What can Utah learn from Dubai when it comes to preparing for the future?

Editor’s Note: David Eccles School of Business Associate Dean and Deseret News Contributor Natalie Gochnour joined a delegation of business and community leaders on a trade mission to Israel and the United Arab Emirates led by the Utah World Trade Center (UAE). Here’s an insider’s take on what happened at the trade mission in part four of a six-part series.

Dubai is proud to announce to all who will listen: “The future is here.” The Utah delegation’s first day in Dubai was a journey to the future.

The delegation was divided into six groups, plus several one-on-one business meetings and a side trip to Qatar.I travel with me Governor Spencer Cox Visit the Dubai Future Foundation and its labs, meet the Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy, visit the Museum of the Future, and then have lunch with the Deputy Minister of Economy. In the evening, the US-UAE Business Council held a reception with the Utah delegation.

There is a lot to cover in a day. Below are my highlights and lessons for Utah leaders.

Abraham Accords

landmark Abraham Accords I’ve been present at almost every conference I’ve attended in Israel and the UAE. The historic agreement recognizes the State of Israel and normalizes diplomatic relations between the UAE and Israel, as well as Sudan and Morocco. Before the deal, you couldn’t even fly from Tel Aviv to Dubai. The World Trade Center Utah, led by Miles Hansen, organized the trade mission to take advantage of this new opportunity.

The AI ​​minister told us that many of the papers around the world aim to help countries “tolerate each other”. He said the Abraham Accords went deeper. They are designed to help everyone who signs up “be better”. He told us that people initially thought normalization would take three to four years. Instead, it took days. “It’s like meeting a cousin. … This is just the beginning,” the minister said.

What’s the lesson for Utah leaders?

Beyond difference. See the future.I can see this principle applied to topics like Utah Inland Portthe federal government and public lands, Homeless Services and interreligious relations in our country.

Dubai Future Foundation

We toured a robotics lab equipped with computers, 3D printers, motion trackers, robotic platforms, welding and milling stations, and other assembly and fabrication equipment needed to build and maintain robots. The tour guide proudly declared: “We make robots, tea and coffee.” I noticed that we had a tour group before and after. Dubai is clearly sharing its vision for the future with the world.

What’s the lesson for Utah leaders?

Build platforms to tell Utah’s stories. We haven’t done enough to communicate Utah’s capabilities and success to the world.Consider presenting Utah’s innovation ecosystem in an open, compelling and iconic way mountain development and in other places.

artificial intelligence

Cox meets AI, the digital economy and remote work Applications in the UAE.

Al Olama explained to us that in 830 AD, the Arab world was full of intellectual activity, including the famous House of Wisdom, attracting thinkers from all over the world. However, by 1455, when the printing press was invented, the Arab world had not adopted this innovation at the same rate as the rest of the world. “We don’t want to make the same mistake again,” Al Olama said.

That’s why the UAE is embracing AI so seriously, he said. “Artificial intelligence will change the world,” he said. “If you don’t embrace it, you’ll be left behind.” He then went on to describe how they started teaching AI in fifth grade. By ninth grade, students are “coding seriously.”

What’s the lesson for Utah leaders?

Bet on the future by incorporating coding early into Utah’s public school curriculum and never stop. The future success of our residents and our state will be based on talent. We have to cultivate this kind of talent in schools.

Museum of the Future

Housed in what some call the most beautiful building on Earth, this extraordinary museum invites visitors to visit, touch and shape our collective future. Its premise is simple: through a journey into the possible future, humanity can bring more hope and knowledge to the present.

They handed us “tickets to the future,” introduced us to a digital avatar, and took us through several possible futures, including the docking of an orbiting space station and a sustainability/healing earth institute (completed A simulation of the Amazon forest) . Avatars live in museums and often call us “pioneers”. We were invited to become “citizen scientists” and visited the genetic code repository. There is a famous quote in one exhibit: “The ancestors planted the seed, and the dead enjoyed the shade.” All in all, the museum is excellent.

What’s the lesson for Utah leaders?

Embrace the future. Recognize that we are not bystanders, but active participants in the future. Whether it is water conservancy planning, air quality Improve, housing affordability Or socioeconomic disparities, sowing more seeds for future success.

Qatar tour

Utah Senate President Stuart Adams and CEO of World Trade Center Utah Miles Hansen Fly to Doha, Qatar to meet the country’s leaders and discuss opportunities for strategic partnerships involving higher education, investment and innovation.

Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, CEO of Qatar Foundation (Emir of Qatar/Sister of King Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani) is committed to establishing higher education exchange programmes for students, teachers and interns, Create more opportunities for Utahians to study and work in Qatar and give Qataris first-hand experience the Utah way.

The leaders of Qatar Investment Authority, Qatar’s $445 billion sovereign wealth fund, share their investment priorities and discuss how the Utah World Trade Center can facilitate investment between Utah companies/funds and investment authorities.

The Deputy CEO of the Qatar Financial Center has pledged to visit Utah in 2023 to meet with Utah companies to discuss opportunities to do business in Qatar and to seek contracts and investments from Qatari businesses and government agencies.

The Utah group went to the U.S. embassy to discuss ways the embassy could support Utah companies vying for important contracts in Qatar.

Ed Rowe, CEO of the Sterling Foundation of Utah, Jeff McGhie, General Counsel of the Sterling Foundation, and Dominic Genetti, President of Exxon Mobility Qatar, a native of Utah, joined Adams and Hansen in Doha the meeting.

What’s the lesson for Utah leaders?

Engage! The world is open to business. When you participate, the world becomes smaller and opportunities become greater. This is what success looks like.

Natalie Gochnour is associate dean and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah.