Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stated that developing the digital economy is a major priority for the government.
The UAE believes that young minds and national expertise are the main pillars for building a flourishing digital future, based on science, knowledge, innovation and technology. The UAE’s successful experience in the field of digital and technological transformation will be a key enabler in implementing its strategic plans and promoting the development march.
On the occasion of announcing the launch of the UAE “National Program for Coders”, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid highlighted that the program aims to design a number of national initiatives for developing talents, expertise and innovative projects in the field of coding, accelerating the adoption of its applications and tools in various economic and future sectors, and developing a close link between coders and the public, private and academic entities.
On Twitter, His Highness announced that: “Today we launched the National Program for Coders in collaboration with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, HPE, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook, with the aim of training and attracting 100,000 coders, establishing 1000 digital companies within 5 years and increasing investment in startups from AED 1.5 billion to AED 4 billion.”
In another tweet, Sheikh Mohammed added, “The National Program for Coders is a new step within the UAE national program to build our digital economy. The world a changing The pace of digital transformation is doubling Jobs are changing and survival will be for the most prepared, agile and well-equipped to keep pace with the global changes.”
His Highness added, “Our youth need to know that the future has new tools.. speaks a different language.. and adopts online work methodologies. We want them to be at the heart of this future. The National Program for Coders aims to engage the local digital communities in the digital transformation of the UAE. It further highlights the UAE’s leading role in designing the future, embracing talents, entrepreneurs, academics, startups, global companies, and future investments globally.”
Sheikh Mohammed highlighted that “We target attracting the best international coders and providing them with the needed infrastructure to develop innovative ideas that serve the world. We aim to establish 1000 startups in the field of digital economy in the UAE within 5 years … We will support national coders to become among the best globally We will employ promising talents in developing 10 platforms for supporting social and humanitarian projects in the UAE.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid issued directives to all government entities in the UAE to support national and international coding talents; work with legislative bodies, business incubators, investment companies, universities and research centers to support coding-based initiatives and projects, whose work leads to promoting the skills of national cadres; and update the legislative laws in a way that keeps pace with the rapid global changes and meets the new technological requirements and challenges.
Under the supervision of the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, the “National Program for Coders” aims to support national initiatives and future strategies in the UAE, designed for developing the capabilities of national talents, attracting global digital skills, and building the necessary infrastructure to establish broader innovation-based companies.
The program further enables coding entrepreneurs, businessmen and startups to support the digital transformation in various key sectors. It provides opportunities for cooperation with government and private sector entities in the UAE and abroad to implement promising ideas and turn them into comprehensive projects.
The National Program for Coders strategy focuses on 5 key pillars, namely: supporting coders, entrepreneurs, startups, large companies and the academic sector; developing a comprehensive platform for linking coders with local companies and universities; launching global initiatives supervised by a host of international trainers to enhance the efficiency of local talents; attracting the best International coding cadres to the UAE, and suggesting policies to empower the coding sector in cooperation with various government entities.
Several initiatives will be launched to support the strategy’s outputs, including a comprehensive platform to link coders with the private and academic sectors, supporting businessmen in finding specialized talents to develop innovative projects, granting the golden visa to the best international coders, developing the experiences of Emirati coders to become among the best globally, supporting national startups working in the field of digital economy, and empowering social and humanitarian coding-based projects.
As part of the support provided by the program, it will help various government entities find innovative coding-based solutions in cooperation with prominent coders, independent businesses, local startups and international coding companies. It will also oversee the development of Emirati youth coding skills, in addition to studying and defining local and global market needs and enhancing continuous cooperation with the academic sector.
The National Program for Coding, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, will grant golden visas to the best 100,000 coders worldwide. It will also provide a range of financing options to entrepreneurs and coders, support the implementation of their innovative projects and ideas, and establish digital companies to promote the competitiveness of the national economy worldwide.
Within its next phase, the program will invite coders from around the world to find innovative solutions to 100 government, economic, technological, health and services challenges and help accelerate the adoption of modern technologies. The program will also organize 10 hackathons, bringing together top-notch coders to support national efforts in developing an integrated system in the UAE based on the latest technologies.
A comprehensive global campaign will be launched to highlight the UAE’s leading efforts in attracting the best global coding skills. It will shed lights on providing distinguished services and seamless experiences to encourage coders return to the UAE to find jobs and establish startups.
To realize the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, achieve the strategic goals of the program, and implement all the related initiatives and projects, the National Program for Coders will hold cooperation partnerships with multiple public, private and academic entities and technology companies in the UAE and abroad, including “Google”, “Microsoft”, “IBM”, “LinkedIn”, “Facebook”, “Huawei”, “Amazon Web Services (AWS)”, “Nvidia”, “Cisco”, “Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)”, “Majid Al Futtaim”, “Dubai World Trade Center”, “Emirates NBD”, “Group 42 (G42)”, “Khalifa University”, “Higher Colleges of Technology”, “University of Sharjah”, “Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI)”, “American University in Dubai (AUD)”, “Le Wagon” and “Yalla”.
