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19 March 2024

Mohammed sets up Higher Committee for Dubai Smart City

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By Wam

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has tasked Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince to oversee the implementation of the Dubai Smart City project.

He also ordered the setting up of a Higher Committee for the implementation of the Dubai Smart City project to be chaired by Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, head of the Sheikh Mohammed Executive Office.

The committee will include nine other members representing the public and private sectors.

Sheikh Hamdan said that "Dubai is currently experiencing huge urban development associated with high ambitions and opportunities for future and welfare.

“The current generation of youth are lucky to be at the centre of such a transformation and development to efficiently and actively contribute to the process of building a better future."

The Dubai Crown Prince stressed Sheikh Mohammed’s keenness on empowering emiratis, especially the youth.

Sheikh Hamdan underlined that the implementation of the Dubai Smart City project will be unique in its nature given the largest partnership of its kind between Dubai’s public and private sectors.

The Higher Committee board chaired by Gergawi, includes Sami Dahen Al Qamzi, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, Major General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Acting Chief of Dubai Police, Ahmad bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai eGovernment, Helal Saeed Al Merri, Director General of Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing, Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al Sheibani, Secretary General of Dubai Executive Council, Ahmad bin Bayat, Chairman of du, Awad bin Hader Al Muhairi, Ahmad Julfar, CEO of etisalat, and Dr Amina Al Rostamani, Group CEO of Tecom Investments.

Race against time

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said that Dubai is in a race against time to get to what is needed to become a smart city, to make people happy, provide them with an easy life, aid communication with each other and enable government agencies to facilitate processes and reduce the burden of movement between government departments for service.

Sheikh Mohammed made his remarks during a tour of Gitex Technology Week which was inaugurated by him on Sunday at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Sheikh Mohammed said, "Dubai is in transition to a fully smart city,” expressing his confidence in the imminent transformation of the UAE to a smart country in the foreseeable future, to provide maximum facilities to citizens and residents of the country.

Dubai Smart City launched

Sheikh Mohammed in Rashid has announced the launch of a new project to transform Dubai into a smart city.

On his Twitter page, Sheikh Mohammed said: “We have launched a new project to transform Dubai into a smart city. Education, healthcare and general security will be managed via smart systems.”

“The project aims to provide all Dubai residents with high speed internet in public places and ‘live’ services and information,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

He added that through the new project "We aim to harness the technology so as to better living conditions and new form of development," noting that the fibre optic network and high-speed wireless internet will form the backbone of a new life in the city of Dubai.

Sheikh Mohammed underlined that the project intends to extend better services to children, youth, businesspersons and tourists to avail a new form of quality life to all, adding that the modern cities require new tools and innovations.

The Smart City project will enable public to transact with public departments using the smart phones any time, any day of the year.

Immediate implementation

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said the directives by Sheikh Mohammed called for immediate implementation of the project to complement the smart government project.

He noted that the population would be core of the current project through the provision of advanced infrastructure and the fibre optic network and high-speed wireless internet.

The Dubai Crown Prince said all the initiatives launched by Sheikh Mohammed over the last 10 years regarding the technology and the internet, ushered in different services and new form of life in Dubai.

He added that Dubai will become one of the biggest world laboratories for interactive and government applications.

The new project will also provide new information on weather, traffic, transport, health and education smart services, as well as entertainment and tourist services such as aviation services, restaurants and others.

mDubai App launched at Gitex

Under the slogan ‘Together for your Happiness’, Dubai Smart Government (DSG) is participating with an array of distinguished activities and smartphone applications to be announced for the first time at the 33rd edition of Gitex Technology Week 2013 which opens today at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre and continue until October 24.

DSG's participation is aimed at familiarising the public, business sector, visitors, government entities and concerned people with the new eServices and smart applications provided by DSG directly on its stand.

DSG is also offering for the first time activities through its social networking sites of Twitter and Instagram including contests for the public for which valuable prizes have been allocated.

Ahmad bin Humaidan, Director General of Dubai Smart Government (DSG), said, "This year's edition of Gitex is distinguished for the excellent array of smartphone applications, which come in line with the smart government initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai and in implementation of the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, for prompt shift to smart government."

Visit the stand

He added: "Visitors of our 2,700 plus square metre stand at the Sheikh Saeed Hall 3 will have a valuable chance to be familiar with the latest unprecedented smartphone services and applications, which our working teams have diligently implemented as soon as transformation to smart government has been announced.

“These services and applications will contribute to changing Dubai into an integrated, knowledge-based city in the 21st century based on our belief that we should achieve results that will comply with the leadership's aspirations and hopes to ease the life of people and make them happy."

