A major fund has been set up by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to identify the brightest minds in the Arab world and harness their ideas.
Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday unveiled Great Arab Minds with a Dh100 million ($27.22 million) budget.
The programme will identify and develop the brightest people in their fields, including mathematics, physics, computer software and data science.
Dubai's Museum of the Future will be used as a base for the programme, which will be overseen by four Cabinet ministers.
“Today we launch a new project to search for 1,000 Great Arab Minds in the fields of physics and mathematics, software and data science, economics and higher education and research,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“Great minds built Arab civilisation — today I believe we have the talent to build a better world.
“We will accelerate the Emirates' role as an incubator for fostering Arab and global talent. We built the Museum of the Future as a global hub for scientists, thinkers and innovators — it is the ideal headquarters for a fund to develop the potential of our region's finest minds.”
The museum is scheduled to open soon, he said.
The committee leading the project is chaired by Mohammed Al Gergawi, president of the Museum of the Future and Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, and Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth.
Each year on January 4, Sheikh Mohammed marks the year he entered office as Ruler of Dubai in 2006 with a new project, typically focused on education and knowledge.
Sheikh Mohammed took office in 2006 after the death of his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, who had been ruler since 1990.
The following day, members of the UAE Supreme Council elected him as vice president and approved President Sheikh Khalifa's nomination for him to be prime minister. Sheikh Mohammed and the members of his first Cabinet took their oaths before Sheikh Khalifa at Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi, on February 11.
Sheikh Mohammed's lifetime of public service — in pictures
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A rarely seen photograph of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid as a boy. Wam -
This picture was taken in 1968 at Mons Officer Cadet School, which was a British military training establishment that closed in 1972, transferring its responsibilities to Sandhurst. Wam -
At Mons Officer Cadet School in Aldesrhot, United Kingdom in 1968. Wam -
A young Sheikh Mohammed performs Umrah in 1974. Wam -
Pictured in the 1970s, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid was at the centre of efforts to build the country up following unification. Wam -
"The worst things to affect a human being are vanity, megalomania, the belief in one's own power and his dependence on his limited mortal strength," Sheikh Mohammed wrote in a book about his life, My Story: 50 Stories in 50 years, published this year. Wam -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in the Parade Ring on Day 2 of Royal Ascot week in June 1995. Getty -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, then Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, descends a Boeing 777 after opening the Dubai 1995 airshow November 12. -
UAE Founding Father Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid watch the final race of the Annual Camel Festival at Nad Al Sheba in Dubai in April 1996. Wam / National Archives -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai with Rama the Cama, the world's first cross between an Old World camel and a South American camelid - in January 1998. AFP -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, who was Crown Prince of Dubai when this photo was taken, takes a break during a 100-km horse race beside the Sakkara pyramids in Cairo, Egypt, on May 19, 2000. Only 18 of the 75 horses that participated finished race and Sheikh Mohammed won with a riding time of five hours and 34 minutes. AP Photo -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid meets Tiger Woods after the 2004 Dubai Desert Classic played on the Majilis Course at the Emirates Golf Club on March 7 in Dubai. Warren Little / Getty -
Sheikh Mohammed displays a falcon to US President George W Bush on 14 January 2008. WAM / AFP -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Queen Elizabeth II greet hundreds of spectators at Emirates Palace after they unveiled of a commemorative plaque to celebrate the commencement of construction of the Zayed National Museum on Thursday November 25, 2010. Andrew Henderson / The National -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, holds hands with Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al Azhar Dr Ahmad Al Tayeb during their visit to Abu Dhabi in February 2019. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs -
Sheikh Mohammd bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, meets Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed , Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at a Sea Palace barza in Abu Dhabi in April 2019. Mohamed Al Hammadi / Ministry of Presidential Affairs -
Sheikh Mohammed stands for a photograph with Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed, chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, on his sons' wedding day in Dubai in May 2019. UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs / AFP -
Queen Elizabeth presents Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid with a trophy for the winning owner of the 4.20 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at the Royal Ascot in June 2019. Reuters -
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, receives credentials from new ambassadors from various countries to the UAE in Qasr Al Watan in Abu Dhabi in June 2019. Wam
