In a bid to drive the Arab world’s networked economy, the Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government has joined hands with SAP, a market leader in enterprise application software, to launch a new thought leadership initiative - the ‘Innovation Days’ series.
The monthly Innovation Days initiative will witness the convergence of world-class thought leaders in Dubai for panel discussions on the implementation of best practices in the engines of technological innovation - mobility and cloud, citizen-centric applications, Big Data, social media, and analytics.
The sessions are set to augment the efforts of Arab governments seeking to evolve smart cities and smart governments through shaping an ICT-fuelled knowledge-based economy.
The partnership between MBRSG and SAP in hosting the sessions focuses on the dissemination of knowledge, best practices and standards as part of a mutual commitment to spur technological growth in the U.A.E. and wider region.
Dr. Ali Sebaa Al Marri, Executive President, MBRSG, said, "Innovation Days will enhance Dubai’s standing as a world leader in smart government, and share best practices for the region’s governments to adopt in the networked economy domain. Dubai’s visionary leadership is paving the way for public and private sectors to capitalise on the connectivity era, highlighting the game-changing role that technology can play in people’s daily lives and at the work place." The Arab world’s smart cities are currently faced with numerous challenges in the areas of urbanisation, socio-economics, budgets, and technological change. Navigant Research, a market research and consulting team that provides in-depth analysis of global clean technology markets, predicts that the global smart city technology market will grow from US$6.1 billion in 2012 to US$20.2 billion by 2020.
Sam Alkharrat, President, SAP MENA, said, "Thanks to world-class government strategies, the U.A.E.'s public and private sectors capitalise on the connectivity era to enhance quality of living, create new job opportunities and accelerate the pace of business innovation. More than a technological trend, hyper-connectivity is an imperative that businesses and governments have no choice but to adapt."