Following the success of the second UAE Innovation Week, which concluded on 26th November, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has opted to rename the initiative, UAE Innovation Month.
Speaking at a media briefing today, ahead of the month-long event which kicks off on February 1st, Huda Al Hashimi, the UAE’s Assistant Director General for Strategy and Innovation, spoke of how the event’s focus is to “shed the light” on the UAE’s top innovators, from the spectrum of government and private sectors, as well as from the public.
“During our previous Innovation Week, we had over 100,000 visitors taking part in over 1,200 events – and that was in just one week,” she said. “This month is set to be bigger and better in all areas, and as a nation-wide event, we hope to have all sectors participating.”
Starting on February 1st, the month will begin with a week in the UAE’s capital, before moving to Ras Al-Khaimah, Fujairah, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm AlQuwain, and concluding in Dubai.
During week one of the month, UAE University in Al Ain is set to open a Google Innovation Hub that seeks to turn young people’s gadget addictions into a desire to create their own innovative products and businesses.
The Google Innovation Hub, which was announced last year, is built on the university’s campus, and focuses on showing young people how they could produce Android apps, build robots and how to master search engine technology. Following the Hub’s opening on February 7th, students aged between eight and 24 will be invited to visit the centre, which uses hands-on experiments to enhance their interest.
Elsewhere in the emirates, the National Science, Technology and Innovation (NSTI) Festival is due to be held from February 15th to 19th at the Dubai Festival Arena, and aims to promote research across these fields in an family-friendly environment.
To conclude the Innovation Month, Finovate Middle East will bring together early-stage startups, leading established companies, media, financial service institutions and funders drawn by the opportunity to see the future of fintech both regionally and globally on February 26th to 27th.
