Dr. Jacques van der Meer, from the department of innovation and competitiveness, European investment bank visited HMCSR, during which he looked at the laboratories at the center. The Director of HMCSR, Prof. Abeer Al Bawab, addressed labs at the center and the ongoing research projects. This visit will open the door for future collaboration between HMCSR and the European investment bank.
Dr. Jacques van der Meer works as deputy economic adviser at the European Investment Bank's project director, where he is in charge of the appraisal of industrial R&D projects. His interest in intellectual capital and R&D dates back from his Ph.D. study (1987), which addressed the key issues for successful R&D- and innovation strategies in the semiconductor and pharmaceutical industries. Before joining the EIB in 1991, Jacques van der Meer lectured strategic management at the Rotterdam school of management of the Erasmus University, and the Ecole Superieure de Commerce in Lyon (nowadays EM de Lyon).
The European Investment Bank (EIB) provides long-term finance for capital investment giving concrete expression to the European Union's objectives, especially: regional development; creation of trans-European transport, telecommunications and energy transfer networks; promotion of SMEs; development of health and education infrastructure and services; environmental protection and urban renewal; and security of the Union's energy supply base. The bank also mounts operations outside the Union in the framework of Community development aid and cooperation policies benefiting more than 160 countries around the world. To this end, it raises on the markets substantial volumes of funds which it directs on the most favorable terms towards financing capital projects according with the objectives of the Union.
