cesar Abi Khalil, Minister of Energy and Water, the TICKET research laboratory, as well as the Faculty of Engineering at Antonine University, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with BMW Group on Wednesday, April 18, 2018, at the Hadat-Baabda campus.

This Memorandum of Understanding is the culmination of a successful relationship between UA and BMW Group that started three years ago. The signing took place during a panel entitled “Innovation-Driven Economy”, moderated by Dr. Georges Chalhoub. It brough together Dr. Dirk Dreher, Vice-President and Director of Logistics Organization at BMW Group; HE Demianos Kattar, former Minister of Economy and Trade and member of the Board of Trustees of UA; and Mr. Pierre Kanaan, Executive Director of the Legal Department at Banque du Liban.
HE Mr. Abi Khalil was also present, as well as Fr. Michel Jalakh, Rector of UA; Fr. Toufic Maatouk, General Secretary of UA; and other engineering professionals, academics, and students.

On this occasion, a documentary on the collaboration between the TICKET research laboratory and BMW Group was screened, and during which Dr. Chady Abou Jaoudé, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, and Dr. Bechara Al Bouna, Director of the laboratory mentioned respectively the relationship between the two institutions.

In his speech, Fr. Michel Jalakh stated that one of the University's missions is to promote research, saying, “Research priorities include subjects linked to Middle Eastern societies. On the other hand, when it comes to technology and engineering issues, all geographic boundaries collapse and the whole world becomes our context. For this reason, we have established international research partnerships such as BMW”.
He added, "We meet today to discuss a new economic paradigm where innovation is the main engine of growth. It is indeed a very precious opportunity for countries like ours, where human capital is our main wealth. In my opinion, investing in innovation and relying on the talents of our exceptional young researchers is the ideal path to economic prosperity and social development".

For his part, the VP of the BMW Group stated, “We live in a world that is undergoing rapid change. Issues such as big data, privacy, and autonomous driving are becoming increasingly important today. To keep pace with these technologies, a company like BMW Group has to build partnerships such as the present one. As part of our partnership with UA, we are aiming to support technology, to transform our beliefs into action, and to keep progressing".

For his part, Minister Abi Khalil replied, “Knowledge economy is a system of consumption and production based on intellectual capital. Indeed, organizations and individuals acquire, create, disseminate, and use their knowledge more effectively for maximum social development”.
He added that in 2013, Lebanon launched, through its Central Bank, the first set of funds aimed at financing innovative start-ups, consequently building the foundations of a new knowledge-based economic sector.
“This is the reason why this sector has evolved considerably in Lebanon, thus attracting a large number of university graduates and young entrepreneurs". […] Finally, he stressed that economic growth and job creation in Lebanon should be based on innovation, technology, and knowledge.