University of Dubai and IBM collaborate for Smarter Cities Centre of Excellence

DUBAI-  University of Dubai and IBM today(May 13th) announced a plan to establish a Smarter Cities Institute, that will be a venue for businesses, universities and city-administrators to develop and test solutions for future urban demands and Smart City challenges. 

The Centre of Excellence aims to support the vision of the Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to transform Dubai into a Smart City and the UAE government into a Smarter Government.

The centre will be located at the University of Dubai’s campus and will focus on curriculum development mainly around Mobility, Cloud, Security and Business Analytics which will help equip the next generation of professionals with business and technology skills needed to support a strong human capital innovation ecosystem as part of the smarter cities and smarter government agendas.

The centre will enable students and faculty members to research Big Data, Cloud Computing and Social Business and conduct applied research focused on the economic development of the UAE. 

“Our collaboration with the University of Dubai will provide researchers, faculty and students in the UAE with a platform for innovation, resources and technology expertise to help ensure that today’s graduates have the knowledge and workforce skills to contribute to building a Smarter City,” said Amr Refaat, General Manager, IBM Middle East and Pakistan. 

As part of the agreement, the University of Dubai becomes an IBM academic partner within the framework of the IBM Academic Initiative The IBM Academic Initiative is a global programme that facilitates collaboration between IBM and educators to teach students the information technology skills they need to offer competitive skills and keep pace with changes in the workplace. 

The programme boasts collaborations and partnerships with more than 1,000 universities across the globe, focusing on Big Data and analytics — all of which are designed to prepare students for the 4.4 million jobs that will be created worldwide-WAM