Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday attended the launch of the UAE Innovation Week 2015, which includes 900 activities and initiatives across the country.
Shaikh Mohammad, accompanied by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, viewed a range of projects in education, health, judiciary and human resources that were developed by chief innovations officers in government bodies.
The innovation week, which began on Sunday, is part of the seven-year national innovation strategy launched by Shaikh Mohammad earlier this year. Running until November 28, the week also falls within the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who declared 2015 as the year of innovation.
Speaking during the event, Shaikh Mohammad said: “Our government agencies are racing to come up with creative ideas as part of the UAE’s approach of innovation. Providing a proper innovative environment for our employees means providing a better life for our citizens.”
He pointed out that the UAE government has gone through phases of development that started with establishing quality and excellence criteria and performance evaluation, and moved to providing online and smart services, among many others.
“Today the government builds on strong foundations to begin a new phase, titled ‘innovation’,” Shaikh Mohammad said.
“Innovation in governments is not an intellectual luxury, or an administrative improvement, nor propaganda, but is the secret behind government’s existence, continuity and regeneration, and is the secret behind the renaissance of people and progress of their nations,” he added.
Shaikh Mohammad highlighted the importance of innovation saying that “if the government succeeds in providing the best innovation environment for its staff, we can provide a better future for our citizens”.
He praised the development of 50 chief innovations officers at federal government bodies in collaboration with Cambridge University.
“We have today 50 chief innovations officers who will lead the new phase of government development,” he said.
During the opening event, innovation experts showcased six development projects before Shaikh Mohammad, in the presence of Amal Al Qubaisi, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC), Lieutenant General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, and Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Innovative projects
Shaikh Mohammad also viewed a number of innovative projects. He was briefed about the projects by the officials concerned.
The first group of innovation experts showcased their innovative project ‘Energies’, the first of its kind in the region. The project aims to utilise solar energy and cars’ and motorcycles’ kinetic energy in generating electricity.
The importance of this project, which has been developed in cooperation with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, lies in its contribution to creating a sustainable environment. It is a self-financed project that cuts the cost of energy production and helps reduce the ecological footprint.
Shaikh Mohammad also viewed the innovative project ‘Factory of UAE Pioneers’ — a human resources system based on artificial intelligence and smart technology. It aims to help young men identify their strengths, choose their career, and set their personal plans without human intervention.
Other projects include the ‘Smart Teacher’ — a smart platform that offers interactive solutions for pupils to enhance their chances of education and seek assistance from virtual teachers. It was developed in collaboration with the Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart University and the Ministry of Education.
Another project titled ‘Minds’, was developed by innovation experts who were inspired by the vision of Shaikh Mohammad for developing a project to attract thought experts and creative minds to the UAE.
Shaikh Mohammad also familiarised himself with the ‘Genetic Fingerprint’ project, which is associated with the study of integrated genetic features and properties of the UAE people. The project is designed to help in diagnosing and preventing diseases.
The Genetic Fingerprint project aims to create nationwide information that would help bring about a positive impact on the national agenda indexes and the UAE Vision.
The ‘Smart Litigation’ project was developed by innovation experts in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice to enable the two parties of litigation to be judged through e-live trial. It aims to achieve easy accessible innovative justice offered in a smart way that saves time and effort.
