DUBAI, 7th July, 2022 (WAM) — Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications, said that the UAE government is keen to build strategic partnerships that will allow the country’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) and programming capabilities to further, flourish and provide a comprehensive learning ecosystem as well as build students AI capabilities.
The announcement came in line with the Coders HQ selection of 24 students as winners from a pool of over 100 applicants for the “Sibaq Lahja” initiative. Launched by the Minister of Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications Office, in partnership with Cisco, the initiative aims to equip young Emirati coders and software engineers with the necessary skills to develop and deploy AI solutions in the realm of Arabic Natural Language Processing (NLP).
Omar Al Olama reaffirmed the objectives of the initiative, which align with the nation’s continuous efforts to integrate digital transformation within all industries and operations, all while strengthening the UAE’s position as a global hub for coders and digital economy, emphasising that the “Sibaq Lahja” embodies the vision and directives of UAE leadership develop advanced communities, as well as prepare a new generation capable of using technology to build a competitive knowledge-based economy.
He further highlighted the importance of AI and coding as a key driver for shaping the future and harnessing new, fast-growing digital economy, thus achieving recognition on a global scale.
Reem Asaad, Vice President, Cisco Middle East and Africa, said, “Today, the Sibaq Lahja initiative has reached an important milestone, and at Cisco we are proud to participate in the launch of the first cohort. We look forward to continuing working with the UAE Coders HQ and our partners to make AI and Natural Language Processing more inclusive for Emirati-Arabic dialect speakers.”
Over a period of 19 weeks, Sibaq Lahja will focus on improving candidate’s skills in Python language, training them on deep machine learning and the basics of NLP. It will also further equip young coders, and software engineers in the UAE, with the necessary skills to develop and deploy AI solutions, all while keeping in mind current digital challenges.
Participants selected for the initiative include Abdullah Al-Hashemi, Fatima Al-Awadi, Maryam Al-Zaabi, Fawaghy Al-Hashemi, Shamma Al-Mazmi, Khaled Al-Hashemi, Muhammad Al-Zaabi, Ammar Soso, Khaled Al-Awar, Muhammad Tamim, Nour Rabeh, Amira Al-Nashar, Muhammad Al-Yafei, Maryam Al-Naqbi, Nouf Al-Abbasi, Rama Al-Khoubi , Yazan Badrasawy, Ahmed Al-Dhanhani, Ahmed Saeed, Shahd Fikry, Muhammad Al-Yamahi, Maryam Al-Dahmani, Raghad Al-Damani, and Ihab Mansour.