Innovation Arabia 14 Concludes On A High Note

The 14th edition of Innovation Arabia, which is the first virtual edition of the week event, was successfully concluded today. The three-day event witnessed a tremendous turnout, and included various rich sessions and panel discussions, bringing together the field’s most brilliant thinkers and innovators.

During the second day, two major panel discussions took place and discussed Professional Development in Healthcare Quality: Leveraging on online education and CSR and Societal support during and after Covid-19. Meanwhile, 11 parallel sessions were held, such as “Enabling a Smart Future with Secure Communications” presented by Mr. Nilesh Patel, EVP Secure Solutions, Digital14, “Employee motivation and work performance in the public sector of the UAE” presented by Ms. Shaikha Abdulla Naser Alblooshi, “Job Satisfaction and Its Impact on the Overall Performance of the Organization” presented by Mr. Ismail Ismail, “The Right Virtual Meeting Etiquette” presented by Mr. Saad Abbas, and “Artificial Intelligence in Education Process” presented by Jasim Al Ali and Shaima Al Harmoodi, to name a few, while the third day included a workshop that revolved around the topic of “Learning for a Different Future”, panel discussions and various parallel sessions.

In addition, the three-day event featured the “U-Start” Competition, which is platform for innovative thinkers, creators and young entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas and projects that utilize innovation to create solutions for modern-day issues, and create business ideas that cope with our rapidly changing world.

Furthermore, the third and final day of the event included a virtual workshop presented by His Excellency Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of Hamdan Bin Mohammad Smart University- HBMSU, which discussed education, skills, and the preparation towards the next 50 years in the United Arab Emirates.

His Excellency Dr. Mansoor Al Awar explained that the success of the 14th edition of Innovation Arabia is in line with the momentum achieved by the event, which has established a strong reputation over the years as one of the leading international conferences that enrich the scientific research and knowledge landscape, under the patronage and continuous guidance of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of HBMSU. Al Awar pointed out that the remarkable turnout at the conference reflects the growing global confidence in it as an important strategic platform for establishing successful partnerships and exploring new horizons to advance the growth and sustainability of the influencing sectors on the path of shaping the future. These include education, health care and the environment, in light of the rapid technological development that has become the most prominent feature of the 21st century. Such efforts have become imperative as the current circumstances highlight the importance of smart technology in enhancing proactiveness, ability and resilience in the face of unprecedented challenges.

Al-Awar added: “We are proud that the in-depth discussions hosted by the event in the presence of experts, thinkers and innovators have produced some highly relevant outcomes. We renew our commitment to supporting all efforts aimed at bringing about radical and positive change at all levels, in line with the UAE’s preparations for the next 50 years that will witness an unprecedented pace of progress to become a global leader by the year 2071. We are fully confident that the next edition will be of great distinction, given the pioneering achievements of our previous sessions in terms of the number of attendees this year of 70,000 from more than 160 countries, in addition to invaluable contributions to enriching the scientific and research landscape with many working papers and discussions with some of the most prominent personalities from around the world.”

From his side, Dr. Naseem Mohammed Rafee Abdulla, Director of Health & Safety Department – Dubai Municipality said: “As Head of Emergency and Crisis Management Team at Dubai Municipality, I work on improving the firm’s resilience and readiness to handle the pandemic in the current situation. Participating in the ‘Crises Management and Business Continuity’ theme in Innovation Arabia 14 has enriched my experience as this is a great platform to share our ideas and future plans with other scholars and professionals in CSR and societal support we conducted during and after Covid-19.”

From his side, Dr.  Kamel Mellahi, Senior Manager, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB), Dubai Chamber said: ““Participating in Innovation Arabia 14 provides one with the opportunity to join the conversation with experts and business leaders on some of the most pressing CSR and sustainability challenges facing the business community, and the world society. At the conference, I have shared some key insights from a recent CSR research carried out by the Dubai Chamber on how the Dubai businesses community has sought to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, and lessons learnt from the pandemic.”

This virtual edition of Innovation Arabia 14 was held in partnership and support of various leading associations and entities, such as ‘VRAR Association’, ‘EDARABIA’, ‘INJAZ AL Arab’, and ‘UNITAR’.

The event concluded with a closing session, which included the announcement of the “U-Start competition” winners which are: ‘NoFoasty’ from ‘Al Mawaheb School’ in first place and ‘Each Drop Matters’ from the ‘Applied Technology High’ in second place for the Schools category, and ‘Cooki’ from ‘Hamdan bin Mohamed Smart University’ in first place and ‘BusinessBazaar’ from ‘BITS Pilani Dubai’ in second place for the University Category.

During the closing session, Prof. Ahmed Ankit, Head of 14 Scientific Program and Dean of Research and Doctoral Studies, HBMSU, announced the main theme for Innovation Arabia 15, which will be held in February 2022, “Innovation Acceleration: Future Paradigms for Economic Growth and Sustainability”, and the sub-themes of the next edition, Innovation Systems for Sustainability, Innovative Approaches to Service Quality, Transformative Entrepreneurship, Agile leadership for creating a customer-centric culture, Skill-based learning, Resilience of Efficient Healthcare Systems, New paradigms and approaches for Healthcare and Well-being, Environmental Sustainability and Green Economy, and Accelerating Space Exploration: a need for a new generation. The themes discuss the different models of innovation leading to economic growth and sustainability, with various conference and exhibition sessions focusing on how countries can best harness the benefits of the innovative approaches to education, healthcare management and quality management to reap those benefits on all levels.

The closing session concluded with a closing note presented by Dr. Fahad Al Saadi, Chair of the Higher Organizing Committee for Innovation Arabia 14 and Vice Chancellor for University Advancement, HBMSU, during which he extended his appreciation to all the sponsors, partners and supporters of the event.

Innovation Arabia 14 is organized by INDEX Conferences and Exhibitions – a member of INDEX Holding, in partnership with Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University -HBMSU.