Category: Technology

Major industry players in the MICE sector will gather at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) this month for the inaugural Abu Dhabi Business Events Week (ADBEW) event, which will take place from 25 – 27 October 2021.

The ADBEW agenda will be packed with plenary sessions, advisory summits, educational sessions, live regional and global panels, training workshops and networking socials. Industry experts will lead participants through three days of industry insights and open forums, developing strategic approaches for a stronger and sustainable future within the region.

Developed by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi), ADBEW will cement the region’s already strong support for the MICE tourism sector and galvanize businesses post-pandemic.

The industry-led platform will see sectoral insights and expertise shared, in partnership with key international MICE association partners, such as the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI), the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE), the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) and the Meeting Professionals International (MPI).

Mubarak Al Shamisi, Director of Abu Dhabi Convention & Exhibition Bureau, part of DCT Abu Dhabi said, “We have developed the Abu Dhabi Business Events Week event to provide an innovative platform for participants to regroup, recalibrate and re-strategise collectively to develop Abu Dhabi as the leading MICE destination. Along with welcoming the region’s leading destination management companies, travel trade and event management suppliers, hospitality brands and venue owners and operators, we are also partnering with some of the industry’s leading international agencies and supported by UAE stakeholders, from ADNEC, Etihad Airways and Miral, who will also offer their insights at a focused, local level.”

Starting with an opening session from the ICCA Congress, focussing on the regional outlook of the tourism and MICE sectors, each day will feature sessions hosted by ADBEW partners. This will allow local and regional event professionals to align with international standards, be up to date on the industry’s latest developments and be privy to best business practices.

Noteworthy educational sessions will include ‘Future of Work’ by Anu Madgavkar from the McKinsey Global Institute; ‘Organizational Culture’ by Carrie Freeman Parsons, Chair of the Board, Freeman Company; ‘Impact of Technology’ by Gerd De Bruycker, Marketing Director EMEA at CISCO; and ‘Innovation, Agility, and Collaboration’ by Josh Linkner, Innovation Keynote Speaker and Bestselling Author. Live regional panels will include discussions revolving around the topics of ‘Future of Travel and Tourism’, ‘Consumer Choice – The Event Experience’, ‘New Standards for Governance’, ’The Human Dimension’ and the ‘Impact of Technology’.

Global MICE Collaborative (IAEE/SITE/MPI) will provide industry insights on attendees and exhibitors’ thoughts regarding the return of trade shows and the difference before and after the pandemic, whilst PCMA will facilitate in-person advisory summits. Meanwhile, UFI will discuss environmental sustainability in the exhibition industry, with IAEE MENA shining a light on its Women’s Leadership Initiative.

Source: Department of Culture and Tourism

ABU DHABI, The Department of Government Support (DGS) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with technology leader Microsoft to enhance the technology skills of Abu Dhabi Government employees by giving DGS access to the Tomoh Internship Program, which focuses on the development of national talents.

This comes in line with DGS’s strategy to empower Emirati talents and hone their skills to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The signing took place on the side lines of GITEX Technology Week, 2021, and the MoU was signed by Fahed Salem Al Kayyoomi, Under-Secretary of the DGS, and Sayed Hashish, Country Manager of Microsoft UAE.

As part of the MoU, Microsoft will support the Department of Government Support in enhancing the technology skillsets of Abu Dhabi government employees and Emirati graduates through the company’s Tomoh programme. The initiative will boost the skills of government employees via placements within Microsoft, where participants will gain real-world project experience and the opportunity to earn globally recognised industry accreditations. DGS will be encouraging recent Emirati graduates and university students in their last term of study to apply for the programme.

Speaking on the MoU, Al Kayyoomi said, “We are inspired by our wise leadership’s vision to empower young talents and provide them with the necessary resources to prepare them for a sustainable future. The MoU signed today with Microsoft is a testament of our commitment to invest in future generations by providing them with the new digital skills and associated knowledge that will help them in their future endeavours and engage them in various national sectors.”

