It seems to any follower of what is happening in the UAE that it is a country that operates like a beehive; as one event ends others emerge. For example, the Future Innovation Summit took place from October 13 to 14 in Dubai and on October 20, the Annual Forum of Al-Ittihad newspaper was held in Abu Dhabi under the title: “Economic development… The locomotive of stability and civilizational contribution.”

Both events touched on several important points, the most important of which is the creation of a new generation armed with knowledge of advanced sciences and innovation to build a strong knowledge economy. The Future Innovation Summit was organized under the auspices of The Private Office of Sheikh Saqer Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi. Sheikh Saqer Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi stated that this Summit reflects the country’s 2040 vision because it focuses on the development of sectors of interest to the state, such as healthcare, education, artificial intelligence, etc.

That is why the Summit brought together leading professionals and leading companies from these industries under one roof. Professor Muthanna Abdul Razzaq, President and CEO of the American University in the Emirates, also explained in the panel discussion, “A Paradigm Shift in Learning due to the Pandemic”, that the university’s programs have been transformed to meet current pandemic-influenced market requirements. He also indicated that one of the success stories to have emerged is that Sheikh Saqer Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, one of the American University’s graduates, is now a member of the Board of Trustees, thanks to his support for development and innovation.

Developing education and attracting talent are what Hamad Al Kaabi, editor-in-chief of Al-Ittihad newspaper, emphasized in his speech at the Forum. He highlighted that the newspaper continuously, each and every day, creates content that highlights what innovative people can offer, especially young people in the field of artificial intelligence and innovation in order to contribute to the creation of the knowledge economy.

The Forum demonstrated the importance of advanced science to young people in a panel titled “Knowledge Economy and Promoting Innovation,” showcasing the innovations of a medical student, Mohammed Al Hashemi, and Fatima Al Kaabi, who has several inventions and is currently specializing in computer science and completing her studies in the United States.

The significance of advanced science to students was also present during the Future Innovation Summit Exhibition, where the students of the American University in the Emirates talked about their innovations. For example, Ahmed Atallah has created “gamification”, which is about transforming academic tasks into competitive games, while Sarah Mohammed has created a security system that relies on fingerprint identification when entering the gates of government agencies.

The most important thing we can deduct from these two crucial activities is that the UAE is well underway with developing a knowledge economy, but in order to move forward, a creative and innovative generation must be nurtured, and the media must be supportive of this trend.