Innovation has become established govt, social culture in UAE: Al Tayer

Dubai / Emirates Business

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) organised the 6th Creativity and Innovation Conference as part of DEWA Innovation Week. This takes place in conjunction with the 2nd UAE Innovation Week, which is organised annually in adherence with the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to celebrate innovators in the UAE. Organising the Creativity and Innovation Conference supports DEWA’s commitment to encouraging creativity, its efforts to be a hub for government innovation, and its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility.
The conference was attended by HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA, Executive Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, and a large number of DEWA’s employees. The conference discuss a number of key issues related to motivating innovation in different areas, with a focus on renewable energy and water. A number of experts and specialists participated in the conference.
“DEWA’s efforts in innovation support the efforts of the UAE’s wise leadership to shape the future and prepare for change. The UAE government has launched an integrated strategy that makes shaping the future an axis for government work in its efforts to identify priorities and develop its policies. Innovation has become an established government and social culture in the UAE. The National Innovation Strategy, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has become an effective tool in disseminating a culture of innovation among all members of society. The strategy aims to make the UAE one of the most innovative countries in the world by 2021, to stimulate innovation within government, especially in seven national key sectors. These are renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space. The Dubai Innovation Strategy, which was approved by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Dubai Future Foundation, focuses on ten sectors that are aligned to the National Innovation Strategy, and aims to improve living standards in Dubai. At DEWA, we recognise that innovation is a priority for improving our services and initiatives, and a key element for developing our strategies and work plans. We adopt innovation as a basis for continuous improvement and development. We provide all that is necessary to enhance knowledge and creativity, and provide an environment that motivates creativity and innovation across all DEWA. We have incorporated innovation in DEWA’s vision, and created Strategic Innovation to raise its importance as a theme to encompass 40% of the DEWA2021 strategy. We have developed a comprehensive strategy to drive organisational innovation and empower DEWA to achieve its vision to become a sustainable innovative world-class utility,” said Al Tayer.
“We are carrying out the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to implement the objectives set by the Dubai Future Agenda, and launch the Dubai Future Foundation. The Foundation will oversee the implementation of the Dubai Future Agenda to shape the future of the strategic sectors in the UAE, especially in Dubai. DEWA is actively supporting the Dubai Future Agenda to establish the largest Government Accelerators in the world, by launching an interactive innovation centre at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The Innovation Centre is equipped with the latest renewable and clean technologies to train Emiratis in energy, and promote competitiveness in the market by incubating start-ups that innovate on technological models and solutions to develop renewable energy technologies, and support energy development in the region as a whole. DEWA contributes to the Dubai Future Accelerators initiative by supporting continuous Research and Development, keeping pace with rapid technological developments, innovating, and reviewing the best international experiences and expertise in operating systems, mobile computing, cloud computing, virtualisation, distribution systems, software engineering, the Internet of Things, robots, Open Data and Big Data, using drones in the energy and water sectors. This will contribute to achieving our vision and strategic plans in different areas, including energy and water smart networks,” he added.
“DEWA makes every effort to support innovators and creative minds. We give special attention to talented individuals and help them to develop their abilities, improve their skills and knowledge, and gain new experiences. These efforts contribute to achieving the Dubai Plan 2021, to make Dubai a city of happy, creative and empowered people. DEWA launched the Afkari internal portal to encourage creativity and innovation among employees. It is a central repository for managing innovation and ensuring continuous improvement and development in DEWA, while contributing to achieving its developmental objectives. We are committed to studying all suggestions and ideas and working on implementing the innovative and constructive ones. Our staff’s positive reaction to the portal reflects their understanding of their responsibilities and their commitment to enhancing government work and the work environment. It also underlines their support to this excellent initiative and their willingness to share their ideas and suggestions to achieve more successes and accomplishments. We have launched a series of innovation camps as part of our committed to supporting talented employees, and providing them with the tools and training programmes required to achieve DEWA’s vision. The camps help improve our services and explore new ways to provide innovative services in a more efficient, and comfortable way according to the highest international standards to achieve everyone’s happiness. DEWA is also organising the Solar Decathlon Middle East (SDME), which is scheduled to take place in 2018, and again in 2020. The decathlon motivates university students and encourages them to innovate and use their creativity to design efficient and self-sufficient buildings. This supports the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050 that relies on innovation, and Research and Development as the basis for the future of energy,” said Al Tayer.
Al Tayer noted that this year’s Innovation Week at DEWA featured various activities and events. These included the Future Hub, which highlighted four main themes: Green Planet, Immersive Experiences, Smart City, and Connected World. The Innovation Exhibition highlighted future innovations related to electricity and water, and the Future Dome featured many activities including I-Talk sessions and Innovation Talk. A competition was launched for students to design, build, test and race solar-powered remote control cars. The competition encourages the young to learn about clean energy, in a highly-engaging manner. Winners of the DEWA Future Utility Cup were announced. This is the first global competition of its kind. It is part of DEWA’s cooperation with the global start-up incubator 1776, to accelerate the pace of innovation in energy. It tapped into 1776’s extensive network of over 3,000 start-ups that have participated in the 1776 Challenge Cup in 2015 and 2016.
During the Innovation Week, a number of initiatives were launched to provide an innovative environment for DEWA’s staff. These include launching a smart app for Afkari for staff through the Smart Office, which provides DEWA’s employees a seamless experience when completing their tasks, to achieve their happiness. Ebtikari was also launched to encourage inventors and designers from around the world to present their innovations using a smart platform. This includes scientific and engineering competitions for inventors, scientists, university students, and engineers to present solutions and innovations in sustainable energy, and water.
“As a result of our efforts to establish a culture of innovation and creativity across all operations and services, and our commitment to providing a positive and motivating work environment, DEWA has received numerous prestigious local and international awards. However, we do not rest on our laurels, but will continue to enhance innovation in all our operations and services. We are confident that the Innovation Week and the Innovation and Creativity Conference will play an important role in promoting a culture of innovation in Dubai, and the UAE,” concluded Al Tayer.
The 6th Creativity and Innovation Conference included a number of innovative activities and events. These included a keynote on the ‘Connected World: How we will live and Communicate in the Future,’ an interactive session on Internet of Things: Energy in 2050, a session on #Switching on the Lights: new sustainable energy business models for a fast-changing world,’ and a session pm #Are you Future Proof?’
DEWA staff and participants expressed their appreciation for DEWA for organising the annual Creativity and Innovation Conference, and commended the topics covered in the conference. They also praised DEWA’s continuous efforts to establish innovation and creativity as a corporate culture.