Hamdan Bin Mubarak: Our Initiatives are Perpetual; We All look forward to a Bright FutureHis Excellency Sheikh Hamdan Bin
Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research emphasized
during the launching ceremony on Thursday of the Ministry’s (MOHESR) Award for Smart
Applications (First Session 2013-2014) that
"initiatives do not end at any success, achievement or failure-God forbid-…everyone
is looking for a bright future in which the higher education sector supplements
our various institutions with the most distinctive and qualified expertise".
In an address, delivered on his behalf by the Ministry's
Undersecretary, Dr. Saeed Al Hassani, the Minister quoted a phrase by HH Sheikh
Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan: "Developing individuals on the Emirates soil
is the real treasure since wealth is not eternal and science is the essence of
progress."
He stated: "HH has realized the UAE citizen's deep sense
of citizenship, which he upholds, not as a mere slogan void of any meaning, but
as a true exercise driven by a deep conviction, faith and pride in and love of
his country and pride in belonging to one family and knowing that the shortest
road to a goal is confrontation and endeavor to explore the unknown, overcome
human weakness, limitations and limited potentials to arrive at the universe of
knowledge."
The Award is considered the
first step to compete for HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum's Smart
Government Prize. MOHESR is the first ministry to launch such a prize since
Sheikh Hamadan announced implementation of the initiative during the Government
Excellence Conference.
The Award targets university
students of various academic stages and enrolled students as well. During the first day
of launching the prize, the United Arab Emirates University, Khalifa University
and the Higher Technical Colleges expressed their students' desires to
participate in the Award; hence, universities will compete as multiple teams,
each group devising an application to transform one of the ministry's services
into a smart service.
The opportunity will be open in the second stage of the
prize for a larger number of UAE universities since the prize is meant to motivate
and encourage universities and students to conceive creative and innovative
smart applications and guarantee round-the-clock access to governmental
services.
It also aims to provide the highest international
standards through raising efficiency of educational services, supporting
continuous improvement and development of the
higher education sector.
In addition, it aims to support scientific research and
encourage creativity and innovation as well as contribute to creating a
knowledge-based society, in order to strengthen strategic partnerships with
educational institutions, both governmental and private, and invest the
energies of students, urging them to compete in a positive and fruitful manner.
In his opening remarks at the ceremony, Sheikh Hamdan
said the prize reflects the leadership's keenness to promote the Ministry's
role to offer outstanding governmental services and contribute to fulfilling
the UAE's 2021 vision in line with HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum's
smart government vision upon which he envisioned the future government.
"We are committed to always be up to expectations,
so that the prize can achieve its objective of galvanizing and encouraging
universities and students to come forward with creative and innovative smart
phone solutions and ensure round-the-clock access to governmental services in
order to meet the public's needs and beyond," he said.
He went on: "The high education sector had,
alongside other sectors, contributed to the creation of an ambitious,
self-confident and cohesive people upholding their heritage and on whom the
strong union pins high hopes and which form its common destiny armed with
creativity and innovation", he said, adding that the country's successes
and achievements are boundless.
The ceremony included a workshop and a review of the
various scopes and objectives of the prize run by Director of the Strategic
Planning Department Lubna Al Shamsi as well as an evaluation of the ministry's
distinctive institutional performance. It was followed by an interactive debate
by participating students and educators, namely the directors of the Abu Dhabi
Education Board, UAE University, Khalifa University and the Higher Technical
College.
Catagories of the 2014-2013 Smart Applications Award are:
Smart Phone Applications, Outstanding Website Services ((HTML 5), Technical
Solutions via Short Message Service (SMS), and Applications Creativity. The
evaluation criteria of efficiency and effectiveness are ease of use, creativity
and innovation.
Interested
parties can visit the Ministry’s website to access the submission process and
schedule.
18/06/2013