Our team is built to make systemic change possible. We convene unlikely partners, design challenge-led programmes, and translate innovation into real-world adoption. With expertise spanning policy, partnerships, pilots, and commercialisation, we connect the dots between research, industry, and government — and turn them into large-scale, global outcomes.

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Our role & capabilities

The Urban Lab’s primary role is to convene government, industry, and academia to design and deliver large-scale urban impact programmes with commercial and global reach. By aligning regulation, innovation, and investment, we create pathways for solutions to move from concept to global market adoption.

Our Role

  • Build a dynamic ecosystem — from PhD to Plc — where research, startups, corporates, and supply chains co-locate, co-invest, and grow within one city.

  • Anchor Expo’s global proposition: partners don’t just test here, they establish headquarters, labs, and supply chains that serve the wider region.

  • Operate the city-wide testbed at Expo City, enabling partners to prove solutions under real urban conditions.

  • Shape adaptive regulations in collaboration with UAE ministries, ensuring innovations can scale safely and effectively.

  • Act as a platform for commercialisation — moving partners from pilot to procurement, replication, and international rollout.

Our Capabilities

  • Partnerships: Deep collaborations with corporates, governments, NGOs, and universities.

  • Government Access: Curated connections to UAE leadership and regulators, shaping policy and market pathways.

  • Ecosystem Platform: Spaces and programmes linking research, innovation, and policy to adoption and business growth.

  • Pilots: Rapid-impact projects for immediate change; consortium projects tackling systemic urban challenges.

  • Commercialisation: Replicating proven innovations across Expo City, the UAE, and international partner cities.

Our services

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