Sayed Hashish, Country Manager of Microsoft, said, “We are delighted to join forces with the Department of Government Support to offer Emirati talents the opportunity to shadow and learn from Microsoft mentors, and attend interpersonal and technical skilling boot-camps. With real-life project experience behind them, and armed with globally recognised industry certifications, these young people will be well equipped to face the challenges of the future.”

Tomoh is Microsoft’s Emiratisation programme. It is aimed at nurturing Emirati talent and accelerating the professional development of young UAE nationals through a series of initiatives that focus on direct hiring, secondments, internships, on-the-job training, and direct skilling.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ALAIN, This week the United Arab Emirates University is using the opportunity of GITEX to present its latest innovations in artificial intelligence and smart applications.

Student and academic IT specialists will showcase their technological advances to the GITEX Technology Week, held 17th – 21st October at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

GITEX is the largest technology exhibition in the MENA and South Asia region and its importance to the UAEU was confirmed by Zaki Anwar Nusseibeh, Chancellor of the UAEU and Cultural Adviser to His Highness The President of the UAE.

He said, “It is essential that the UAEU participate in this important event. It is a unique opportunity to display the digital infrastructure, information technology, and smart services that the university community makes use of. It is important that we also learn about developments in these fields around the world and consider how to make use of them. Our participation in GITEX is crucial to advance our leading position in the field of digital transformation”.

He explained how the UAEU’s investments in future technology and digital solutions are aligned with the UAE’s digital transformation strategy. “We are the ‘University of the Future’, recognised for our pioneering work in developing creative talent”.

This year such pioneering work includes the ‘Smart Healthcare Appointment System’, which is a mobile application designed to manage the patient experience of booking medical treatment. Use of the app will save patient time, avoid congestion at healthcare facilities, avoid inconvenience, and improve efficiency of services.

Students from the College of Information Technology will present their own mobile application to help people observe physical distancing and ensure community safety. It is a network-based system that uses low-resolution infrared sensors to facilitate daily routines such as travel to school or the workplace. This serves to monitor and guide a person’s indoor activity within guidelines set in place in for emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Crucially, it also maintains their privacy.

At GITEXT the university’s IT specialists will present the outcomes of three projects that use digital technology to facilitate services used by the entire university community.

The ‘Future Chapter’ is the first smart lecture theatre designed in cooperation with Cisco International to facilitate education and research in artificial intelligence and the requirements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The ‘Virtual Assistant’ is an application that uses artificial intelligence to enable anyone with an interest in the university to find accurate information to address their questions. The ‘UAEU’ application connects the university community, its partners, and the public to the university’s systems and services.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, The Mohammed bin Zayed University for Humanities (MBZUH) celebrated the annual World Teacher’s Day on 5th October.

The university organised several events that included the creation of a virtual mural to thank teachers for their contributions to the university’s academic journey, in addition to a poetry competition highlighting the critical work of teachers.

The university’s administration also sent thank you letters to its professors and other teaching staff.

Dr. Khaled Salem Al Dhaheri, Chancellor of MBZUH, said the university celebrated World Teacher’s Day in recognition of the role of teachers and professors in supporting its efforts to enhance its stature, serve the community and train qualified cadres capable of contributing to the country’s development.

He also highlighted the importance of the work of university’s professors, which include teaching knowledge and science and adopting the best modern teaching practices, noting the university recruits the best teachers from the top 200 universities in the world.

The university’s academic programmes are taught according to pre-set plans and fulfil the needs of society, he added.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, Emirati male and female high school students were selected for the UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme (YAP) and enrolled in a 10 week-long innovative language and cultural programme to learn Chinese and Russian, for the first time in the programme’s history.

The UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme was launched in 2012 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to develop and equip young Emirati university students to take on prominent roles in strategic sectors and strengthen engagement with selected strategic partners of the UAE.

To date, the programme has graduated 181 alumni from 10 cohorts who further went on to visit South Korea, Germany, and China to understand their economy, government and history and learn their language and culture.

