Established in 2009, TICKET Lab contributes to the development of research themes primarily focused on the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). This sector has been recognized as one of the key driving forces for Lebanon’s economy. It is a fast-growing sector, and its positive performance has benefitted from investments in the telecom infrastructure and the tech industry.

Research in the ICT sector must be given more importance than it is today. Research is the only way to accurately identify the current ICT needs and challenges faced by both students and professionals in Lebanon. While there is a lot of research being conducted, more is required to find the best ways to logically integrate ICT into various applications to increase business effectiveness and efficiencies and bridge the gap between the academics and the industry.

TICKET Lab. built a tight collaboration with the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour and the University of Franche-Comté to enroll Ph.D. students under co-supervision partnerships and insource research strategies that drive results.

At TICKET Lab. we consider that it is important to put aside the traditional mapping of innovation as a linear process. And start implementing a human-centered approach that can ensure innovation that is not just driven by data or hard science alone. Innovation and research for both the industry and the human-centered activities set a counterbalance that puts the human and social imperatives ahead of anything else and drives the innovation focus deep into a corporation, thereby creating an attitude and culture that is open to knowledge, knowledge sharing, and collaborative knowledge generation within and outside the organization.

At TICKET Lab. we foresee the growing need for companies and universities to acknowledge and understand how working in collaborative technology research can contribute to the transformation of applied research in technical innovations that can transform our society. Companies and universities must understand that only through joint efforts in collaborative technological research can the invested financial resources be accepted as qualified and published articles, and be turned into technological innovations that are accepted by the market. Such investments open the door for the introduction of new educational technologies; 1) skills development in students and staff and 2) return new services, products, and technologies that will have a local, regional, and international impact.

It is only through this method that we introduce new types of business and new markets, which will yield an economic impact in the country and generate innovation and social well-being.

TICKET Lab. has signed long-term relationships with BMW Group – Munich and Faurecia to develop students’ skills that meet the companies’ requirement in innovation-related use-cases. TICKET Lab. is also involved in the development of proofs-of-concepts for several Lebanese companies including inmind.ai, and Dermandar to encourage knowledge transfer of innovation-related activities in research and development.

Finally, there is no doubt that Lebanon is making progress toward being a technological hub. With TICKET Lab, we move toward hastening the process and take the necessary steps to get where we intend to be.

Georges Bader

Director