DIC opens first phase of innovation hub
Aims to have 50,000 talented IT professionals once completed, managing director says
Dubai: Dubai Internet City (DIC) has opened the first phase of the Innovation Hub in a bid to nurture talent and creativity.
Ammar Al Malik, managing director of DIC, told Gulf News that the idea is to create a community that innovates.
“The idea behind this is to attract talent and expects to have 50,000 talented IT professionals once fully completed,” he said.
The 1.8 million square feet hub consists of office, retail, hotel spaces.
HP has become the first client to move into the hub.
Phil Davis, president of Hybrid IT and chief sales officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, said that the UAE is a growing market for the company.
“We are very positive about the Middle East as some Western economies are slowing. We see more opportunities for growth and will be adding more staff,” Davis said.
“The UAE, with its unique perspective on public-private partnerships and their efficacy in mining the power of AI, is poised to capitalise on this opportunity as much or more than any country in the world. HPE and the UAE’s AI initiative are on a similar path. Both are wisely embracing the transformative power of AI for all stakeholders — citizens, businesses and the government — who will reap the rewards for decades to come,” he added.
Al Malik said the hub consists of 10 buildings and once completed, it will be an integration of large corporates, SMEs and startups.
“Most of the innovation is coming from the DIC and the hub will enable DIC to further translate the Dubai Strategy for Innovation into action, helping the city achieve its vision to become one of the most future-ready places in the world,” he said.
Moreover, he said the hub will add fuel to the region’s start-up and entrepreneurial landscape.
“We already have significant demand for space and by next year, we expect more than 70 per cent to be occupied by next year,” he said.
DIC is home to 11 innovation centres from top tech firms such as Accenture, Samsung, Visa, Microsoft, SAP, 3M, Canon, Cisco, MasterCard, Huawei and Oracle.