Dubai: Countries around the world were given a new tool to measure, plan and develop their future policies in the form of a new Global Knowledge Index released to the public on Wednesday on the final day of Knowledge Summit in Dubai.
A joint project between United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF), the first edition of the index profiled seven sectors in 133 countries to create a tangible guide to track knowledge wealth for stronger nation building.
Switzerland topped the index scoring followed by Singapore, Finland, Sweden and Netherlands.
The UAE ranked 25th globally overall and in the economy sector was ranked second best in the world.
Of all countries in the Arab world, the UAE ranked highest, according to the report that was released early Wednesday morning at the summit venue at Dubai World Trade Centre.
In an opening panel discussion to release the report, Micheal O'Neill, Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations lauded the foundation and the UAE for delivering a valuable tool that will help guide countries to a better tomorrow.
Armed with knowledge on sectors ranging from higher education, communications, and research, development and innovation, countries can use the report to bolster areas deemed weak, he said.
“It's really impossible to overstate this. If you can't measure something, you can't manage it,” O'Neill told delegates. “If we are going to have effective policy ... we need data."
He said the new 332-page report “for the first time provides a rich set of data”.
In addition to measuring sectors, the new index looks to link science with knowledge with a view towards the United Nations 2030 Afenda for Sustainable Development, he said.
Jamal bin Huwairev, CEO of the MBRF, said the UAE can be extremely pleased with the ranking given how far the country has come since its founding in 1971.
Educated, informed people make wiser choices when they have the latest information to meet a challenge without fearing what lies ahead, he said.
“We always fear what we don't know, we must be ready for the future,” he said, adding people “don't know the mystery of what is hidden.”
Huwairev said the new index will give the Arab region a stronger ability to produce its own data, its own research that will help prepare societies such as those in the UAE for the digital disruption in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
“We need to spend a huge amount of money in research centres that will produce knowledge,” he said. “Without these centres, we will never reach our goal. Governments should allocate budgets for scientific research.”
Hany Torkey, Chief Technical Advisor, Arab Knowledge Project, said the index gives meaningful data that shows which sectors are not doing so well and are in need of renewed efforts.
“Countries can study the index and see their strengths and weak areas and make their decisions accordingly,” he said.
UAE receives high marks in index
- Sectoral rankings for the UAE showed the country placed well within the top quarter of 133 countries profiled in the new Global Knowledge Index released on Wedneday:
- Economy, 2nd place
- Pre-University Education, 16th place
- Technical Vocational Education and Training, 24th place
- Higher Education, 27th place
- Research, Development and Innovation, 37th place
- Information and Communications Technology, 23rd place
- General Enabling Environment, 46th place
Source: Global Knowledge Index 2017
