The Ministry of Education and Siemens have
announced software licenses for five universities in the UAE, valued at 100
million Euros in total. The partnership between the Ministry of Education and
Siemens, comes on the back of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
between both parties last year.
The grant seeks to advance digital skills in
the country to support its economic diversification goals, underscoring
Siemens’ contribution to the Year of Giving in 2017. The license handover was
made during a signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi, attended by His Excellency Dr.
Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, the UAE’s Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced
Skills, and Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, said the UAE’s
wise leadership places great attention to building youth skills as they are our
assets for the future and leading its development as pointed out by H.H. Sheikh
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE
and Ruler of Dubai in his last speech about future vision that “the new phase
focuses on “future skills, future sciences and future technology, as we prepare
for the centenary to ensure a better future for our generations”. This is why
this grant by Siemens’ as part of its contribution to the Year of Giving in
2017 is key to building digital skills and
fostering innovation among UAE nationals which is in line with the UAE
centurial and contributes to meeting future aspirations.
Following an open call for submissions of
compelling ideas that illustrated how universities would use the company’s
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software, the Ministry of Education selected
UAE University, Zayed University, Higher Colleges of Technology, Khalifa
University of Science and Technology, and Rochester Institute of Technology.
Students and faculty at these universities can use the software for academic
and institutional purposes to develop the required skills to drive the
country’s digital transformation.
“During the Year of Giving in the UAE, private
companies are inspired to engage in activities that reflect the spirit of
generosity and bring benefits to the community. We believe this is a natural
desire; to give back to society and support the country’s long-term aspirations
for a sustainable knowledge economy,”
Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG,
bolstered the company’s strong commitment to developing local skills in the
United Arab Emirates (UAE) by announcing an in-kind software grant of up to 100
million euros. The grant will see the company’s Product Lifecycle Management
(PLM) and MindSphere software used for academic and institutional purposes to
develop the skills required to drive the country’s digital transformation.
The software grant will stimulate research activity among higher
education institutions, encourage talent development among UAE nationals in
digitalization and innovation, and support alignment between academia and
industry. The software grant was first announced during the opening ceremony of
the first Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit (GMIS) held in Abu
Dhabi in March this year.
06/11/2017