Tag Archives: technology
Ministry of Education wins top m-Government award
Ministry of Education wins top m-Government award Sadiq Shaban & Muaz Shabandri / 13 February 2014 Shaikh Mohammed recognises top digital initiatives from governments in the Arab region and beyond. The UAE’s push towards mobile technology and innovation received a further boost on Wednesday with the announcement of mobile government awards. As part of the newly launched mobile government vision in the UAE, the Best m-Government Service Awards recognise innovation by federal and government entities. Shaikh Mohammed presenting an award for the Dubai Police to Major-General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of the force, as other officers look on during the award ceremony on the last day of the Government Summit in Dubai on Wednesday. — KT photos by Shihab he UAE Ministry of Education won the top honour at this year’s awards for its application ‘Abnaai’. The app is an integrated portal that targets students and parents. It provides an interactive environment which allows parents to access education-related services anytime and anywhere using smart phones. Speaking with Khaleej Times, Humaid Mohammed Obeid Al Qattami, Minister of Education, said: “I am really happy about the awards. These services have been designed by our children. This is just the beginning; we have to work hard to keep developing education in the UAE.” The awards presented by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, also recognised top digital initiatives from governments in the Arab region and beyond. Students from the UAE universities were also honoured on the occasion. Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research received the top prize of Dh1 million in the university category. Students from the university received the award for creating an application to reduce waiting time in a queue. Shaikh Mohammed flashing the victory sign along with Vice-Chancellor Dr Tayeb Kamali and students of the Higher Colleges of Technology. An additional Dh1 million was also awarded to the same university for helping the UAE Ministry of Health create an app that provides a directory to all services provided by the ministry. It can be accessed from any mobile platform, and allows direct interaction with the ministry by submitting applications. “Mobile applications are going to touch every single aspect of our lives. The UAE is clearly placed ahead of most countries in the region with healthcare and education being the main focus areas. Beyond what technology can offer, I must add that we have the right mindset. And that is what makes the difference,” Osman Sultan, CEO du, told Khaleej Times . The awards have been constituted to stimulate and encourage government entities to provide creative and innovative solutions via smart phone applications and mobile phones. muaz@khaleejtimes.com sadiq@khaleejtimes.com The winners > The Best M-Government Service Award received 26 entries in the international category. Land and Transport Authority, Singapore, bagged the award for its My Transport Application, a comprehensive transportation App that includes information on all modes of land transportation, information on events and promotions nearby. > With 42 entries from the Arab world, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry – Kuwait clinched the prize for its MOCI application that creates a channel of communication between the citizens and residents of Kuwait and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait. > The winner from Ras Al Khaimah: RAK e-Gov — for RAKPAY – RAK Mobile Payment Gateway, which enables residents to pay Etisalat and utility bills and pay for business licences. > The winner from Ajman: MPDA by Ajman Municipality and Planning Department, an interactive smart channel for the individual and business segments in Ajman. > The winner from Fujairah: smartFUJAIRAH by Fujairah Municipality, an App that runs on Smart phones and tablets, and is a smart services portal for Al Fujairah Municipality, providing access to the municipality’s services at anytime from anywhere. > The winner from Sharjah: Sharjah DPW by Department of Public Works, an App that aims to deliver information and services to individuals and companies securely, smoothly and efficiently by creating an additional communication channel according to high quality standards, that saves time, effort and money for the App users. > The winner from Abu Dhabi: TransAD (The Centre for Regulation of Transport by Hire Cars in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi), a user-friendly taxi booking App that allows customers to book a taxi in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi from different locations determined by the GPS Location of the user’s smart phone. > The winner from Dubai: Dubai Police Application, which features various electronic services that are available in Arabic and English and divided to ‘Traffic Services’ such as ticket payment, ‘Security Services’ such as notification service, community services and public services. > The winner in the University Students Category in the UAE : iQ by Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research – iQ is a complete queuing system designed to make waiting time in a queue a thing of the past; and MOH by Khalifa University of Science, Technology and Research, an App that provides a complete directory to ministry of health services that can be accessed from any mobile platform, and allows direct interaction with the ministry by submitting applications and finalizing them. > An appreciation award was presented to the Higher Colleges of Technology for presenting the largest number of Applications (43). news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
