Dubai’s ‘innovation talks’ spawn new ethos for tech development

DUBAI: Dubai’s public and private sector leaders came together on Monday to explore how government, business and the community can work closely with each other to create a culture of innovation in the latest ‘Innovation Talks’ series organized by the Dubai Executive Council.

Abdulla Mohammed Al Basti, Secretary-General of the Dubai Executive Council, delivered a keynote address at the three-day event that began today, highlighting the role of innovation and skills development in driving competitiveness.

“Innovation goes beyond mere technology development to identify challenges and find solutions,” said Al Basti. “Dubai has always had a comprehensive vision to shape a bright future. The late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum deepened and widened the Creek and built Jebel Ali The innovations at the Port of Dubai and Dubai Airport laid the groundwork for Dubai’s subsequent growth.”

“Following in his footsteps, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has furthered innovation in Dubai by launching major developments such as the Dubai Metro, which is currently More than 800,000 passengers are transported every day,” he said.

Al Basti added: “We must ensure that innovation becomes an integral part of our culture of excellence. Events such as the ‘Innovation Lectures’, held as part of ‘UAE Innovate 2023’, are important for dialogue and knowledge exchange between the public and private sectors platform.”

Speaking at the event, Dubai Future Foundation CEO Khalfan Belhoul praised the UAE leadership for transforming the country into a global trade and tourism hub. Speaking at the session titled “Journey to the Future of the UAE”, Belhoul said the UAE’s progressive vision has made it one of the world’s busiest aviation and shipping hubs, as well as a leading center for genomic technologies and artificial intelligence.

The Dubai Future Foundation, led by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, is launching innovative projects and events such as the Dubai Future Forum, Dubai Metaverse Forum, Dubai Future Academy, and the Million Arab Coders Initiative, He said.

Belhoul also spoke about how new developments in energy, cybersecurity, trade, digital transformation and robotics will shape humanity’s new future. He emphasized that humans will continue to be driven by innovation.

Speaking at the session titled “Innovation and the Economy in the Media Sector”, Mona Al Marri, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of Dubai Media Council and Director-General of the Media Office of the Government of Dubai, highlighted the importance of enhancing media innovation.

She highlighted how Dubai’s world-class infrastructure and the pioneering initiatives established by Sheikh Mohammed, such as Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, have contributed to fostering innovation in the city and transforming the emirate into a major technology hub.

Al Marri also spoke about how technological change is having a transformative impact on all media industries. “In the next five years, we should focus on enhancing Arabic content and adopting AI solutions like Chat GPT,” she noted.

She was joined by Malek Al Malek, Director General of Dubai Development Authority and member of the Dubai Media Council, who spoke about Dubai’s experience in building a knowledge-based economy based on five key pillars, including business-friendly legislation, building a solid foundation facilities, develop an attractive business ecosystem, provide unique services to help new industries grow, and attract global companies to drive innovation. During the meeting, Al Malek said that the UAE now ranks second in the world in terms of 5G coverage.

The “Innovation Talk” also included a session titled “Amazon’s Culture of Innovation,” in which Faisal Iqbal, Head of Innovation at Amazon Middle East and Africa, discussed how the company can encourage innovation in the workplace. During the meeting, he said: “Amazon is an organization of 160,000 startups. We operate what’s called a single-threaded leader, where each team and each leader has one strategic goal, not multiple. It fosters ownership and accountability. It also creates an organization where people are really empowered to innovate.”

In another knowledge session titled “Science and Innovation in Space,” Mohammed Al-Harmi, Senior Director of Administrative Affairs at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center (MBRSC), spoke about MBRSC’s Mars and Venus space exploration programs and How they developed for humans. He also highlighted how the center has achieved 100 percent Emiratisation.

Al Harmi also highlighted how the space sector has contributed to the development of new industries and the establishment of new companies in the country. During the meeting, he also spoke about how the UAE Astronaut Program is teaching future generations about the importance of science and innovation.

Sharina Lootah, event coordinator for UAE Innovates 2023 in Dubai, said the series of ‘Innovations Talks’ highlights the close partnership between Dubai’s public and private sectors.

“The ‘Innovation Talk’ aims to share success stories that can help others to innovate. We are very grateful for the support of the Mohammad bin Rashid Government Innovation Center. Events like this are driven by the collaboration and teamwork shown by the different players . We thank everyone who contributed to our month-long celebration of innovation,” added Lootah.

Maha Al Suwaidi, Senior Advisor, Dubai Government Excellence Program, said: “Day 1 of the ‘Innovation Lectures’ series was an exciting opportunity to showcase a variety of innovation success stories. Day 1 speakers shed light on the adoption of innovation at the corporate level and within the community Importance as a culture and added value.”

The Innovation Talks, organized by the Dubai Executive Council, brought together heads and representatives of Dubai’s government ministries, as well as experts from key private sector companies, to discuss how they can work together to develop a shared vision for the future.

The ‘Innovation Lectures’ series is part of Dubai’s participation in the eighth edition of ‘UAE Innovate 2023’, the largest national event celebrating innovation and innovators across the country, with the participation of government and private sector organisations. It emphasizes the importance of innovation, especially in providing services, improving program effectiveness and keeping pace with the latest technological developments.