On the eve of schools returning after the summer break, the UAE government announced the launch of a national drive to develop the next generation of Emirati experts in the fields of science and technology.
At its core, the National Programme for Advanced Sciences and Technology is a training initiative that aims to create a pipeline of homegrown talent ready to take on critical roles in strategically important industries. This is another opportunity in the country’s long-term economic transformation plans.
The launch is, presumably, the outcome of a recognition among policymakers in the UAE that to build the industries of the future, there must also be systems in place to develop the people capable of creating, running and leading these industries.
This makes the mission a natural companion to Operation 300bn, the UAE’s decade-long strategy to raise the industrial sector’s contribution to the national gross domestic product to Dh300 billion by 2031. This also makes the talent pipeline it creates essential for the continued success of the annual “Make it in the Emirates” event, which serves as a platform for local and international companies to build and grow their manufacturing businesses within the country. The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has been instrumental in this.
After all, if manufacturing and advanced industry were to scale successfully, there is a need for even more skilled Emirati talent. The new initiative addresses this gap by linking education and research with industrial requirements.
The UAE has already laid much of the groundwork in this regard. Having long prioritised “Stem” education, it is today producing promising talent across various disciplines in science and technology studies. This is happening in tandem with national universities becoming increasingly important contributors to the global research landscape.
Khalifa University’s foray into the global top 200 for four UN Sustainable Development Goals, in addition to cracking the top 150 universities overall, is one such marker of progress. Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence has gone further still in carving out a distinct role in one of the most strategically important technologies. It has drawn international attention for work spanning Arabic-language AI, a supercomputer partnership with Cerebras Systems in India and its own K2 Think model.
These universities no doubt serve to enhance the UAE’s global reputation. But their more substantive service is providing opportunities for students to learn, experiment and contribute to the technologies of the future – precisely the ones that will shape the country’s economy in the years to come.
The new initiative will also contribute to the government’s Emiratisation plans as it prioritises national talent development alongside the continued attraction of global expertise.
In an era of rapid technological change and global uncertainty, ambitious countries must develop domestic scientific and technical capacity. Economic resilience depends on it. The UAE is once more showcasing how to tie human capital to wider strategies.
