One Million Arab Coders graduation
DUBAI INITIATIVE RECEIVED 1.1M APPLICANTS FROM AROUND THE ARAB WORLD SINCE ITS LAUNCH IN OCTOBER 2017
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, during the first graduation ceremony of the One Million Arab Coders initiative in Dubai, yesterday.
The One Million Arab Coders annual ceremony celebrated the initiative’s first batch of graduates and top achievers at the Vox Cinema in Mall of the Emirates yesterday, with over 22,000 people around the Arab world completing the programme this year.
His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, honoured 130 of the 250 top-achieving graduates, who attended the ceremony. He also posed for a memorable group picture with them and the audience.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, attended.
Speaking at the ceremony, Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid said that coding is a key skill in a knowledge-based economy. “Coding is the language of the future, and one of its key tools. It creates opportunities for future generations,” he said. “New technologies are the fastest way to create new opportunities for our youth.”
Khalfan Bel Houl, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation, said: “We can consider around 350,000 of those registered at the initiative to be ‘computer literate’ whereas out of 22,000 graduates, 250 achieved the ‘Nano degree’, which is equivalent to a BA in computer science. Today, only 130 of them were able to attend the ceremony.”
He noted that the initiative includes around 3,700 tutors from large companies around the world, 10 global partners, and 1,000 scholarships for advanced courses in coding.
Open-day
Bel Houl told Gulf News that the foundation was scheduled to host an open day after the ceremony for all registered participants at the initiative, which will gather some of the world’s leading companies in innovation.
The open-day event aims to
of 22,000 graduates earned a Nano degree
tutors from around the world joined initiative
facilitate a wide range of career opportunities for participants who are equipped with the skills to effectively contribute to the digital economy and the future of their communities.
The One Million Arab Coders initiative is the largest programme of its kind that seeks to train one million young Arabs in computer programming. It has received 1.1 million applicants from the Arab world since its launch in October 2017.
Abdul Kareem Rasheed from Saudi Arabia joined the programme in January. “I work in IT and I started training at the programme two months ago. I specialise in data analysis and have found the training to be a great way to learn new information as well as overcome challenges,” he said. Aiming to get the Nano degree, Rasheed said he tries to study for at least an hour a day.
Mohammad Samir, a web developer from Egypt, joined the programme in January when he learnt that it was offered in Arabic. “I was able to apply the knowledge I learnt at the programme in my job. The training was a great experience and I will benefit from it,” he said.