This year, the programme involved high school students for the first time. The programme started with students in grade 10 and supported the participants’ understanding of the bilateral relationships between the UAE and host countries.

An intensive language proficiency programme was provided to engage and immerse the students in both language and culture of Russia and China with the end goal of achieving the requisite language proficiency to achieve university entrance within the respective host countries’ top universities.

They covered a wide range of language areas as well as participated in dedicated cultural events and activities. The Embassies of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China in the UAE also hosted virtual workshops to support the initiative.

Mohammed Sanad Humaid Haidar Ahmed, a student on the Russian programme, said, “The YAP programme was unique and special. It created a new perspective within me and also furnished the foundation of the Russian language and culture, which provided me with exquisite and profound new knowledge.”

Layan Alshaibani, a student on the Chinese programme, commented, “I am highly proud to be a part of the UAE YAP programme which made me learn different skills other than the language such as communication, time management and being able to express myself in front of others.”

In addition, to aid the participants’ success, previous UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme alumni volunteered to mentor this group of students to ensure their success through sharing their personal experiences and challenges.

Dr. Amer Alhammadi, a UAE YAP mentor and alumni, said, “I was blessed to be part of the UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme to South Korea. This year I am part of the UAE YAP Mentorship Programme. I could see how the UAE YAP continues to inspire and develop young Emirati talents to be in leadership positions in the future and serving our beloved nation. Learning a new language provides YAP participants with a deeper connection and understanding of that culture and improves their thinking and multicultural communication skills.”

The students of 2021 attended a virtual award ceremony where Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Director of Education Affairs Office, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court provided a keynote address and issued to all students a digital certificate to recognise and congratulate them on their achievement.

Al Nuaimi explained that the programme provides an excellent platform for young Emiratis to develop new skills which will aid not only their progress but support the development of the UAE as a whole. Today the UAE stands as an international focal point for many key business sectors and industries around the world. Ensuring our youth have the required language and cultural skills to work with our strategic partners is a critical component in the next phase of our development. I take great pride in congratulating our students from this year’s programme, who have shown immense effort and dedication in completing this phase of the programme.”

The names of the students from the 2021 UAE Youth Ambassadors Programme are: UAE YAP Chinese Programme; Maha Salem Mubarak Salem Al Breiki Razan Yazeed Mohamed Mubarak Alkatheeri Salem Shetait Salem Rashed AlKetbi Maryam khaled Ahmed Yahmoor Alshehhi Noof Yousef Mohamed Abdulla Almarzooqi Alanoud Nabet Mosabbah Saeed Hashil Alzahmi Ahmed Mohammed Abdulla Hamad Alnuaimi Alghala Abdulla Khamis Abdulrahman Albreiki Wasayef Saeed Mohamed Surour Alzaabi Layan Bassam Mohammed Al Shaibani Abdulaziz Khalid Mohammed Abdulla Alrayssi Meera Mohammed Abdulla Ali Alkaabi Abdulla Abubaker Abdulqader Alaidarous Alhashmi Hazaa Hasan Ahmed Mohamed Alamoodi UAE YAP Russian Programme; Alyazyah Ahmed Suhail Alketbi Eiman Ali Husain Ali Alhosani Alenood Mohamed Salem Balkher Alhadhrami Zayed Nasser Mohamedali Alfadli Noura Abdulrahim Abdulrazzaq Mohamed Khouri Thani Ahmad Saleh Thani Binthalith Khalifa Mohamed Abdalla Shahdad Alblooshi Majed Mutlaq Andulkareem Faraj Binamro Mohamed Sanad Humaid Haidar Ahmed Shaikha Khaled Saeed Khalfan Salem Muftah Al Mansoori Mohammed Alhadh Musabeeh Farhan Alkuwaiti Alwiya Talal Alwi Abdullah Al Junaibi Saeed Abdulrahman Saeed Abdulrahman Alamoodi Fatima Rashed Mohammed Rashed Alnuaimi

Source: Emirates News Agency