Dr Yasser Al-Saleh (Masdar) UAE

Following his novel examination of the emergence of clean-tech industries, Yasser was awarded a PhD by the University of Manchester (Manchester Institute of Innovation Research which offers the world’s no. 1 doctoral programme according to the FT Rankings). He received his MSc(Eng) with Distinction from Leeds University (UK) and has completed his BSc degree in Southampton (UK) with First Class Honours. At the Innovation and Policy Initiative, Yasser manages and conduct a range of research consultancy/ training projects on topics related to measuring innovation and competitiveness dynamics, economic diversification, innovation in government, cluster lifecycles, sustainable energy industries, capacity building, impact investment, policy instruments, regulatory frameworks for renewable energy and business model innovation. Yasser has published over 30 peer-reviewed academic papers, participated in over 30 international conferences and, in 2010, he published his first book entitled The Prospects for Sustainable Innovation within Oil-rich GCC (published by WASD at the SPRU-University of Sussex). His writings appeared in top-tier journals (such as J. of Cleaner Production, Technovation, Futures, R&D Management, Science and Public Policy); working papers series of prominent organisations (including INSEAD, MIT and the Tyndall Centre); various media outlets (such as Aljazeera, Forbes, The Economic Times, The Moscow Times, The Hindu, The National, Arabian Business, The Atlantic and Project Syndicate). Yasser currently sits on the editorial boards of the following journals: Geopolitics of Energy; J. of Cleaner Production; Int. J. of Transitions and Innovation Systems; Int. J. of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development; Int. J. of Innovation and KM in MENA. Over his career, he has also served in the capacities of Researcher (Masdar-MIT), Distinguished Scientist (King Abdulaziz University), Engineer (Saudi Aramco), Country Expert (Norwegian Institute of International Affairs), Visiting Researcher (Tyndall Centre for Climate Change), Visiting Fellow (University of Brighton), Academic Advisor (Global Green Growth Institute), Consultant (EU-GCC Clean Energy Network), Panellist (Global Opportunity Network), Young Future Energy Leader (World Future Energy Summit), Assessor (various professional awards), Green Associate (LEED), Chartered Environmentalist (Energy Institute), Supervisor/Examiner (student-led research projects), Visiting Lecturer (research and innovation studies) and Adjunct Professor (teaching ‘environmental economics and policy’ at PhD-level).