EU approves agreement on amendment to exempt Emiratis from Schengen Visa
EU approves agreement on amendment to exempt Emiratis from Schengen Visa (Wam) / 13 February 2014 Earlier, the European Parliament had proposed an exemption of UAE citizens from the requirement of obtaining entry visa. The Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament, today ratified the agreement between the Parliament and the Greek Presidency of the European Union, on amending the regulations to exempt citizens of the United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Peru and 15 other Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean countries from the requirement of obtaining visa to enter into the unified visa zone of “Schengen”. A statement from the European Parliament said that “This exemption should be reciprocated on the basis of agreements signed between the EU and each of these countries. It will start when the bilateral agreement comes into force.” Earlier, the European Parliament had proposed an exemption of UAE citizens from the requirement of obtaining entry visa. It was approved by the Commission and the Cabinet. Mariya Gabriel, who prepared the report and led the European Parliament group to negotiate with the Presidency of the European Union, said, “The agreement today has double importance as we progress towards expanding the cooperation with those countries, on the other hand we send a positive message to European citizens, clarifying measures on putting non European countries in the positive list.” Suleiman Hamed Salem Al Mazrouei, Head of the UAE Mission to EU, UAE Ambassador to Belgium, said the achievement is a fruit of huge efforts exerted by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in line with the directives from Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Minister. He added that the procedures for exemption are almost complete. The EU has a positive list including countries, whose nationals are allowed to enter into EU without visa, and the negative list for countries, whose nationals must obtain prior entry visa. The European Parliament is expected to vote for this agreement in April. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Set up own firms, don’t look only for govt jobs: DM chief
Set up own firms, don’t look only for govt jobs: DM chief Sajila Saseendran / 12 February 2014 Hussain Nasser Lootah says government cannot hire all Emiratis and they should start their own companies instead of becoming employees. The government cannot hire all Emiratis and they should start their own companies instead of becoming employees or civil servants, Dubai’s civic chief Hussain Nasser Lootah said at the Dubai Government Summit on Tuesday. Speaking at a session on “Optimising Government Service: The Potential of Public-Private Partnerships,” Lootah said unemployment of citizens was a dangerous indicator that they were heavily relying on government for jobs. “If we start considering citizens as our workforce, we will end up having all of them as employees or civil servants. It is not a healthy mindset. They should stop looking for jobs and instead build ideas for making their own companies and providing jobs to others.” Lootah’s remarks received applause from the audience, including heads of several government departments. He noted that the electronic revolution in each and every household itself has a huge dimension in building specialised projects. “Small and medium companies play an important role in delivering services. The government sector cannot be responsible for hiring all. Young Emiratis should explore such opportunities,” he said. Speaking to Khaleej Times after the session, he said government departments could no longer employ many Emirati graduates. “Media keep saying (government) find jobs for Emiratis and there is unemployment. I don’t agree with it. Most of the government departments have all of them. It is time to reverse the process. “We should study and prepare small projects and ask Emiratis to run them. Every year we have a lot of graduates. Some of them can be employees, but not all. They should be bosses. We need more and more young Emirati men and women to start SMEs.” At the session, he said how private-public partnership should focus on satisfying the customers by meeting their needs within a timeframe. He said the municipality already had partnership with private firms in projects like the upcoming Crocodile Park and the existing waste-to-energy plant that generates electricity from landfill waste. Fadi Ghandour, founder and vice-chairman of the Board of Directors, Aramex, said empowerment of entrepreneurs is a solution for unemployment of youth. He called for financial support from banks, with government’s guarantee, for unemployed youth to start SMEs. Lootah noted that there were a few government initiatives under Tanmia and Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development that supported Emiratis to set up SMEs. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
