The UAE has become a hub for innovation and a ground for emerging technologies.

While the digital transformation of all aspects of life has yielded rich dividends on multiple fronts, UAE’s efforts to become a leading global centre of 3D printing is particularly remarkable.

The Dubai Future Foundation, DFF, being officially recognised as a new Guinness World Records title holder for building the world’s first 3D-printed commercial building has added another feather to the nation’s cap. This is an addition to the over 400 world records the UAE currently holds.

The feat is truly amazing because created with just one printer, which measured 20 feet in height, 120 feet in length and 40 feet in width, the construction of the Office of the Future used 50 per cent less manpower than conventional buildings of a comparable size and produced 60 per cent less construction waste.

Overall, it took merely 17 days to print, two days to install and three months to build, including the landscape and interior design.

Today, the office is home to DFF’s Dubai Future Academy, a knowledge hub that seeks to prepare generations of leaders with the skills and tools to understand and adopt emerging technology, as well as address future challenges.

As Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of DFF, pointed out, the Office of the Future’s success in achieving the global recognition embodies the vision of the UAE leadership and their innovative spirit in realising the importance of adopting emerging technology such as 3D printing and using it in the development of vital sectors and the creation of new economic opportunities, further positioning Dubai and the UAE as a hub for innovation and a testbed for emerging technologies.

The global 3D printing sector is expected to be worth around $120 billion by 2020 and $300 billion by 2025.

Keeping pace with technological changes has remained a passion for the nation.

Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, DEWA, recently highlighted how the organisation places innovation at the top of its priorities to achieve the government plans and strategies.

DEWA has institutionalised innovation across all its divisions and operations. This helped achieve competitive results surpassing international utilities. DEWA reduced losses from electricity transmission and distribution networks in 2019 to 3.2% compared to 6-7% in Europe and the US.

Water network losses were reduced to 6.6% compared to around 15% in North America. DEWA also achieved the lowest customer minutes lost per year CML in the world of 1.86 CML compared to around 15 minutes in Europe.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already revolutionising every major industry and it will only continue to grow at rapid pace.

Interestingly, Dubai is set to witness, for the first time ever, the participation of the world’s first humanoid robot citizen ‘Sophia’ in a specialised professional forum of internal auditors to deliver a talk and interact with professionals.

Sophia will conduct a session “Artificial Intelligence, AI, in the Internal Audit Profession” on the first day of the 20th Annual Regional Audit Conference, to be held from April 12 to 14, 2020 in Dubai under the theme “Future Technology Shaping Internal Audit”.

The organisers facilitated Sophia’s presence as a symbol of the future of artificial intelligence.

Anticipating future challenges, goal-driven performance and continuous upgradation are absolute necessities for nations to shine. The UAE has been blessed with a leadership that recognises this crucial aspect.