SDG9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure in the UAE
Sustainable Development Goal 9 (SDG 9) focuses on building resilient infrastructure, promoting inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and fostering innovation. The UAE has made significant progress in this area, positioning itself as a regional hub for innovation and industry.
Government Initiatives for SDG 9
National Industrial Strategy: The UAE government has launched initiatives like the "Operation 300bn" strategy, aimed at increasing the industrial sector's contribution to the economy. This strategy focuses on enhancing manufacturing capabilities, fostering innovation, and attracting investments.
Investment in Infrastructure: The UAE is renowned for its state-of-the-art infrastructure, including transportation, telecommunications, and energy systems. Ongoing investments in infrastructure projects, such as the expansion of airports, roads, and public transport systems, facilitate economic growth and connectivity.
Support for Innovation: The government actively promotes innovation through initiatives like the UAE Innovation Strategy and the establishment of innovation centers. These programs aim to encourage research and development across various sectors, including technology, healthcare, and renewable energy.
Public-Private Partnerships: The UAE fosters collaboration between the public and private sectors to drive industrial development. This includes investments in research, development, and the commercialization of innovative technologies, enhancing the country’s competitive edge.
Sustainability in Industry: The government encourages sustainable practices within industries by promoting green technologies and practices. Initiatives such as the UAE’s Green Economy Strategy aim to reduce carbon emissions and increase resource efficiency in industrial processes.
SDG 9 at Al Ain University
Al Ain University (AAU) is dedicated to advancing SDG 9 through its educational offerings and research initiatives, supporting the development of infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable industrial practices:
Engineering and Technology Programs: AAU offers various programs in engineering and information technology, focusing on innovative practices and sustainable solutions. These programs equip students with the skills necessary to contribute to the development of resilient infrastructure and industries.
Research and Development: Faculty and students at AAU engage in research projects that address challenges related to industry and infrastructure. This includes studies on sustainable engineering practices, smart technologies, and innovations in various sectors.
Innovation Centers: The university promotes innovation through initiatives such as incubators and entrepreneurship programs that support students in developing their ideas into viable businesses. These programs foster a culture of creativity and innovation within the student body.
Community Engagement and Collaboration: AAU collaborates with local industries and governmental organizations to address regional challenges related to infrastructure and industry. These partnerships facilitate knowledge sharing and practical training opportunities for students.
Sustainability Practices on Campus: The university implements sustainable practices within its operations, such as energy-efficient buildings and waste management systems. This commitment to sustainability reflects the principles of SDG 9 and prepares students to prioritize sustainable development in their future careers.
Conclusion
The UAE's commitment to SDG 9 is evident in its robust industrial strategies, investments in infrastructure, and support for innovation. The government’s initiatives facilitate sustainable industrial growth and technological advancement. Al Ain University complements these efforts by providing quality education, promoting research, and fostering innovation, thereby contributing to the overall goal of building resilient infrastructure and supporting inclusive industrialization.
AAU organizes ICAMP Workshop
On the occasion of the month of innovation, the Deanship of Student Affairs at Al Ain University's Abu Dhabi Campus organized a workshop on innovation called ICAMP. The workshop was led by Dr. Noha Hamada (Deputy Dean of Student Affairs), Ms. Lina Abu Libdeh (Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development), and Ms. May Tahboub from Injaz Al-Emarat.
During the workshop, students were encouraged to collaborate and present various inventive ideas and solutions related to sustainability. These ideas included products and services that could be transformed into commercial projects. The students presented their ideas through a series of engaging presentations.
The projects created by the groups were evaluated by a group of academic staff, and the winning projects were selected for three centers. Certificates were distributed to the participants at the end of the workshop.
Students’ innovations on the International Programmers Day
The College of Engineering, Abu Dhabi Campus, celebrated International Programmers Day by organizing an event entitled "Happy Programmers Day", under the supervision of Eng. Esra Al-Nashash. During the event, students' outstanding software projects were presented, in addition to interactive presentations filled with interesting and useful information.
