The European Photonics Industry Consortium (EPIC) recently organised a delegation to Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the Technology Innovation Institute (TII). TII was the first entity based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to approach EPIC for consortium membership; with ongoing projects in photonics, and the institute’s Directed Energy Research Center (DERC) has identified several EPIC-affiliated companies for potential partnerships in procurement, collaboration, and business opportunities.