Govt, private entities take part in Innovation Month in Sharjah

Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Head of the Supervisory Committee of the UAE Innovation Month in Sharjah, inaugurated the forum with a welcoming speech in which he affirmed the keenness of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to promote a culture of innovation and ideas in the Emirate as a fundamental pillar of the development of society. 

Al Suwaidi stressed that Innovation is a way of life, and it does not always require lots of money or time and effort, as much as it needs self-belief and the ability to change and keep pace with the developments and changes around us.

Al Suwaidi thanked His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and to His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, for their support to the Forum and for the UAE Innovation Month activites and events that would bring out the best in man to serve man.

Innovation not just invention or discovery
Inventor Khalifa Al Jaziri, Projects Advisor for the Commercial Affairs Regulatory Section at the Ministry of Economy and co founder of Smart IoT and Dubai Blockchain Center and one of the first innovators in the UAE, explained the concept of innovation and the latest developments in future innovations stressing that everyone has the ability to innovate. “However, it is necessary a person must trust his abilities, and put away from his mind the idea that innovation is a type of invention or discovery, and instill in himself the principle that innovation is a daily practice aimed at improving the quality of life, finding the easiest way to overcome the challenges that a person faces in his life,” he added.

Al-Jaziri said: “Innovation is the journey between idea and invention, and therefore a person must accustom himself to thinking in an innovative way and not ignore or reject any idea that comes to his mind, no matter how small, because all the innovations that we see today are built on a previous innovation or idea.” 

Explaining the world of Metaverse
Dr. Marwan Al Zarooni, Director of Information Services Department at the Dubai Electronic Security Center and Executive Director of the Dubai Blockchain Center, talked about the issue of digital space and indivisible coding by introducing the concept of “nft”, which are tokens or ownership of everything digital that is obtained in a digital wallet. “It contains codes that prove individuals' ownership of various assets such as cars, money, etc. All rights are preserved as they are known to the whole world, and are impossible to hack.”

Al-Zarouni also spoke about the “metaverse”, which is known as virtual world or virtual reality, and these worlds allow the sale and purchase of lands through the smart contract, and these virtual lands and properties can be used to organise sporting events, and various activities in these virtual worlds. Innovation has allowed the world to facilitate the transfer, ownership and sale of assets, as well as allowing people to experience different worlds and different experiences.
Sheikh Saud bin Sultan Al Qasimi: "UAE bets on the capabilities and skills of its youth"
In a special address moderated by Asmaa Hassouni of Sharjah Broadcasting Authority, Sheikh Saud bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Director of the Sharjah Digital Office, said: "Innovation has become imperative in the UAE, as the country is now competing globally. From this stems the necessity of innovation and renewal, especially given the rapid changes that the world is going through in terms of technology. It is necessary to listen and search for good and creative ideas and turn them into practical innovations in various fields of life.”

He added: "The challenges in our lives are many, and there is no way to overcome them by conventional methods. Therefore we need creativity, innovation and smart solutions."

Sheikh Saud bin Sultan Al Qasimi stressed the necessity of nurturing and supporting young people’s ideas to achieve a qualitative leap in all fields that the UAE is working on developing, as innovation leads to better healthcare, infrastructure, and greater job opportunities. He pointed out that innovation is one of the most important digital transformation accelerators in the world today as well as the UAE. “Led by the vision and directives of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, and the support of the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, Sharjah has adopted innovation as an approach in all its institutions,” he emphasised.

The Emirate of Sharjah and the UAE are betting on the skills and capabilities of young people and are betting on their abilities to maintain the UAE's march of progress and mapping out their own future, he added.

He urged the youth: "Trust your ideas, study them well, and participate in building your renewed homeland."

Innovation is a learned skill
The panel discussion entitled "Innovation between Methodology and Application" saw the participation of HE Hanan Al Mahmoud, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Rubu' Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators, HE Eng. Anwar Mohamed Al Shammari, Executive Director of the Geospatial Information Governance Sector at the Federal Center for Geographic Information, Colonel Tariq Al Midfa, Director of the Strategy and Performance Development Department at the Sharjah Police General Command, and Dr. Adel Saeed Sajwani, Family Medicine Specialist at Fakeeh University Hospital. The discussion was moderated by Ahmed Sultan Al Ali from the Sharjah Broadcasting Authority. The discussion centred on innovative practices in government work, and the relationship of innovation with the development of work and performance, knowledge and innovation of employees, and linking innovation with the outputs and directions of the country.

