Abu Dhabi - The Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA) has launched the ‘Digital Champions Program’ in partnership with Cisco and Potential. The new initiative is aimed at new graduates, university students and government employees; providing them with the skills of artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) and knowledge to create a stimulating environment of innovation, research and development, in line with one of the tenets of ‘Ghadan 21’.

The program is designed to empower participants and make them more capable and efficient in many areas such as innovation, IoT, information security (InfoSec) and other technological fields. The top five innovators will be recognized in the program and the evaluation will be in partnership with Cisco.

The program includes two main phases. The first phase (Basic track) involves providing an overview of IoT to the innovator, the process of thinking in designing innovation leads to the identification of ideas and transferring it to the next level, and guidance by the development of the preliminary work model to submit a feasibility study of the project. After completing this process, the candidate will be an IoT Champion and will receive the ‘IoT Champion Badge.

The advanced track will allow the inventor to have a technical course that provides him with enough information about IoT. After passing, the creator or innovator will be automatically eligible for the ‘Digital Champion Program’ Award, where the feasibility study will be reviewed and evaluated. The top 20 participants will then have the opportunity to receive face-to-face guidance with a team of IoT experts, preparing them for the final contest where they can be recognized as the Top Innovator in Abu Dhabi.

H.E. Dr. Rauda Al Saadi, ADSSSA’s Director General, said: “The ‘Digital Champions Program’ is in line with the Authority's responsibility and commitment to focus on developing talent and building a generation of innovators and inventors. These are the pioneers of the future conscious of the rapid changes which the world is witnessing in the context of a clear vision for the future."

She added: “The program aims to educate innovators about the IoT digital skills and artificial intelligence; providing them an opportunity to offer innovative solutions to IoT and the talent development through the Cisco Academy for the provision of opportunities for citizens and residents in the emirate. Benefits from unique educational and professional paths in the functions of the digital age such as data science, IoT, artificial intelligence, and cyber security will all be direct results from the program.”

Al Saadi stressed the importance of strategic partnerships with leading technology companies to achieve global horizons in innovation and creativity, and to meet the requirements of the next developmental stage to achieve a knowledge based economy that will enhance Abu Dhabi's position as a global innovation hub.

The program includes a set of courses by Cisco Net Academy that will help and motivate innovators and inventors to develop their careers, whilst providing them with access to additional learning opportunities, face-to-face coaching sessions and the opportunity to win the program awards. An inaugural IoT and Innovation tournament will also be held to educate them about IoT and provide them with digital skills that guarantee opportunities to propose IoT solutions.

The program will also include a number of digital training skills to enhance the abilities of innovators and inventors, meet the demands of future jobs, increase their competitiveness to become more technologically innovative, and to be prepared to successfully handle future functions.

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About ADSSSA:

Abu Dhabi’s Smart Solutions and Services Authority (ADSSSA) has a legal personality and possesses the necessary legal capacity as well as financial and administrative independence in all matters. The Smart Solutions and Services Authority is aimed at developing smart systems for government services by focusing on the combined experience of all categories of customers, to improve and assist the work of the government services sector.

The Authority works with all government bodies to redefine services and offer them in a seamless, proactive and integrated manner, to meet the individual needs of each customer, through a multi-channel unified platform which provides customers with access to services anywhere and at any time. ADSSSA is also supervising the establishment of customer service centres, which will offer smart and integrated services as per global best practices. Their creation is an important initiative and a deliberated step which will help reinforce Abu Dhabi’s position as a technological innovation hub.

The Authority’s tasks also involve drafting general policies, strategic plans and initiatives, and providing operational support in order to achieve government integration in terms of information and communication technologies. It also helps to enable government entities to manage their institutional and developmental tasks through innovative systems and legislations, which will contribute to the improvement of government performance.

About Cisco

Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) is a world leading in IT solutions, and the Internet has relied on its equipment and solutions since 1984 to continue working. Our team, our products and partners are making continuous efforts to provide safe communications to communities and giving it the ability to exploit future digital opportunities. For more information about Cisco, please visit newsroom.cisco.com and follow us on Twitter @Cisco.

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© Press Release 2019

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