UAE Ministry of Economy and GE sign MoU to promote innovation partnership to mark ‘Year of Innovation'

•    UAE Ministry of Economy and GE to organize ‘Innovation Series’ at GE Ecomagination Innovation Center in Masdar City for delegates, underlining commitment to promote localized innovation and entrepreneurial mindset 

•    Includes leadership speaker series and Advanced Manufacturing 3D Printing Workshop for government employees

•    Site visits to GE local and global advanced technology facilities also to be planned

Dubai, UAE; November 23, 2015: Under the patronage of H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minster of Economy, the Ministry of Economy and GE (NYSE: GE) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen the culture of localized innovation, and inspire UAE Government employees with deep insights on the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. 

The MoU was signed by H.E. Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Shalleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Industry, and Dr Sami Kamel, General Manager, Global Strategic Marketing, GE Power, in the presence of H.E. Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Minister of Economy and H.E Saqr bin Ghobash, Minister of Labour.

H.E. Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Shalleh, said: “The MoU with GE is a strong testament to the commitment of the Ministry, and indeed the UAE Government, to promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship nation-wide. With a focus on sharing best practices, the MoU will help provide deep insights into the newest trends in innovative thought processes, manufacturing, and technologies among the government staff through high-caliber workshops.”

He added: “All our efforts are to complement the ‘Year of Innovation’ announced by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, to strengthen innovative practices that enhance the nation’s competitiveness and drive the growth of a knowledge-based economy. Through our focus to exchange knowledge on best practices in the sector, the MoU represents a deep insight into the latest directives in terms of innovation in operations and manufacturing including the technology available for government employees through high level workshops.”

Dalya Al Muthanna, CEO, GE Gulf, said: “The MoU underlines our long-term commitment to build local talent and capacity in the UAE, where we have a long history of operation and partnerships. The sessions on Industrial Internet, Advanced Manufacturing and entrepreneurship are all aimed at bringing new insights into how organizations can achieve the next level of productivity and efficiency through innovation, local research, and co-creation. The agreement builds on the findings of the GE Innovation Barometer Survey in the UAE that reports a high level trust among C-level executives that innovation will be the game changer in achieving transformational growth.”  

Mohammed Nasser Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Trade Promotion & Investment Department, Ministry of Economy, said that through this MoU, the Ministry aims to raise understanding of innovation for employees through partnerships with leading government and private entities to ensure that their experiences and knowledge on creativity and innovation is shared with the others.  He added that partnering with GE will help government entities to gain insights into international best practices in advanced innovation and technology by drawing on GE’s long expertise and capabilities.

As per the MoU, GE will organize leadership speaker sessions to be led by experts at the GE Ecomagination Innovation Center in Masdar City, a regional hub that promotes collaborative research and innovation, for 30 government employees nominated by the Ministry of Economy. The Speaker Series will specifically address the areas of FastWorks, GE’s new initiative to promote the ‘start-up’ culture, which emphasizes the disciplines of lean manufacturing and agile software development.

The series will also feature discussions on entrepreneurship and innovation, the role of education in innovation, and the Industrial Internet, GE’s path-breaking approach to digital industrialization through the power of big data and advanced analytics. All workshops are designed to promote the integration of innovative thinking into our everyday lives to achieve significant leaps in productivity and efficiency. 

As part of the series, GE will also organize a 3D Printing Workshop for government employees, centered on GE Garages – an open call for localized prototyping that brings together people from all walks of life to explore Advanced Manufacturing techniques. The audience will comprise 15 government employees recommended by the Ministry. 

Also part of the MoU are local visits to GE’s sites in the UAE for a hands-on understanding of industrial internet and innovation. An additional site visit to one of GE’s renowned global research centers is also being considered as part of the partnership. 

The various leadership sessions will be held in December to ensure a sustained focus on innovation. The topics to be discussed will also cover areas that are relevant to the UAE such as energy efficiency, education, and sustainable development. 

The majority of the workshops will be held at GE’s Ecomagination Innovation Center in Masdar City, which opened in 2014. The state-of-the-art Center develops innovative solutions for driving sustainable growth. Building on GE’s Ecomagination initiative, a technology platform to increase customer productivity and drive cleaner energy solutions, the Center showcases GE’s advanced technology solutions, including the Industrial Internet. It also serves as a hub for localized innovation that involves all key stakeholders including GE’s partners, educational institutions and the community at large.