The UAE has laid strong groundwork to train and develop its workforce in AI. It offers free, publicly available courses for AI for all levels of learners. It requires leading public sector employees to be trained in generative AI while more junior public sector employees receive instruction when needed. Notably, over 54 per cent of the UAE's workforce incorporates AI in their jobs in fields such as media and communications, education and training, customer service, manufacturing and operations management. An even greater number of professionals indicated their interest in receiving training in generative AI.
There is also a critical mass of the country’s existing workforce, however, that fears displacement due to the advent and popularisation of generative AI. These concerns could be alleviated by introducing foundational elements of AI training – statistics, data science, computer science, information technology development and principles of ethics and social harm – into school curricula at an earlier stage.
While AI reshapes the skills required by the workforce, it also holds the promise of teaching these same skills. The adoption of personalised AI tutors into educational systems in the country could be useful. Personalised AI tutors powered by Generative AI are a new concept, still being pilot-tested around the world. Led by pioneers in the ed tech field such as Khan Academy, a recently-released tutor ‘Khanmigo’ provides one-on-one learning by adapting content to the learner’s individual level.
A poster at the World Economic Forum WEF in Davos, Switzerland, on January 14. Bloomberg
According to a recent report published by Harvard Business Review: “Generative AI, if fed deliberately designed and structured prompts, has the potential to give every student a personalised tutoring experience on any topic. While there are still a number of issues with using AI for tutoring (like the substantial risk of AI-generated fabrications), the technology shows great promise as a scalable, accessible way of helping increase student comprehension.”
Collaborations with leading educational institutions and tech organisations are under way to design AI programmes
At the core of the UAE's National AI Strategy 2031 lies a commitment to upskill the workforce through specialised training, secondments and international study tours. The UAE is heavily investing in Stem education, with a current enrolment of 22 per cent of university students in Stem disciplines. The government's target is to enhance the skills of one-third of Stem graduates annually, cultivating a talent pool primed for driving AI innovation.
Simultaneously, collaborations with leading educational institutions and tech organisations are under way to design AI programmes, ensuring that students receive an education that matches real-world industry demands.
The UAE has already put into motion its agenda of upskilling for AI at the national level. These efforts span training for government employees, summer camps for school students across levels, certificates in AI skills for technical and vocational students enrolled at the Higher Colleges of Technology, and many degree programmes at the bachelor’s and master’s level where AI can be studied.
There are 24 degree-granting institutions providing in AI-related fields. Notably, the Mohamed bin Zayed University for AI (MBZUAI), established in 2019, offers graduate programmes and generous financial incentives to encourage the brightest minds to come and further the country’s AI agenda. Recently, the second batch of master’s degree holders graduated from MBZUAI. And New York University in Abu Dhabi is planning the launch of a graduate programme in Data Science after a successful experimental phase running the Data Science and AI Lab.
In addition to AI education at the degree level, there are plenty of other options for upskilling. The Higher Colleges of Technology, the Dubai Future Foundation through its Dubai Future Academy and the UAE AI Summer Camp 5.0and 42 Abu Dhabi in partnership with Ecole 42 Paris, a free global coding institution, are already educating diverse audiences such as school students as young as 10, college students, freelancers, entrepreneurs and the general public.
The National Programme for Artificial Intelligence in the UAE and the University of Oxford, while meant primarily for government officials, is also open to private sector employees and interested UAE residents, with a stated aim to build capacity towards the achievement of the 2071 centennial goals. Initiatives such as all of these demonstrate the intent and seriousness of the UAE government to upskill its population in AI and modern technology development.
All these initiatives are already yielding results. The Cisco AI Readiness Index released in November claims that 73 per cent of UAE business and IT leaders believe that their organisations have AI strategies that are well developed. However, 93 per cent admitted that their data exists in silos across the organisation. This statistic may stem from the fact that no formal AI literacy training has existed in the UAE – or elsewhere – until very recently. For the Emirates, the challenge remains to reorient the national curriculum for the future, providing skills to all citizens and residents.
Unesco provides detailed guidelines for how to integrate AI into curricula across K-12 levels, and lists the existence of the UAE Technology Subject Framework. With this, the country declares its intent to embed AI learning across the elementary, middle and high school levels. Yet, more details about this framework are not easily available to the general public.
Embedding AI-related subjects, including computer science, data literacy and ethics early into school curricula and employing AI to accelerate learning will require streamlining national human and economic development strategies, educational and business policy and effective co-ordination and implementation. Following a series of successes, this appears to be the UAE’s next challenge, and one that it is well up the task of meeting.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Luang Prabang via Bangkok, with a return flight from Chiang Rai via Bangkok for about Dh3,000, including taxes. Emirates and Thai Airways cover the same route, also via Bangkok in both directions, from about Dh2,700. The cruise
The Gypsy by Mekong Kingdoms has two cruising options: a three-night, four-day trip upstream cruise or a two-night, three-day downstream journey, from US$5,940 (Dh21,814), including meals, selected drinks, excursions and transfers. The hotels
Accommodation is available in Luang Prabang at the Avani, from $290 (Dh1,065) per night, and at Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp and Resort from $1,080 (Dh3,967) per night, including meals, an activity and transfers.
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood. Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues. Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity. Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Match info
Manchester City 3 (Jesus 22', 50', Sterling 69') Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 65')
