Organization aligns with UAE’s development vision for the next 50 years.

CIOMajlis, a UAE consortium of IT professionals, announced today the organization is expanding its activities to align with the UAE’s development strategy outlined in Designing the Next 50, a robust program envisaged by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, and ruler of the Emirate of Dubai.

Established in 2016 by Smartworld, a joint venture between Dubai Aviation City Corporation and Etisalat, CIOMajlis membership consists of 180 IT representatives from both the public and private sectors. The group functions as a thought leadership and networking hub for senior technology executives to exchange industry knowledge, explore business solutions, and share experiences.

CIOMajlis hosts monthly events and annual conferences to discuss technology trends and developments. Its mission is to enhance the capabilities and competitiveness of CIO member organizations. CIOMajlis addresses the global technology landscape through annual overseas innovation tours designed for collaborative understanding of the latest innovations.

“I can speak for all members when I say CIOMajlis is fully committed to supporting Designing the Next 50”, said Ahmed Al Ahmed, Chairman of CIOMajlis and Chief Information Officer of Nakheel. “Our goal is to involve the public in shaping the future of the UAE, and we will spearhead the scaling up of smart solutions across the public and private sectors in efforts to enhance the UAE’s position as one of the world’s best countries to live in.”

Among its ongoing activities, CIOMajlis promotes awareness of IT as a key enabler to business growth. The organization publishes success stories and case studies to inspire, raise awareness and celebrate achievements, in addition to advising on technology matters to government organizations.

“The UAE is making tremendous strides in the development and application of leading-edge technology,” said Ghinwa Baradhi, CIO, Middle East North Africa and Turkey, HSBC. “From leveraging emerging technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence to harnessing data and analytics for creating smart services for residents and visitors, the country competes strongly on the global stage when it comes to innovation. Our mission is to accelerate and share our knowledge in the advancement of technology to support the economic growth of the UAE.”

With its commitment to the future CIO generation, CIOMajlis organizes awareness events within universities to bridge the gap between education and employment and help reshape the education system in the UAE. CIOMajlis also promotes the UAE and its advanced infrastructure and facilities in order to attract quality foreign direct investments (FDI).

Ahmed Al Zarouni, Vice President Information Technology at the Investment Corporation of Dubai said: “The new era of adaptive studying and working techniques requires technological reshaping and knowledge enthusiasm to gain maximum satisfaction and success in every aspect.”

“To help ensure the success of Designing the Next 50, we need to improve the transition from campus to the job market. There is a gap between what the industry needs and what academia is producing. We believe CIOMajlis plays an important role in creating a more confident and readily employable workforce,“ added Ahmed Al Ahmed.

Accelerating the digital transformation across the region, IT spending is estimated to rise to $77.5 billion by 2024 as companies equip themselves to stay abreast with the latest technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, data analytics and data management.

“We are very excited to be involved in Designing the Next 50, said Abdulqader Ali, CEO of Smartworld. “Being a semi government company, Smartworld makes it a priority to give back to the community. This initiative is part of our corporate social responsibility strategy to have a significant impact on individuals, companies and the wider community.”

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