Program directors, faculty members, and students from different majors attended and participated in the competitions, and the winners received valuable prizes. This event aimed to introduce students to modern software skills and techniques and some of the most critical applications such as programming robots, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence.
The organizers from the College of Engineering were keen on organizing this event to celebrate International Programmers Day, on which the world honors the innovative programmers who have made a positive impact on the world by developing programs and designing applications that facilitate life.
AAU supports the Innovation Week
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration in the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation hosted Dr. Nuha Hamada, from the College of Engineering at Al Ain University to show her experiences and expertise in the innovation field, as a part of their virtual event within the activities of Innovation Week.
Dr. Noha spoke about her participation in innovation activities since the launch of Innovation Week in February 2015 until 2021, starting with a workshop presentation on creativity at the National Center for Statistics (previously) to participating in holding creative events at Al Ain University, such as, Knowledge Market, Mathematics Day and Talents Day. And her participation in the “innovator 2020”, within the activities of the science festival, as well as; participating in the exhibition of future innovations by creating the "safety" innovation, which serves people of determination, helps to provide job opportunities for them and integrate them into the local community.
She praised the role of the UAE as a supportive country for innovation and creativity, where the UAE ranked as the first place in the Global Innovation Index in the Arab world for 2021, this progress came as a result of continuous work and efforts for years, and because of the role of the wise leadership in spreading the culture of innovation, developing capabilities, encouraging the incubation of innovative ideas and providing a creative environment through holding workshops, competitions and offering prizes for the best innovations in various fields.
Moreover, Dr. Noha emphasized that Al Ain University is an incubator for innovations and is keen to harness all needs of the academic staff and students to develop their skills and talents, support innovation and keep abreast of scientific developments on an ongoing basis.
During the month of innovation, Aoun's team displays their innovative creations
Al Ain University's Deanship of Student Affairs took part in an innovation event hosted by the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs & Port Security - AL AIN. The objective of their participation was to assist in achieving the desired goals of discovering talent and expertise, creating innovative initiatives, and consolidating the country's status as a global center for innovation.
The Aoun Community Service Team (Red Crescent Club) took part in the dedicated innovation platform by showcasing students' innovative projects in front of both government and private institutions.
Al Ain University Hosts Technology Innovation in Health Exhibition
The Deanship of Student Affairs at Al Ain University (Abu Dhabi campus) organized the Technology Innovation in Health Exhibition alongside the Global Digital Health Conference – Knowledge Exchange and Empowerment, organized by Al Ain University at Abu Dhabu Campus in collaboration with the Global Academy of Digital Health (GA4DH).
The exhibition saw extensive participation from various organizations, including medical and trading companies such as Tech Maze General Trading, Abu Dhabi Medical Devices Company, and Al Jaber Optical, among others.
The aim of the exhibition was to highlight the latest medical technologies and digital health innovations, providing a unique platform for companies to highlight their innovations to a select audience of researchers and specialists in the field.
The exhibition also offered participants the opportunity to expand their networks and forge new partnerships with both local and international entities, contributing to the advancement and innovation in digital health. Spanning two days, the event received a warm reception from the local community and students, with attendees praising the efforts of the organizers and exhibitors.
Workshop entitled "From Idea to Action Plan"
The Deanship of Student Affairs (Abu Dhabi Campus), in cooperation with the College of Business and under the supervision of Dr. Reham Muqtash, organized a workshop entitled "From Idea to Action Plan" presented by Mr. Sherif Abdel Hadi, "Consultant and Business Developer" on the occasion of the International Day of Creativity and Innovation and coinciding with the month of innovation in the UAE.
The workshop aimed to explain how to choose an idea, evaluate its suitability for the market, study the possibility of its expansion, and then implement and develop the project. The workshop also helped to discuss the challenges facing startups and what are the criteria that help startups succeed.