Colonel Tariq Al Midfa, Director of the Strategy and Performance Development Department at the Sharjah Police General Command, stressed that innovation has become part of the mission of any institution, whether government or private, because innovation works to develop innovative ideas to achieve the public interest, pointing out that innovation is not necessarily a radical leap. Rather, it begins gradually and cumulatively because innovation builds on what has been previously achieved. It also aims to motivate employees, raise the quality of their performance, and remove obstacles and challenges they face.

He also pointed out that the UAE has witnessed great leaps thanks to its adoption of a culture of innovation and creativity, and that there is no innovation motivating individuals to make it a part of their work because innovation is an activity that must be practised on a daily basis. 

The employee must think about the best ways of providing services to customers through cooperation and listening to what the customer wants to achieve customer happiness, because the UAE places the happiness of its citizens and residents among its priorities.

Dr. Adel Saeed Sajwani, a specialist in family medicine at Fakeeh University Hospital, said that during the past two years, innovative projects and ideas have increased in particular because the Coronavirus pandemic has imposed new conditions on the world, which have made innovation a necessity for those who want to continue working in various fields. The pandemic has forced the medical sector to develop and adopt new solutions to make it easier for customers to obtain medical advice on test results, book appointments, and others.

He pointed out that the customer is forcing the medical sector with its various facilities to develop due to the high competitiveness, especially in the private sector. The sectors must keep pace with these rapid changes in order to maintain their presence in the labor market, as the UAE leadership encourages innovation and adopts the most prominent initiatives that will facilitate access to services.

Sajwani said: "It is necessary to educate new generations on the culture of innovation, so that we can create a new generation that believes in this culture, and makes it a main component of its person through leadership programmes and courses that support these generations, because innovation makes the individual a special person, by translating his imagination into reality."

Hanan Al Mahmoud, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Rubu’ Qarn Foundation for Creating Leaders and Innovators, said: “The Emirate of Sharjah is keen to unify efforts and resources through its various institutions, which provide an incubating environment for the talents of individuals at different ages, and invest the energies of children and young people, so that the Foundation becomes a community partner that keeps pace with the aspirations and strategies of the government - in Sharjah and the UAE.”

Al Mahmoud explained that the culture of innovation begins at home, and schools, universities and the work environment in the future work to support and develop this culture, because innovation is not only a talent that a person is born with, but rather an acquired skill that an individual can learn at any stage of his life.

Al-Mahmoud pointed out that the wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al Qasimi, President of the Supreme Council for Families Affairs, is one of the most prominent innovators in Sharjah and the UAE, as she is looking for ways to improve the services provided, through the adoption of scientific research, and offer access to all that is new in the field of innovation.

Eng. Anwar Mohammed Al-Shammari, Executive Director of the Geospatial Information Governance Sector at the Federal Center for Geographical Information, said: "Job innovation is based on developing employees' skills and developing the work environment in a way that motivates the employee to work and produce to come up with creative and innovative ideas."

She added: "The responsibility for innovation lies with everyone in the organisation, but there must be a kind of leadership through appointing CEOs for innovation who have the absolute authority to manage the process of innovation and change, and training in the field of innovation is very important. For training to instill the concept and accept new ideas, as innovation is measured by the number of intellectual properties and scientific research. Scientific research is an essential pillar of innovation and supports development and inputs for entities.
She said: "Innovation is a way of life and that it is an addition, not a burden, because it is one of the basic ingredients upon which the future is built. The individual must step out of his comfort zone and adopt various innovative ideas."

The UAE Innovation Month in Sharjah activities will continue until February 18. The participation of the Emirate in the UAE Innovation Month is part of the government’s continuous efforts to foster a culture of innovation in the government sector by celebrating creative innovators and highlighting their achievements that have made a positive change in the people's lives and their future.