The first coders club has been established in the UAE as part of the country’s plan to attract and train more than 100,000 coders.
EK Koders, created by the National Program for Coders in collaboration with the Emirates Group, aims to develop technological and digital skills of specialised talents and form a qualitative digital community that employs promising competencies in innovating solutions and services, a statement said.
Based on programming applications, it plans to advance the quality of operations, develop new ideas and adopt innovative and advanced solutions, which contribute to enhancing Emirates’ position in the aviation, travel, tourism and logistics sectors.
Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Teleworking Applications, has confirmed that coding is a key pillar of all future sectors, especially aerospace, aviation, transportation, health, education and economy.
Al Olama (pictured below) said that the National Program for Coders, launched this week by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has captured the attention of major international tech companies, which confirmed their participation in the initiative.
He added: “The National Program for Coders aims to launch a series of initiatives in collaboration with its global partners to support and encourage coders to continue innovating, develop their technological skills and knowledge, and provide a variety of workshops and supportive training programs in the field of coding.”
EK Koders aims to design and develop new creative digital content that employs engineering, coding, data and artificial intelligence techniques, state news agency WAM reported on Tuesday.
EK Koders will also collaborate with initiatives and projects of the National Program for Coders by organising joint training and workshops for national and international talents in the UAE.
Alex Alexander, Emirates’ Group chief technology officer, said: “We’re proud to support the Ministry of AI’s drive to build a vibrant community of coders in the UAE, which in turn contributes to the nation’s strategy to be a global hub for future technology adoption and development.
“Over the last six months, we have a built a strong partnership and we’re very excited to extend our collaboration with the Ministry under an MoU to collaborate on areas such as skills development and specific use cases in AI, Data and Analytics, Software Engineering and application of groundbreaking software development techniques.
“We’ve also tapped on our Aviation X-lab partnership to expand the opportunities and support provided to Emirates Group community and nurture anyone passionate about coding, regardless of their experience.”
The UAE’s National Programme for Coders, which aims to attract and train more than a 100,000 coders, will propel the country forward as a digital hub and address the shortage of talent in the tech-sector, according to industry leaders.
“The UAE is now becoming an increasingly major technology hub. The world’s largest technology companies, including those from the United States and China, are expanding or establishing bases here,” said Justin McGuire, co-founder & CEO, MENA & APAC, of DMCG Global.
“This is part of a wider influx of foreign investment, boosted by the UAE’s wealth, location and business-friendly reputation. The country itself is the driving force behind large-scale digitisation,” he added.
He predicted that around 50,000 new technology jobs will be rolled out in UAE over the next few years, focusing on niche skills such as coding, AI and ML and data analysis, adding that demand far exceeds supply.
Dubai is to partner with the biggest names in technology as part of the National Program for Coders.
On Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, HPE, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook were all taking part in the plan to establish 1,000 digital companies within five years and increas investment in start-ups from AED1.5 billion to AED4 billion.
Follow us on
