DSG organizes Innovation and Digital Business workshop for Dubai government entities

UAE, January 25, 2015 - Dubai Smart Government Department (DSG), in collaboration with Gartner Inc., recently organized a workshop titled "Innovation and Digital Business" at the InterContinental Dubai Festival City.

The workshop comes as part of DSG's ongoing endeavours to disseminate knowledge and develop the skills of government employees in an effort to bolster the transformation process in Dubai towards implementing the smart government leading to the smart city.

As many as 100 representatives of Dubai government entities participated in the workshop activities. Over three sessions, the two lecturers discussed two major subjects: innovation and digital business. In the first two sessions, Mary Mesaglio, Research Vice President with Gartner's CIO research team, expounded on the five myths of innovation in the first session and the psychology of serial innovation in the second.

Explaining the importance of employing psychology-related knowledge to ensure the completion of repeated innovation, Mesaglio noted the stimuli to innovation in people as well as the most significant factors in order to answer the question on how some people innovate continuously. In the third session, Ed Gabrys, Research Director, Gartner CIO Research defined the future of digital business. Gabrys explained its effect on the components of the coming change: leadership, talents, institutions and prevailing culture. He also explained how digital business should be built on and consequently the nature of the technological drivers that would run future digital business.

Commenting on the workshop, H.E. Ahmad Bin Humaidan, DSG Director General, said: "This workshop, which is organized in collaboration with Gartner as a world-reputed research foundation, comes in line with the national innovation strategy, which has recently been launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, aimed at making the UAE among the world's most innovative countries over the coming 7 years. The workshop also comes in response to Crown Prince of Dubai HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum's adoption of the Dubai innovation strategy in line with the launch of the national innovation strategy, which features around 20 initiatives to be implemented within 3 years to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world."

Bin Humaidan added: "We in DSG are working on fulfilling the vision of our inspiring leadership in Dubai in terms of supporting innovation incubators, building specialized national capabilities, establishing global research partnerships and directing government work system to more innovation. We hope that this workshop will enhance Dubai government staff's experiences and skills to be in the lead in government work." Bin Humaidan called on government and private entities to innovate new and more creative methods for providing services to the public and developing the economy with the aim of enhancing the UAE competitiveness worldwide.