ABU DHABI, June 2nd, 2013 (WAM): The Statistics Centre ? Abu Dhabi (SCAD) has announced the launch of a project to establish the region?s first analytical centre for excellence. SCAD took the initiative to sponsor the signing of this agreement between Emirates and University and SAS which is considered the leader in business analytics software.
The agreement was signed at SCAD?s premises in the presence of Butti Ahmed Al Qubaisi, SCAD?s Director-General, Mohamed Yousef Hasan Baniyas Provost and Chief Academic Officer of UAEU and Riad Gydien, Vice-president of the SAS Institute for the Middle East and Africa, SCAD said in a press release. SCAD also announced the creation of an advanced electronic statistical programme to train a generation of statisticians and statistical researchers in Abu Dhabi Emirate. The programme is to be accredited and adopted as part of the academic courses and curricula used in educational institutions. SCAD stressed the fact that the UAEU has accredited the programme and that SAS will train UAEU students, in preparation to using the new programme in various universities and institutes. This partnership was one of the fruitful results of Abu Dhabi Statistics Conference 2013, and it is expected to enhance the role played by statistics in making decisions that affect our lives. The Analytical Centre of Excellence will be created with four key objectives in mind: to create a sustainable pool of national analytical and statistical talent; to provide analytical and statistical talent to more government agencies in the UAE and to achieve further compliance, in future, with local, regional and international best practices. Moreover, the centre aims to provide analytical and statistical advisory to a greater number of UAE government entities. Highlighting the core objective of the agreement, Al Qubaisi commented on the success of the Abu Dhabi Statistics Conference in forming solid collaborations with concerned organisations. The partnership, he added, comes at a key time for SCAD, as it seeks to raise the profile of the Emirate?s statistical system and put it on a par with similar systems of developed countries globally. It also successfully fulfills the objective of the conference to catalyse global collaborations in improving the quality of administrative data and contribute to economic development. He further added that, "Our effective use of SAS software is a key pillar in our ongoing commitment to achieve our vision of becoming the recognized statistics centre, contributing to the development effort in Abu Dhabi Emirate."Prof. Dr. Mohamed Yousif Hasan Baniyas, Provost and Chief Academic Officer at United Arab Emirates University said: "As the national research intensive university, the UAEU plays a pivotal role in the economic development and diversification of the knowledge-based economy in the UAE. This partnership will contribute to this critical goal by providing the statistical data required to quantify this change and provide future direction and confirmation of its achievement. Having a unique academic statistics programme and undertaking significant research in diverse areas such as education, health, social welfare, and economics, the UAEU is well positioned to support the vision of the country."Commenting on this partnership, Riad Gydien, Vice President, SAS Middle East and Africa said, "SAS is pleased to partner with SCAD and the UAEU to support both parties in their pursuit to achieve Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. This will be achieved by enabling local talent and bringing in a world-class e-statistical platform."Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2013.