He pointed out that DSG is enhancing these achievements with awareness and media campaigns to raise the adoption rate of electronic and smart services and render them the first choice of the public with the aim of saving their time and effort.
The DSG stand will witness the launch of a range of new smart applications and initiatives including the mobile gateway app mDubai.

mDubai

This free app is the most comprehensive for communicating with Dubai government departments and entities for real-time news and activities and contact details. It can be accessed under mDubai from App Store for iPhone users.

The app offers several features including: Viewing the most used eServices; accessing location maps of more than 1,600 locations of important service providers in Dubai such as pharmacies, hospitals, schools, police stations, shopping malls, tourist areas, clinics, public parks, banks and submitting feedback and complaints.

Users can receive notifications of interesting news happening in Dubai and search for any government service under ‘How To’.

mPay app

This is a free app that can be accessed under mPay from App Store for iPhone users and from Google Play Store for Android users. Four government and semi-government entities; namely, Dubai Police, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa), Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Etisalat are on the app, which allows five most used government services to be implemented in one step.

These include paying Dewa bills, topping up Salik and Nol cards, paying traffic fines and settling subscription bills in any or all of 5 Etisalat services at the customer's discretion, these being the GSM bill, broadband Internet bill, e-Vision bill, dial-up Internet bill and landline phone bill.
 
HR self-service app

This app available on Apple and Android devices provides easy and prompt services for all staff of the departments of human resources, allowing them to inquire about their job data and submit their requests to accomplish a set of personal requirements related to human resources, such as providing requests for a certificate, leave, and salary details, or making inquiries about human resources, job evaluation, salary changes, ticket details, and changes of the PIN.

The app also provides a comprehensive and smart attendance calendar and is regarded as a means to keep abreast of the news of colleagues and work team members. 

Suggestions and Complaints app

This app enables customers residing inside or outside the emirate to provide their comments, suggestions, and complaints about the services provided to them by Dubai government entities without any barriers and with the possibility to track their complaints.

MyID

MyID, the first stage of which will be launched during Gitex, provides a unified and secure electronic identity that allows customers to access all electronic and smart services provided by Dubai government entities on smartphones or the Internet through single sign-on access, using the Emirates ID card.

This unified access to Dubai government eliminates the need for registering in each government entity separately by optimising the feature of the national ID card, this being the official document for verifying the identities of individuals.

iProc Mobile App

This app allows users at government entities to request materials from stores using Apple and Android smart phones.
It helps users in selecting the stores they want to request items from, adding frequently used items to Favorites List for later quick selection and submitting requisitions for management approval.

GRP gateway

This gateway has been designed to provide GRP users at Dubai government entities with easy and fast access to all the services related to these systems in one place. Through this gateway, users can view the government entities participating in the systems and the training services available in PDF format on videos that users can process at any time and can also download and store as a reference for use in self-training.

The gateway allows users to submit applications for support services for GRP systems, join GRPS debate forum and view business intelligence reports. 

Business Intelligence

This is a set of methodologies, processes and technologies that transform raw data into meaningful and useful information for business purposes to help decision-makers at government entities take better decisions.

This system to be announced during Gitex will be applicable to all government departments and entities using GRP systems and eServices. It incorporates performance indices and reports on finance systems, asset management, supply chain systems, HR systems, payroll systems and eServices systems.

More than 35 presentations and lectures will be given on the DSG stand over the 5 days of the exhibition. These presentations and lectures will throw light on the DSG methodology in providing shared electronic and smart services, which include the latest smartphone applications, GRP systems, messaging and collaboration services and government information network. DSG has allocated around 100 smart devices for the visitors of its stand who will take part in surveys on its services.

To allow a chance for those interested in tracking the activities of the stand and getting familiar with the latest eServices and smartphone applications to be unveiled during the days of the event, DSG hereby invites the public to watch its daily TV programme dubai.ae on Sama Dubai channel transmitted live at 8:40pm.

DSG has also allocated a website on  gite.dubai.ae, which includes adequate information on the stand and its activities.
The media team of the smart government will publish its activities and news of the stand successively on the social networking sites of Facebook on dubaismartgovernment, Twitter on @SmartGov_Dubai and Instagram on dubaismartgov.

Dubai Smart Government is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide government online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. Dubai Smart Government officially directs and supervises the implementation of the process of e-Transformation in over 30 government entities and is one of the world's only governments to have established an official eGovernment branch in the capacity of an independent department.

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority launches five mobile applications

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority, the regulatory body for Dubai Silicon Oasis integrated free zone technology park, on Sunday announced that it has finalised developing five smart mobile services applications launched during Gitex Technology Week 2013 as part of the smart m-Government initiative of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The new applications, developed in-house, have been enabled to provide all m-Government services to DSOA customers on their smart devices. DSO tenants will be able to apply for various online documents through these applications. The entire process, which can be completed online, will issue an e-certificate with an automatically generated intelligent quick response, or QR code that is accessible by external government agencies through DSO’s website for further verification.