The lecturer also explained the importance of defining the prototype or what is known as MVP and its importance in evaluating the idea and knowing the customer’s need for it, and what are the most important steps that must be taken before implementing the idea, such as making a model and business plan and studying competitors and the market.
ADDED honors Al Ain University’s innovation incubator
The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) has honored the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center at Al Ain University (AAU) at the official launch of the “Abu Dhabi innovation incubators program”, launched by ADDED’s Competitiveness Office of Abu Dhabi (COAD) to support individuals wishing to turn their ideas into innovative commercial opportunities that, in turn, will support a diversified, robust, smart, and sustainable economy.
H.E Sameh Al Qubaisi, Director General of Economic Affairs at ADDED and Ms. Hala Al Ameri, Executive Director of the Competitiveness Office of Abu Dhabi (COAD), presented a memento to Mrs. Lina Abu Libdeh - Director of the Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center- on behalf of the AAU.
The Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center at AAU aims to provide a platform for budding entrepreneurs among university students and graduates and the wider community to launch and implement their innovative ideas. The Center strives to enhance communication between people with innovative ideas and those wishing to launch their own projects, and between entrepreneurs and local community institutions ready to adopt the ideas.
Dr. Noor El Deen Atatreh, AAU Chancellor, said; “The Center was launched to support the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’s efforts to promote innovation and entrepreneurship culture to achieve prosperity in the emerging business sector. It is in line with the national innovation strategy of the UAE to build specialized national capacities, stimulate young talent, and invest in the people of the country”.
Prof. Ghaleb El Refae, AAU President, said; “This recognition enhances the position of the Center in society. AAU is keen to support constructive ideas and small projects to serve the UAE community in general and Abu Dhabi in particular by building bridges with innovation centers around the world and community institutions to organize periodic workshops and awareness sessions which would be presented by entrepreneurs and successful project owners. These will help in exchanging ideas and provide consultations to enhance students’ ideas and develop their capabilities to start and grow their businesses”.
A series of seminars on "Takamul" services to promote innovation
On the occasion of Innovation Month, The Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center, in collaboration with the College of Engineering & the College of Business organized seminar series entitled; Takamul Services & Intellectual Property Rights, presented by Mrs. Rawya Al Jneibi and Mr. Charles Shaban, from Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
This series aims to introduce the National Innovation Support Program, which works to provide support to inventors and consolidate a culture of innovation in the country.
Both speakers provided valuable information about Takamul services that help, the university students on how to evaluate their innovative ideas and prevent them from theft by registering them as patent and then moving forward to implement these ideas and turn them into beneficial commercial activities for the community.
Launching the Innovation Center at Al Ain University in the presence of a delegation from the Department of Economic Development
On the Occasion of Innovation Month, Al Ain University (AAU) launched the Open Ceremony for Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center, which was held by Prof. Amer Qasim, Vice President of AAU, and Mrs. Mouza Al Nasri, Executive Director SMEs Sector, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED).
Mrs. Mouza Al Nasri introduced Several New Projects of ‘ADDED’ for Entrepreneurship, Small Business Development, and Start Ups’ Support, which welcomes recommendations and collaboration from AAU.
Moreover, Ms. Sana Al Katheeri, Assistant Manager, Competitiveness Office of Abu Dhabi Department Economic Development, and Dr. Li Lin Huang, Manager of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Small Business Development Center were accompanied on the Campus Tour.
Innovation and Vision 2021
Innovation is part of the pillar 'United in Knowledge' of Vision 2021 which focuses on innovative Emiratis building a competitive economy. One of the Key Performance Indicators of this pillar is the Global Innovation Index.
The UAE is ranked 34th globally and 1st regionally in the 2020 Global Innovation Index. The UAE’s rank improved by 2 positions from last year while the country continues to lead the region for the 5th consecutive year. The UAE’s progress cements its status as one of the world’s most innovative countries.
