Inspiration behind the advancement

The people of the UAE find their inspiration in the call of the wise leadership to research, develop and innovate. The UAE Government has launched several strategies and policies to accomplish this ambition. Read about the strategies and policies.
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Open Labs platform

In 2018, the UAE government launched the Open Labs platform, which is considered to be the first database of scientific equipment and laboratories in the UAE. The Open Labs platform will link UAE laboratories to scientists and science experts. Scientists will have access to world-class research equipment, laboratories and more than 150 research devices throughout the country.

The platform will include six major research institutions in the UAE including:

Objectives of the Open Lab platform

The objectives of the Open Lab platform are to:

  • provide an outstanding infrastructure to improve the country's scientific sectors
  • reduce the cost of research activities by 30 per cent
  • ensure the continuity of research projects
  • support scientific research advancement
  • share knowledge across institutions and disciplines.

The platform is an initiative of Emirates Scientists Council (ESC), which is in charge of creating a supportive environment for research and scientists as part of the UAE Advanced Science Agenda 2031.

Read news coverage relating to the initiative of Open Labs on WAM. 

 

The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF)

The Mohammed bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) is an AED 2 billion initiative from Ministry of Finance (MoF), established to bolster the innovation ecosystem and provide assistance to innovators with an aim to create a positive impact on the economy of the UAE.

Objective of MBRIF

The objective of MBRIF is to support:

  1. the UAE Innovation Strategy and achieve the UAE’s vision to be amongst the most innovative countries internationally
  2. innovative solutions with the potential to contribute to UAE’s economy
  3. innovators from all sectors with focus on the UAE Innovation Strategy’s priority sectors
  4. the UAE-based innovators or those who are looking to build their presence in the UAE
  5. innovation with strong market commercialisation potential.

Guarantee scheme

Guarantee scheme is a programme enabling access to affordable debt finance for innovative growth stage companies that have the potential to contribute to UAE’s economic development and diversification. Access to finance support is provided in the form of government-backed credit guarantees without diluting equity. This programme enables UAE to be a launch pad for innovators, and attracting and localising their innovations. 

Innovation accelerator

The Innovation accelerator programme provides non-financial support to high potential innovators from across the globe to thrive in the UAE and beyond. The programme identifies, equips and provides bespoke services to the innovators to thrive as per the needs of the ecosystem through the programme’s unique member-centric design, customised services, and unparalleled access to coaches and industry experts to enable making a tangible positive impact towards the UAE’s economy.

Mostaqbal Portal

In an effort to promote science, technology and research among UAE youth and Arab world, Dubai Future Foundation launched its Mostaqbal (future) Portal.

Arabic readers will have access to the latest technological and scientific news in simplified terms.The platform will publish studies, articles, visual materials and infographics in areas such as space science, health, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality in easy Arabic terms.

The initiative aims to support scientific content presented in Arabic, especially in areas that have long faced a shortage of content for Arab readers and researchers.

The Ministry of Education, Dubai Smart Government, Al Bayan newspaper and Sky News Arabia will  publish the portal’s content after signing agreements with the Foundation.

The initiative will support innovation and scientific research process in the Arab world as this portal will serve as a unique content source for regional scientific and technical specialists.

The Arabic content of the portal is available on mostaqbal.ae and English content on futurism.com.

Sourced from the National newspaper.

Popular Science Arabia Magazine

H. H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai launched the first edition of Popular Science Arabia Magazine, urging the Arab youth to evolve, adapt and learn to keep pace with a transforming world and restore Arab’s cultural superiority.  

Sheikh Mohammed mentioned that the Arabic language is capable to adapt to the modern sciences and discoveries, and can create superior technical terms that better represent modern inventions and developments. He called upon the Arab youth to seize and create new opportunities for knowledge and invention. 

Founded in 1872 in the United States, Popular Science targets an audience of non-expert science and technology enthusiasts. The magazine publishes articles by successful world-famous scientists and pioneers in science and technology.

Useful links:

Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Accelerated Research

Mohammed bin Rashid Centre for Accelerated Research (MBRCAR) is a global platform launched by Dubai Future Foundation to attract the best minds from all over the world to innovate new opportunities through advanced scientific researches that are supported by the internet.

The centre adopts a new concept based on participatory and open research between scientists around the world and facilitates transparent grants for best researchers which will accelerate scientific financing process and allows researchers to focus on challenges of the 21st century.

The centre aims to achieve:

  • 10 times faster scientific research
  • cut scientific research costs by 70 per cent
  • accelerate scientific research by 50 per cent.

The researches will cover more than 50 topics in different scientific fields. The first project that will be tackled is the Mohammed bin Rashid Global Space Challenge. The challenge includes a financial grant for a research community of 3,000 scientists to carry out new research in the field of space science and technology.

The project supports the UAE’s space-related initiatives, including UAE Mars City and the Mars 2117 project. MBRCAR will publish the findings of all its researches for academic and research communities around the world.

Updated On :

30 Dec 2024