His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), today launched the Dubai Research and Development (R&D) Program during a meeting at the Dubai Future Foundation. The initiative aims to support key economic sectors and create new opportunities for growth by providing a comprehensive framework for research, development and innovation across the emirate.
The Program outlines Dubai’s top priorities in research, development and innovation, and regulates projects, initiatives and legislations, as well as funding and investment in this area. It also aims to increase domestic spending on such projects and maximise the engagement of the private sector in launching and funding R&D projects.
The Program supports Dubai’s future vision to create knowledge and innovation-driven solutions for the most significant local and global challenges, and increase the productivity of existing sectors by providing new paths to enhance their economic value. It also identifies significant radical changes and ways to address them. The Program aims to enhance the emirate’s readiness to accommodate new sectors that have the potential to boost Dubai’s economic resilience.
The Dubai Research and Development Program is based on four pillars: providing a roadmap and a comprehensive governance model; setting top priorities for R&D; governing funding and investments; and increasing Dubai’s R&D expenditure and maximising the private sector’s engagement.
“Maximising the private sector’s engagement in R&D is crucial to achieving our future goals in Dubai. Major economies and leading global cities have made great strides throughout history due to their focus on R&D. Therefore, boosting scientific and technological research is pivotal to achieving Dubai’s vision for the future economy,” said His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan also highlighted the importance of harnessing Dubai’s growth potential in the sector by encouraging international companies to conduct R&D activities in the emirate, adopting innovative ideas and methodologies, capturing future opportunities, and focusing on the knowledge-based economy and advanced technologies.
His Highness also directed the establishment of the ‘Dubai Research and Development Council’, which has the mission of overseeing the progress of the Program’s targeted objectives in line with national strategies to enhance innovation.
R&D Funding
The Dubai R&D Program will also develop a comprehensive approach for setting up funding procedures, facilitating investment opportunities and related collaborations, and supporting innovative projects and initiatives aligned with key priorities. Additionally, it will increase the private sector’s R&D activities and attract international companies to invest in Dubai.
Dubai’s top R&D priorities
The Dubai R&D Program has outlined four priorities across the emirate: health and well-being, environmental technology, smart built infrastructure, and space and augmented human-machine intelligence.
The Program’s initiatives in these areas will be supported by the adoption of disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, robotics, drones, 3D printing, and others.