The Global Innovative Index measures the performance of innovation in countries. Innovation inputs are measured based on institutions, human capital and research, infrastructure, market sophistication and business sophistication. While innovation outputs are measured by knowledge and technology outputs and creative outputs.
The UAE adopted its own measurement tools including the Abu Dhabi Innovation Index to monitor progress towards innovation. The index employs existing input and output indicator data across a wide range of socio-economic activities undertaken in 188 countries' economies, to focus on what is of greatest relevance to policymakers, namely the creation of new socio-economic value.
This new index is designed to reflect the innovation that actually matters, by providing a more persuasive interpretation of the data than previous measures, and by generating better comparisons between and within economies.
AAU encourages and supports UAE's efforts to achieve this goal in parallel with other United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
A Workshop Entitled “The Sustainability Mechanisms in Business” for Master’s students of the College of Business Administration
The Master’s students of the College of Business Administration at Al Ain University –Abu Dhabi Campus- participated in a workshop entitled “The Sustainability Mechanisms in Business”, which was organized by the Ministry of Economy at the headquarters of Ras Al Khaimah Chamber, under the supervision of Dr. Faten Kharbat from Al Ain University.
The workshop talked about several topics, such as the idea of sustainability in the business, the mechanisms of the longevity of the resources used, how to apply the sustainability in business with some special exercises for the participants.
At the end of the workshop, the participants received certificates of participation, in addition to a book signed by the author, Jonathan Scott, who managed the workshop.
Nuclear electrical power technology and nuclear waste awareness and expectations in the United Arab Emirates youth population: What role does interest in ecosystem services play?
Relying on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) extract from the cross-national data sample on the environmental affection and cognition of adolescent students, and seemingly unrelated bivariate weighted ordered probit regression modeling, this study adopts a national perspective to investigate the determinants of adolescent students’ awareness and expectations about nuclear power technology and nuclear waste in the UAE. Identification of model parameters is achieved through maximum simulated likelihood estimation. The findings show that each level increase in UAE youth's interest in ecosystem services and sustainability raises their awareness of nuclear electrical power and nuclear waste by 13.5%, while reducing by 2.4% their level of optimism towards the technology. Furthermore, we find significant heterogeneity in youth awareness and expectations about nuclear power technology across the seven Emirates. Accounting for all other factors (including interest in ecosystem services), UAE youth awareness about nuclear electrical power technology appears to not significantly influence their expectations about the evolution of this technology for the next 20 years. Given that the UAE first nuclear power plant ``Barakah'' is scheduled to start operations end of 2019 beginning 2020, and the typical long life-span of nuclear wastes, our results provide important insights for developing sustainable nuclear energy policies and establishing a long-term nuclear energy program in the UAE.
“Sustainable Universities Initiative” at Al Ain University
The College of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences at Al Ain University, Al Ain campus, hosted Ms. Amani Bin Humaid, Ms. Aisha Al Mazroui, Coordinators of the Sustainable Universities Initiative at Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi, and Mr. Ahmad Al Rmaithi, Representative of Borouge, to present an awareness lecture on sustainable universities initiative implemented by the EAD in cooperation with Borouge, in the presence of the faculty members and students.
This initiative aims to increase sustainable practices in Abu Dhabi's universities through a range of elements, first; Green audit, includes five species land, climate change, biodiversity, water and waste. The agency provides intensive training for university students by forming teams of interdisciplinary students. Second: Sustainability Measures Project (SAP): the agency establishes a student club at each university to undertake an environmental project that benefits the community. Third: The Green Youth Council: Students from different universities and scientific disciplines meet periodically to discuss ideas for building sustainable communities. The Council is recognized by various international organizations, including the World Summit in Japan, a forum where youth can discuss innovative ideas and projects that can promote sustainable societies for our future generations.
The aim of this lecture is to contribute positively in developing a sustainable environment and climate change issues which attract the attention of all countries, including the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, Al Ain University is keen to strengthen partnership with government, private and environmental institutions to raise environmental awareness and sustainable development.