The UAE has signed a deal with a host of technology giants, including Google and Amazon, to train 100,000 young people in computer programming.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, unveiled the agreement with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook on Saturday.
The new programme titled, ‘National Program for Coders’, aimed at fostering the growth of the digital economy. Within five years, he wants to train 100,000 programmers and coders, and create 1,000 digital companies to boost the Emirati economy.
Announcing the new initiative on Twitter, His Highness said “Today we launched the National Program for Coders in collaboration with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook, with the aim of training and attracting 100,000 coders, establishing 1000 digital companies within five years and increasing investment in startups”.
In another tweet, Sheikh Mohammed said the program represents a major new step in developing the UAE’s digital economy. “The world is rapidly changing, and the fast-growing digital economy will create new types of jobs. To thrive in the ever-evolving world, we must be ready to quickly cope with the emerging trends.”
“We seek to attract the best international coders and provide them with the infrastructure needed to develop innovative ideas that serve the world. We aim to establish 1,000 startups in the field of digital economy in the UAE within five years. We will support national coders in developing themselves into the best in the world. We will employ promising talent in the development of 10 platforms for supporting social and humanitarian projects in the UAE.”
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The programme will also grant golden visas to 100,000 of the world’s best coders, and 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.
The UAE will also host 10 hackathon competitions that will bring together the best programmers for events in the emirates.
The National Program for Coders will develop 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 Centre, Emirates NBD, Group 42 (G42), Khalifa University, Higher Colleges of Technology, University of Sharjah, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, American University in Dubai, Le Wagon and Yalla.
Under the supervision of the UAE Artificial Intelligence Office, the program for coders will support national initiatives and future strategies in the UAE designed to develop the capabilities of national talent, attract global digital skills, and build the infrastructure necessary to establish broader innovation-based companies.
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The program also seeks to enable coding entrepreneurs, businesses and startups to support digital transformation in various key sectors. It also seeks to provide opportunities for fostering cooperation between government and private sector entities in the UAE and abroad to implement promising ideas and turn them into comprehensive projects.
Several initiatives will be launched to support the program’s goals, including a comprehensive platform to link coders with the private and academic sectors, supporting businesses in finding specialised talent to develop innovative projects, providing the Golden Visa to some of the world’s leading coders, developing the skills and expertise of Emirati coders so that they can be among the world’s best, supporting national digital economy start-ups, and empowering social and humanitarian coding-based projects.
As part of the support provided by the Program, it will help various government entities develop innovative coding-based solutions in cooperation with leading coders, independent businesses, local startups and global coding companies. It will also oversee the skill development of young Emirati coders, in addition to studying and identifying local and global market needs and enhancing continuous cooperation with the academic sector.
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.
