On October 9, 2012, The Higher Center of Research and the Student Affairs Office at the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik organized a presentation session for the “CIT Innovation Voucher Project”. The presentation was delivered by a team from the Center for Innovation and Technology (CIT) and was attended by members of the USEK Council and members from all faculties. The presentation team was composed of Mr. Nagi Abou Zeid (Director of CIT), Mr. Fadi Fayad (Senior Business Advisor), Mrs. Nicole Tager, Ms. Roula Sleiman and Mr. Ramzi Bhamdouni (Business Advisors).

The Center for Innovation and Technology is a dynamic division of the Industrial Research Institute. It acts as a coordinating body between the knowledge supply of research institutions and the wishes and demands of local industry, as part of the reinforcement of private sector competitiveness in Lebanon.

The Innovation Voucher Project is designed to encourage innovation by offering useful resources for SMEs, individual researchers and research institutes to create new products, processes and services, and to come up with innovative business models. It addresses the needs of small industries that do not have the means to finance their own research and development projects or do not have the experience in collaborating with R&D centers. The voucher system grants researchers with a proposed project up to 10,000 Euros to cover costs related to consulting, research and development with its relevant simulation or prototyping.

The presentation was concluded by a debate.