Tag Archives: entertainment
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
Be ambassadors of nation, Mansour tells students
Be ambassadors of nation, Mansour tells students (Wam) / 13 February 2014 Private sector is strategic choice for jobs, Shaikh Mansour tells students at Government Summit. Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, has affirmed that “the UAE supports all outstanding citizens and supports their academic and creative projects both within the country and abroad.” Shaikh Mansour made these remarks when he met 100 outstanding students on the sidelines of the 2nd Government Summit held in Dubai. The students were invited at the request of Shaikh Mansour out of his keen interest to urge citizens to a bright future and engage students in national programmes. The meeting was attended by Hamad bin Abdulrahman Al Madfaa, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council Affairs of the Federation at the Ministry of Presidential Affairs; Dr. Ali Rashid Abdullah Al Nuaimi, Vice-Chancellor of UAEU; Dr Tayeb Kamali, Vice-Chancellor of The Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT); Undersecretaries of Sectors in the Ministry of Presidential Affairs and a number of senior officials in the educational field. Shaikh Mansour spoke to students about the important issues of concern to young people, including the value of work in the UAE society, and the contribution of educated young citizens in building the nation, as well as the directives of the wise leadership and the government’s efforts to provide a decent life for citizens. Shaikh Mansour said the UAE headed by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, invests in human development by adopting the best curricula and establishing partnerships with the most outstanding global universities in order to provide citizens with information and skills that will enable them to enter the job market with confidence and make them creative elements raising initiatives, ideas and thoughts. At the conclusion of the meeting, Shaikh Mansour said: “My dear brother students, I would like to emphasise that the private sector is a strategic choice for the recruitment of citizens, not only in the UAE, but in all countries of the world. The report of jobs issued by the International Bank indicates that the private sector is the main engine of job creation and employment opportunities in all countries of the world.” Shaikh Mansour asked the students to be ambassadors of their country, to cling to national identity in the workplace which is teeming with different cultures, abroad or in the country, wishing permanent excellence for all students. For their part, the students expressed their happiness to meet Shaikh Mansour, stressing that the meeting reflected the cohesion between the wise leadership and the sons of the nation. 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
