'Openness to ideas is crucial for innovation'

Dubai - The Ministry of Finance's "Festival of Innovation" brings together a number of innovation experts from around the world.

Inculcating an understanding of innovation and technology is key to a nation's success, according to experts at the opening day of the Ministry of Finance's "Festival of Innovation".
The two-day event - being held in the annex of the Burj Khalifa - brings together a number of innovation experts from around the world, and also includes a 36-hour 'hackathon' organised by Microsoft for over 100 students from six different universities, as well as a variety of courses ranging from memory tricks to 'best hiring practices' and the practical applications of the Internet of Things.
Among those on hand for the start of the event was His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, who toured the facilities and met with senior officials, including Younis Haji Al Khouri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance.
During his visit, Shaikh Mohammed inaugurated the operational phase and e-platform 'Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund to Finance Innovation', which is now set to receive funding requests from applicants.
Shaikh Mohammed also attended several of the workshops organised with the collaboration of the private sector, as well as the 'Young Innovators' workshop in which children between the ages of eight and 12 learnt about the design, programming, and use of robotics using simple and accessible tools.
Speaking at the event, Younis Haji Al Khouri emphasised the importance of investing in innovation and promoting communication between different parties to benefit individuals, society and the national institutions in the long term.
"We need to promote the values of innovation amongst our society. Government entities and the private sector have to cooperate and work on strengthening the innovative culture amongst members of our community as well as enhance our approach to it," he said. "The UAE Innovation Week represents an important platform to research different practical ideas and encourage creative ideas, which will change our societies for the better."
Among the other speakers present was Bruno Lanvin, a former World Bank and United Nations official, who is currently the co-author of the Global Innovation Index Report put together by French graduate business school INSEAD (where he is Executive Director for Global Indices), which ranks countries based on innovation.
In his remarks, Lanvin noted that openness to new ideas - whether they be home-grown or exported from abroad - is vital for countries such as the UAE to achieve success when it comes to innovation.
"The countries that have been benefiting from the most exciting, disruptive innovation, have been the countries that have been able to attract talent from other parts of the world," he said. "Openness is key. Successful countries in the area of innovation will be first and foremost open countries. This is a critical element."
Additionally, Lanvin praised the UAE's leadership for working to change perceptions of innovation, and what it can do, among Emiratis, both in leadership positions and in the general population.
As an example, he pointed to e-government of the kind that is being implemented in the UAE.
'E-government is not just a way of bringing services online to citizens. It's a way to change the mentality of people in government, who themselves are confronted with trying to understand algorithms, databases, cloud computing, safe online services."
"There is a saying that the difference between science and technology is that science is what a grandfather can teach their grandchildren, and technology is the other way round," he added. "This has to change so that it's not just the young generation who know how to use social networks and the latest apps. It has to go up one ladder, and in this part of the world the top leadership is genuinely interested, not just intellectually, but practically. They want to be on the side of innovation."
bernd@khaleejtimes.com

Fund to finance innovationShaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Fund to Finance Innovation is designed to sup-port innovation incubators, build national capabilities, motivate the private sector and promote global partnerships. Younis Haji Al Khouri said the fund will provide much needed support for innovation in the UAE through facilitating the require-ments of projects and by reducing financial risks to strengthen the sustainable development of their businesses. "The fund will also provide a number of services designed to accelerate the process of driving innovation, support innovative entrepre-neurs in developing their business locally and internationally and increase their chances of receiving the technical support and the required financing in cooperation with the public and private sectors." Bruno Lanvin told Khaleej Times that the fund is a concrete example that the leadership believes in innovation. That's a de-cision that has been taken at the highest level of government. "But there is a practical element, it's not just words. It's taking action."People need to feel, especially entrepreneurs here, that non-funding based support is also there," he added.

• Dubai