UAE@51: Watch the UAE inventor leading Dubai’s cybersecurity strategy

No wonder the 1982-born Emirati leads Dubai’s cybersecurity strategy, R&D agenda and policy, is the sole Arab representative to the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Cybersecurity Council since 2020, and enjoys the rare privilege of being a peer invited to serve Reviewer, World Bank Cloud Computing Group.

What’s more, the PhD holder is the inventor of two patents on memory management and cloud computing, and dreams of seeing her ‘Made in UAE’ equipment earn high salaries at home and abroad sooner rather than later.

Dr Bushra is very humble about all of her achievements, and she attributes her success to the leadership of the UAE. Her role model is His Highness Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, whose motto “nothing is impossible” has become her motto.

“It’s true that nothing is impossible thanks to leadership empowerment. It’s a matter of believing in your skills and taking the right opportunities,” she explains.

As a prime example, she spoke of how seriously global institutions such as the World Economic Forum and the World Bank are taking what officials like her say today, as the UAE makes incredible strides in cybersecurity and artificial intelligence.

“From 30th in the Global Web Index three years ago, the fact that the UAE ranks fourth today is a huge achievement,” said Dr Bushra.

She added that even in the World Bank Cloud Computing Group, a fixed framework for developed countries, the example of Dubai was cited as the best practice in cloud computing and digital services.

Dr. Bushra has published numerous papers and participated in numerous national and international conferences, and is currently a member of several advisory boards and committees around the world.

Bushra believes she has gotten to where she is because she keeps challenging herself. She recalls earning a bachelor’s degree in software engineering in 2000 as part of the first cohort of students at the University of the Emirates’ IT Faculty. Also in 2010, when she was working for a transit entity, she comfortably took on the role of IT Manager Public Transit Initiative, but she quit her job to pursue a Masters in Public Administration from MBRSG in partnership with Harvard University. She then went on to earn a Masters in Information Security and a PhD in Electrical Engineering for Cloud Security from Khalifa University.

There has been no looking back since then, she said, stressing the importance of upskilling. In fact, as part of DESC’s Digital Skills Internal Committee, her focus was on creating a complete skills framework for Dubai’s digital workgroups, in addition to creating a skills framework for universities and schools to meet demand for upskilling people.

This is not rhetoric, as Dr. Bushra continues to identify needs. “Digital Dubai recently commissioned a study of its own to understand the current and future level of demand and demand for digital skills in Dubai. The Digital Skills Employer Survey surveyed 15,812 ICT workers across 522 establishments across 17 different economic activities ,” she said, adding how the initiative could help identify digital skills gaps related to predefined ICT categories.

“Whether you’re a student or a parent, whether you work in IT or not, it’s important to acquire more digital skills,” she said, noting that everything she does is aimed at making sure this happens.

Now, as a mother of six, how does Dr. Bushra manage it all? How does she cater to the demands of her children and achieve a work-life balance? “I try to do my best and encourage my kids – five girls and a boy – to do the same. The oldest is a freshman in college and the youngest is three. I tell them to set their own goals and achieve them what they really want.”

Apart from personal responsibility, giving back to the community and country is a must, no matter the field, she said.

Personally, her work is her passion. “Even in my free time, I read books about cybersecurity and how we can keep up with other countries. It’s always on the back of my mind.”

As a parting shot, she had a word of caution: “Never trust that you won’t be hacked. Cybersecurity is a shared responsibility — and if we don’t realize it as individuals, we could be just the weakest link in a cyber disaster.”