What it will be like living in a 100-year-old UAE
dubai — How will the UAE be at its centenary in 2071? With this in mind, teachers and experts shared their vision into the future of learning and education at a summit called What Works, hosted by Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) on Monday.
Discussions revolved around Area 2071, the UAE’s innovation programme, which focuses on propelling innovators to use technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in addressing important human challenges.
“We are not trying to predict how the world will look like in 2071 — no one can do that — but what we can today is to take a look into a happy and meaningful life,” Dr Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA director general, said.
“The future of education cannot be predicted but influencing educators can play a big role in inspiring change. This ongoing dialogue inspires all of us to go beyond the ordinary and look at exciting innovations that will shape the future of learning.”
Taking centrestage at the event, educators got updates on the Mars One project, which hopes to establish the first human settlement on Mars by 2031.
Dubai resident and Polish expat Mikolaj Zielinski, 41, who made it through the first two rounds of the Mars One Astronaut Selection Programme, which started in 2013, said: “It is an exciting opportunity to be selected among the first 100 hopefuls have who will make it to the next round of selection. For me it is very exciting to be part of the Mars programme because there is no going back. I will stay there till the end of my life and contribute to the scientific advancement of human race.
“The Mars Mission will lead us to many discoveries, which will completely change the way we think of ourselves as humans.”
Zielinski, who is software engineer by profession, presented artist visualisations of living capsules designed to make life on Mars a reality for the first human settlers. Although no life form is existing in
We are not trying to predict how the world will look like in 2071. But what we can do is to take a look into a happy and meaningful life.” Dr Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA director-general
the Red Planet, he said the condition in Mars was similar to Earth around 3 billion years ago and it will be their mission to study how “life could have evolved on the Red Planet.”
He told Khaleej Times that the selection
If one member of the Mars One mission team will opt out, the entire team has to start from scratch in their training.” Mikolaj Zielinski, Mars aspirantl
process for the Mars Mission is very tough — it is a one-way trip and requires finding the right mix of people from diverse backgrounds who will stay for the rest of their lives in a harsh environment.
angel@khaleejtimes.com