2071 Moonshot Apprenticeship Program
The UAE’s ‘2071 Moonshot Apprenticeship Program’ invited elite graduates from distinguished universities, colleges, and academic institutions in the UAE and the world, to collaborate with the UAE in co-creating and piloting innovative solutions to the pressing challenges, the governments face. These solutions will be working prototypes that could be used to create radical changes in the UAE’s journey of development towards the next fifty years.
The programme was announced on 15 February 2021. It received 700 applications from young talents around the world. Only ten apprentices were selected. Through an interactive digital platform, the programme teamed up selected apprentices with a select group of UAE Government officials to work together on designing experimental models that include break-through ideas to address long-term challenges, which will then be adopted by the UAE Government.
The programme lasted for three months from June to August 2021. It resulted in launching the Moonshot Pilot Grant, which is a new public sector innovation fund that invites the international community to test piloting ideas in the UAE.
The grant aims to attract global experts to develop and implement innovative ideas to improve public sector initiatives and enhance the UAE’s readiness for the future. It offers up to 100,000 USD per pilot that will facilitate testing of potential government initiatives and accelerate their development and implementation in the public sector.
Watch this video about 2071 Moonshot Apprenticeship Program.
Space Economic Zones Program
The Space Economic Zones Program is an integrated programme developed by the UAE Space Agency to support space startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) so that they can contribute to the national space economy through partnerships with various stakeholders in the UAE.
The main initiatives of the programme are:
- Space Economy Stimulus Packages
- Space Labs
- Space Economic Zones.
The objectives of the initiatives include:
- creating an attractive and integrated business environment to meet local and international needs
- enhancing the competitiveness of companies operating in the space economy, which contributes to enhancing the demand for space applications and services
- stimulating innovation and growing the sector's economic contribution to the country's non-oil GDP.
Space Package Incentives
- Express permit: this permit allows the practice of specific space activities, including licences, permissions and approvals
- Space labs: through space labs, companies will get the chance to utilise the space facilities in the UAE in partnership with the space centres, and they will get space technical consultancy service provided by space experts
- Accelerators: opportunities will be provided by to help space start-ups and SMEs accelerate their business and take it to the next level
- Funds and financial solutions: funds and attractive financial solutions will be provided to help space startups and SMEs sustain their growth in the UAE
- Working spaces: in cooperation with its local partners in the emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the programme's first phase will provide offices and working spaces at competitive rates in an integrated space-ecosystem environment that will help companies grow and develop their business
- Promotion opportunities: The UAE Space Agency will offer promotion opportunities that will help companies expand their space expertise network and get the latest updates on the rapidly growing space sector through participating in various national and international space conferences and events.
'Arab Space Pioneers’ Programme
The ‘Arab Space Pioneers’ Programme aims to build Arab expertise in space science and technologies. Overseen by the UAE Space Agency, the programme will equip young Arab researchers, scientists, inventors and creative talents with skills and expertise required to lead a career in the growing space sector.
It is a three-year intensive training programme that incubates young talents and expands their career prospects in the region’s emerging space technologies. The programme aims to invest in young Arab capacities who, in turn, can actively contribute to the global science community and drive scientific, economic and social development in their societies. It highlights the importance of investing in the multi-faceted space technology as a major driver of the future knowledge-based economy in the region.
Benefits of the programme
Participants in the ‘Arab Space Pioneers’ Programme will receive a number of benefits including:
- a world-class specialized training in space science and technology
- a fully-covered three-year residency in the UAE
- access to scholarships and other financial incentives
- an opportunity to build advanced satellites in the UAE
- future job opportunities
- an opportunity to join teams of Emirati researchers, engineers and experts in a number of space projects.
Read news coverage on WAM.
National Space Programme
Read about the National Space Programme.
The UAE Astronaut Programme
Read about the UAE Astronaut Programme.
Updated on:
25 Nov 2025