Dr. Mohammad Al Zaroouni, Vice Chairman and CEO at DSOA, said, "The new mobile service will enhance our customer service offerings, allowing our community members to use their smartphones or other devices to apply for m-Government services, such as all types of visas, work permits, cancelations, IT services and IT telephony amongst many others. In short, the mobile services applications offer 91 government services that DSO provides.

"Moreover, the new e-certification will allow our customers to benefit from speedy services while reducing the man-hours of our staff. This will additionally help us utilise the resources more effectively as we generate over 100 certificates a day."

In parallel, DSO has upgraded its existing website that is now fully responsive on mobility devices and features an interface that fits on all smart devices.

On the sidelines of the launch of the applications, the DSO unveiled its bi-monthly online magazine, currently available in the Apple Store. 

Dubai Healthcare Authority displays IT initiatives at Gitex


Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, making a statement on the occasion of Gitex Technology Week, has highlighted that the DHA will soon be introducing several IT initiatives in line with its move towards the implementation of "total information technology" solutions in the health sector.

He said, "In line with the Smart Government initiative launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the DHA has chalked out a roadmap towards total IT solutions that will significantly enhance not only customer experience but also the manner in which healthcare is delivered and managed. Our plan includes the use of IT services, every step of the way."

Al Maidoor said that incorporating smart IT services is the "need of the hour", given how technologically aware customers are. He said that smart services will help provide high levels of customer satisfaction which are at the heart of the Dubai Health Strategy 2013-2025.
 
Ahmed Al Omari, Acting head of Information Technology at the DHA said, "DHA has several useful applications that can be downloaded using a smartphone, and that the apps are compatible with all platforms. He said that the authority has added several new features to the existing apps to further enhance customer experience.

Among the several initiatives are apps that allow customers to view prescriptions and get prescription alerts. The apps also provide details about healthcare packages available to the public, including women’s health, smoking packages and diabetes packages. Parents can even synchronise their children's vaccination schedules to get timely alerts.

Dubai Customs showcases transformation into a fully smart department

Dubai Customs is presenting its transformation into the first 100 per cent smart department at Gitex 2013, after launching a package of smart services early in October.

Within the framework of a comprehensive development process, Dubai Customs made all necessary changes, not only to offer exclusive services to mobile users, but also to make all the necessary changes to receive requests for services from customers on a 24/7 basis, and deliver those services promptly.

For these purposes, a smart follow-up system was internally developed to allow concerned employees to receive customer requests on their smart phones and process them immediately. All services offered by Dubai Customs are now available for smart phone users and are aligned with the new system.

Using smart display technologies, visitors at Gitex are introduced to the achievements of Dubai Customs, and a separate pavilion in a special location has been set up for Dubai Customs to display the smart government services via these technologies. Dubai Customs also has a platform within the Dubai Smart Government’s pavilion inside the showrooms.

Dewa showcases latest smart services

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa)’s stand at GITEX 2013 is displaying its latest smart services as part of the ‘Smart Government’ initiative adopted by the Government of Dubai.

DEWA also announced the launch of its new smartphone and tablet application, which features new services and features such as moving in or out, requests for final settlements, requests for temporary connections for weddings and events, water and electricity distribution locations services, and quotes from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in his memoirs ‘Flashes of Thoughts’ and ‘My Vision,’ whose wise words are a benchmark for Dewa.

The application will also include links to Sheikh Mohammed’s official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Dewa also presented the latest application for the Samsung Galaxy Gear Smart Watch, Smart Cars, and the new ‘Ouya’ gaming console, making it the first government organisation to launch an application that also works on a home gaming console.

The new range of services allows customers to complete their transactions, pay their bills, follows the latest news from Dewa, as well as many other services, in the convenience of their own homes.

“Dewa is providing an opportunity for its customers to test the new applications at our stand during Gitex,” said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD and CEO of Dewa.

“Dewa will showcase its latest applications that run on most smart phones and devices at its ‘smart’ stand at Gitex 2013. Dewa’s customers and visitors can try the new applications, which have been developed to include new features, such as locating the nearest service centres, using the highly sought-after Augmented Reality technology, the monthly bill viewing plan, in addition to 150 new features,” said Marwan bin Haider, Vice President of IT and CIO of DEWA.

Dewa has also announced a grand draw which offers customers the opportunity to win a smart and environmentally-friendly car. To participate, customers must complete their transactions using Dewa’s e-services at www.dewa.gov.ae, using the smart services for their electricity and water bills (ePay), or via their smartphones through mPay.

