Dubai: The UAE Government Development and the Future Office has partnered with multinational professional services network, Ernst and Young (EY), and the Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) to unveil the ‘Building Future Talents’ initiative.
The program which is placed under the umbrella of the ‘Future Partnerships’ initiative is expected to build the skillsets of 10,000 UAE public school female students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The initiative will introduce an interactive smart application which consists of 450+ activities on 21st century skills, provided by more than 15 elite universities and educational institutions including, NASA, UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, and a number of international organizations such as the World Economic Forum and the UNESCO.
‘Building Future Talents’ will strive to build students’ future skills and enhance their participation in practical fields related to STEM, one of the main future pillars of the UAE’s future directions.
THE SMART APPLICATION
Through its smart application, the initiative offers high-quality training courses and holds innovative gamified competitions to motivate students and enhance their passion towards science and technology.
For every successful step completed, the smart application will provide students with awards such as in-kind prizes, virtual mentorships, innovation fellowships, training opportunities with EY experts, and the opportunity to redeem the points as donations to support humanitarian initiatives of the Emirates Red Crescent and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI).
The application includes 17 main topics aiming to build students’ skills, including jobs of the future, emerging technologies, robotics and automation, blockchain, the future of space, green technology, 5G networks, as well as the future of the industrial revolution. In addition, it tackles main interpersonal skills such as creativity, innovation, agility, adaptability, change management, and effective communication skills.
Building future talents initiative targets building skills and experiences of UAE public school female students, enhance their readiness for future jobs requirements, and increase their participation in STEM-related sectors. The initiative seeks to positively impact the future of Emirati women by focusing on building students’ skills and feeding their passion for learning future skills. This goes in line with the UAE’s Principles for the next 50 and enhances the efforts aiming to build students’ 21st century skills and competitiveness for future jobs in STEM careers. –Ms. Ohood bint Khalfan Al Roumi, UAE Minister of State for Government Development and The Future remarked about the newly unveiled initiative.
Meanwhile, Ms. Jameela bint Salem Al Muheiri, the UAE Minister of State for Public Education and Chairperson of the Board of Emirates Schools Establishment, stated that, ‘Launching the application to build future skills for female public-school students in the UAE will upskill female students in the most vital future fields through providing advanced scientific and technical content; given their important and pivotal role in shaping the future.’
Noting that the new app includes various innovative educational ideas and content to ensure promising future prospects for students, Ms. Al Muheiri elaborated that, ‘It further includes advanced science and knowledge global themes that will enhance students’ competitiveness and provide them with an inspiring educational experience to reach the desired goals.’