Innovation Month catalyst for progress
It confirms the reality that nations that offer workable solutions will shape the future of mankind
AE’s vision of engineering a society and country powered by innovation and future applications is gathering momentum and the launch of the Innovation Month from February 1 is another accelerator to move towards that goal. The month-long initiative will evidence a grass-root level penetration of the spirit of innovation with an encompassing sweep — from competitions and workshops engaging the community to forums, exhibitions and launch of national initiatives for innovation, which each emirate will showcase as part of its innovation activities.
It was in 2014 that the UAE marked its mission: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had launched the National Innovation Strategy. The strategy, aimed at mapping seven crucial sectors — renewable energy, transport, education, health, technology, water and space — was committed to make the UAE among the most innovative nations in the world.
This vision is premised on the reality that countries that offer workable solutions are the ones that will shape the future of mankind. And the world needs plenty of solutions for the myriad challenges it faces in every sphere of life — from health, education, economy, technology and environment to sciences, social sciences and social engineering. The greater the proliferation of ideas and implementations, the better will be the forecast for mankind’s security and progress.
In today’s challenging times, there is a dire need for every society to move away from conventional thinking, even to seek solutions for conventional problems, and the UAE has done well to display its preemptive, intuitive grasp of the importance of innovation.
A significant component of the Innovation Month, predicated on the four impetuses of creative disciplines — innovative leader, creative thinker, change maker and inspirational thinker — is the surging participation of students via various programmes and projects in every emirate. This nationwide harvesting of young ideas augurs well for the country as it secures its future by steadily working towards becoming a mega incubator of solutions for everyone’s good.
The Innovation Month is the kind of large-scale envisioning by the UAE that not only has made it the biggest project of its kind for the country, but also demonstrated to the world at large how the urgency of innovation can be converted into a work ethic, thus become an integral part of the national fabric.