UAE’s early embrace of technology proves handy

Going digital is no more a choice but a necessity. The UAE’s early recognition of this fact and its successful transition to the heavy use of technology has come in handy and proved the leadership’s visionary approach at a time when the world is advocating social distancing in order to tackle COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

From the holding of a historic virtual cabinet meeting on Sunday by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum to the digital transformation of almost all aspects of life to make lives easy for citizens and residents, the UAE has proved the might of future foresight.

On the education front, the UAE has proved that it is the most prepared country for e-learning.

Schools and universities across the country started the first day of distance learning on Sunday, and as Sheikh Mohammed pointed out, “Schools are closed, but education will never stop. The UAE is the most well-equipped nation for smart learning. Learning continues at a distance, and from anywhere, because education is the main driver of the development of nations.”

It is indeed heartening that the educational process across the UAE schools are continuing with the highest degree of efficiency even as the world faces coronavirus outbreak that has prevented over half of the world’s student population from going to school.

Besides the Ministry of Education’s smart learning portals, Madrasa e-learning platform, launched in 2018 under the umbrella of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, is the biggest of its kind in the Arab world to provide more than 5,000 free Arabized educational videos in general science, math, biology, chemistry and physics, besides its newly-launched Arabic language lessons for 50 million Arab students from kindergarten to grade 12.

So much so that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, has recommended Madrasa e-learning platform as among the global powerful digital learning solutions that can help students continue their education in Arabic amid the worldwide school closures due to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak.

Arabic educational content on Madrasa was originally produced in coordination with a committee of specialised academic experts, teachers and professors from Zayed University and the Ministry of Education to cater to students from kindergarten to grade 12 based on approved curricula in the Arab world.

The content was then transformed into engaging and innovative story-telling videos in collaboration with specialised video editors, producers and voiceover artists.

On another front, the Sustainable City, the Middle East’s first fully-operational sustainable community, is collaborating with Generation.e to alter the format of the upcoming Smarter Mobility World into a fully digitised version: ‘Smarter Mobility World LIVE’.

Smarter Mobility World, slated to take place on March 24-25, is a two-day summit that brings together game-changers, solution providers, policy shapers and makers, and thought leaders from across the world to consider, collaborate, co-create and consolidate efforts for accelerating the transition to electric and smart mobility in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Interestingly, the live stream will be free of charge, open for all, and feature product demonstrations, panel discussions, fireside chats, live global Q&As, and interactions with a live digital audience.

The UAE has a stated goal of becoming a leading global hub and an open lab for the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s applications. The country is already witnessing the fruitful results of such futuristic thinking.