Ahead of the pack • Spotlight feature: Disrupters & game changers

The melting pot of ideas in Dubai has resulted in innovative solutions and benchmark applications for the world.

n a bid for Dubai to become a global leader that is 10 years ahead of other cities through government innovation and reshaping the way things have been done before, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Dubai 10X initiative, which has subsequently guided the private and public sectors to further advance innovation and technologies. Given that one has free range to develop innovations in Dubai, and that people are completely open to thinking big, getting it done, and trying it out, the Emirate has become synonymous with entrepreneurs who want to explore new ideas and create something new. Meanwhile, government plans such as the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy 2031 and the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution are set to only strengthen the UAE’s position as a global hub for revolutionary ideas—more of an imperative than an ambition in the post-covid-19 world.

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Yousuf Hamad Al Shaibani

DIRECTOR GENERAL, MOHAMMED BIN RASHID SPACE CENTER (MBRSC)

accelerator space, as we are part of Dubai Future Accelerator Program within the Dubai Future Foundation. We take pride in calling ourselves one of the founders of the program. Through the accelerator program, we host companies and look at their technologies and accelerate the presence and availability of technology in Dubai, starting from proof of concept (POC) all the way through to implementation. So far, we have worked on 24 POCs, with several moving into implementation. We are guided by four pillars: optimizing quality, time, cost, and patient safety. Technology improves quality, reduces time, lowers cost, and ensures patient safety. Because of the influence of technology on these four pillars, DHA has been at the forefront of adopting technology and facilitating this adoption in the private sector as well. Very often, we have providers and other stakeholders from both the public and private sectors implementing the innovative ideas coming out of the accelerator program. We are extremely careful about engineering the right POC, making sure it will tick all the right boxes for us in terms of achieving what we want.

WE ARE CURRENTLY AT THE DHA’S

no one would have believed that Porsche would become one of the first brands to present a truly electric sports car. Everyone knows us as a sports car producer, and sports cars have so far been synonymous with combustion engines; however, we disproved this misconception, starting with hybrids. Looking to the electric segment, the Taycan feels 100 percent like a Porsche. In fact, there are ways to enhance this Porsche feeling with a main focus on drive experience and functional design. Careful thought and innovation were applied to ensure that the Taycan is a Porsche through and through. Taycan was designed from the get go as an electric car. It was not designed like a normal car with batteries added as an afterthought. The car is both exciting and modern but with the Porsche feel and design DNA. It needs to be driven to fully understand what engineers and designers have achieved. I can assure you that it is a drive to remember. People should always think of Porsche as a brand true to its heritage and design DNA; a company that is constantly releasing innovative products.

SOME 10 YEARS AGO,

approach adopted by many companies that focus on the accounting of resources management and the implementation of measures before discovering their impacts on costs, we adopt a real-time analysis and assess our performance through hourly, daily, and weekly profiles. Our district cooling plants and buildings are all integrated and are connected to one system. In addition, an hourly analysis of the performance gives us a holistic overview, thereby helping us monitor the equipment as well. Through the interconnectivity of all equipment in the building and the collection of data from more than 200,000 sensors, the system capitalizes on the potential of big data in building connectivity, which enhances its energy efficiency by many folds. For instance, the data helped us identify the need to change our entrance from a sliding door to a revolving one so there is less strain on the air handling unit. Through gaining a deep understanding of the building’s performance by analyzing the data collected, we were able to make several necessary changes. As a result, we continue to enhance the system with the development of new infrastructure, including fiber optic connectivity.

RATHER THAN THE CONVENTIONAL

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem

GROUP CHAIRMAN & CEO DP WORLD