His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched a $27 million (AED100 million) Great Arab Minds fund Tuesday to identify and support 1,000 brightest minds across the Arab world, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Key details
- The Great Arab Minds initiative, which will partner with global and regional and players, is aimed at boosting talents in fields including physics and mathematics, software and data science, economics and higher education and research.
- The five-year project initiative seeks to search for leading Arab minds and creative talents, shed light on their achievements, and invest in their capabilities and ideas.
- It is designed to search for exceptional talents among Arab scientists, thinkers, and innovators across key fields, to highlight and celebrate their academic and knowledge contributions whilst inspiring the youth.
- “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,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said in a tweet.
- The education and knowledge-focused programme coincides with the day Sheikh Mohammed assumed the office as Ruler of Dubai in 2006.
- The fields of focus for the initiative are selected based on the potential for future development in key areas of innovation to drive development and economic growth.
- Sheikh Mohammed in cooperation with global tech giants also launched a national programme for coders in July last year that aims to establish 1,000 tech companies and increase start-up investments from $408 million (AED 1.5 billion) to $1 billion (AED 4 billion).
Crucial quote
“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. Great minds built Arab civilization - today I believe we have the talent to build a better world,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said in a statement.
Growth initiatives
The UAE has launched several measures over the past years as part of its broader strategies to boost economic competitiveness, enhance its digital economy and attract investment and foreign talent.
Last September, the Gulf state unveiled a new class of visas to attract talent and boost growth. “Green Visas” will allow expatriates to apply for work without being sponsored by an employer, targeting investors and highly skilled workers as well as top students and graduates.
The government also said in September 2021 it will spend $6.53 billion (AED 24 billion) on a package of incentives and subsidies to create 75,000 jobs in the private sector for Emiratis over the next five years.
Source: https://www.forbesmiddleeast.com/leadership/leaders/dubais-sheikh-mohammed-unveils-%2427m-fund-to-develop-arab-talents
