GEC NEWS WIREHis Excellency Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, emphasized on the importance of providing opportunities for Emirati youth and encouraging them to develop new skillsets associated with Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies.
HE Omar Sultan Al Olama’s statement came on the back of signing a strategic partnership agreement with Mohammed Amin, Senior Vice President, Middle East, Turkey and Africa at Dell EMC. According to the agreement, Dell EMC will train 500 Emirati students under a specialized AI programme, supervised by an executive team.
“The agreement aims to develop the skills of Emirati youth in AI technology, and offer graduates an opportunity to shape the future and manage AI processes. This move complements our plans to provide development opportunities to students in schools and universities through other initiatives such as the UAE AI Summer Camp,” said Al Olama.
“Developing national capabilities and creating a sustainable economy requires the dissemination of the concepts of smart technologies such as AI. It also requires support in terms of expertise for Emirati government and youth, through strategic partnerships that provide world-class trainings in acquiring new skillsets. All these concerted efforts are being made to strengthen UAE’s global status,” added Al Olama.
This agreement aims at bridging the skills gap in the technology sector and supporting the youth in unlocking their potential to meet the challenges of the future in this rapidly evolving economy. Dell EMC will help these next generation of IT professionals play a pivotal role in improving the efficiency of government organizations by 80%, and achieve a cost reduction of up to 45%, equivalent to millions of dollars.
This agreement supports the objectives of the UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, by enabling and empowering young Emiratis to develop their skills in technology in collaboration with a number of leading private sector organizations.
The program is scheduled to run for 3 years with the participation of 120 students each year. Dell EMC will select 10 students who will be offered 5-day intensive training to obtain a diploma in Data Engineering and Cloud.
Students will gain first-hand experience across the organization’s various departments and will be invited to attend major events, such as GITEX Technology Week. In addition, Dell EMC will be the first to appoint an ambassador for AI, under this agreement.
Dell Technologies global research and development investments exceeded USD 12.8 billion over the past three years. Also, the company plans to allocate USD 5.8 billion a year in this area of focus.
In line with this, Mohammed Amin said “technology plays a significant role in ensuring our students future-ready and capable of shaping the digital Middle East. Shifting trends and evolving smart technologies, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and data science demand investment in development of skills. Collaboration between the IT sector and the academic community will help our youth realize their full potential which is a step closer to achieving our vision of building a better world,” said Amin.
Thanking the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence (AI) for his support on this initiative, Fady Richmany, Senior Director & General Manager, United Arab Emirates at Dell EMC said that “Dell EMC is proud to cooperate with the UAE Government to launch this unique initiative. The initiative is in line with both parties’ commitment to support national development. We are inspired by the vision of UAE’s wise leadership in developing programmes and services for communities across the UAE,” added Richmany.
Earlier this year, Dell EMC had organized a training programme in IoT and Digital Transformation in the UAE. The programme was the first of its kind in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Designed as an advanced training camp, the two-day programme was introduced at the UAE University in Al Ain. It focused on IoT applications, as well as important aspects of digital transformation, paving the way for refining the skills of future data experts. Currently, Dell EMC has entered into training agreements with 16 universities in the UAE.
Dell EMC also recently held its annual ‘Envision the Future’ competition, providing an ideal opportunity for senior undergraduate students from across universities in Middle East, Turkey and Africa to showcase the knowledge acquired through the Dell EMC Academic Alliance program and solve technology challenges of the present and the future. The second year witnessed participation by over 880 students. The competition continues to inspire and spark the creativity of students and enables them to create projects supported by advanced technologies instrumental in driving digital transformation.