Customers will also be eligible to enter the competition upon requesting for their final invoice (Move-Out), Driver Service (Move-In), or activate the automatic payment feature. DEWA’s automatic payment feature is designed to equip dealers to qualify for the draw by requesting a three-month consecutive payment, from October to December 2013.

Dewa’s services are part of the Dubai Smart Government stand (S2-B21) at Gitex.

Ministry of Labour activates ID card for digital signature

The UAE Ministry of Labour has announced that it is showcasing its project aimed at adopting the ID card issued by the Emirates Identity Authority for digital signature during Gitex 2013 where the ministry is participating with a stand within the federal government booth.

The ministry said that the project comes within the framework of its cooperation with Emirates ID. It allows MOL’s customers to use their ID card to complete applications, replacing the e-signature currently used through the ministry’s systems.

It is also planning to announce a number of new projects including the Smart Inspection System, that will ensure quick and precise inspection of registered companies. "This will be done through benefiting from the data and information embedded in the smart chip of the ID card that allows verification of cardholder identities by matching their fingerprints with the ones saved on the e-chip," the ministry said on its website.

Abu Dhabi e-Govt showcases advanced e-services

Gitex 2013 witnessed on Sunday the combined participation from 12 Abu Dhabi entities under the Abu Dhabi e-Government umbrella. The stand is hosted by Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre (ADSIC), the government entity in charge of Abu Dhabi’s ICT agenda, and showcases the emirate’s futuristic e-services and initiatives.

Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, Director General at ADSIC said, “Our participation under a single umbrella is a result of Abu Dhabi government’s commitment to integrate on all levels in order to improve the quality of how we interact with our citizens, residents and businesses. Gitex is the region’s leading IT event and therefore, is an ideal platform for us to display as well as promote Abu Dhabi e-government to visitors at the stand.”

The inaugural day of Abu Dhabi e-Government’s participation at Gitex was marked by visits from government officials and important dignitaries including Dr. Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, the UAE Minister of Education, who learnt about the diverse initiatives and e-services developed by Abu Dhabi e-Government. 

During Dr. Qutami’s visit, Khaled Al Mazrouei, ADSIC's Business Information Manager, presented key ADSIC initiatives and services including Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre (800 555), e-Citizen Program, Abu Dhabi Spatial Data Infrastructure, Abu Dhabi Portal (www.abudhabi.ae), CityGuard Application and Jobs Abu Dhabi (www.jobsabudhabi.ae).

In addition to the benefits of CityGuard mobile app as a means to use technology to encourage public participation proactively, Al Mazrouei outlined other interactive user-friendly channels developed to engage with the emirate’s residents, business and visitors electronically.

Jobs Abu Dhabi portal (JAD) is Abu Dhabi’s leading job search engine and portal that can be used by jobseekers around the world to connect with employers from the emirate’s government and private sectors, while Abu Dhabi Government Contact Centre – 800 555, launched in 2008 allows easy access to government-related information 24 hours and seven days a week.

Participating at the Abu Dhabi e-Government pavilion this year, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) demonstrates its Abu Dhabi Business Centre e-linkages online initiative. The Abu Dhabi Business Centre allows business people and investors to electronically issue or renew commercial licenses from the various governmental entities which the ADDED is currently linked to.

The electronic transition is considered to be a great time saver and is aimed to help businesses and investors seeking to obtain commercial licenses. ADDED is also demonstrating its e-inspection initiative, developed to enable inspectors to enter all the required data during their inspection onto their iPad, in real time, to finalise the licensing.

Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC), a participant at the stand, showcases this year its electronic Student Information System ‘eSIS’ that archives all information related to students in both public and private schools across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The system is linked with students’ Emirates ID and records information of students from the very beginning and enables parents to follow up on various issues pertaining to their children such as health conditions, attendance, behaviour, academic performance and bus routes.

Also showcased at the event, ADEC’s Schools Master Plan is a program developed to identify the demand and supply gaps in public and private schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It represents a 10 year students forecast in line with the UAE national and expatriate population growth across different regions in the Emirate. It provides a road map to build new public and private schools coherent to the foreseeable demand ensuring a sustainable development in the education sector.

The Schools Master Plan is a tool for policy makers to develop strategies and plans in public schools development, and creating potential opportunities in the private education sector.

Demonstrating its mapping system, Al Ain Municipality showcases its Mobile LiDAR Mapping System at the Abu Dhabi e-Government stand. The system is a cost-effective means for survey which updates spatial data for the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi Emirate. It provides high quality services to all municipality departments including Town Planning and survey and Road and Infrastructure Sectors.

Participating Abu Dhabi government entities at Gitex 2013 include Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA) including Abu Dhabi City Municipality (ADM), Al Ain Municipality and Western Region Municipality; Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority (ADFCA); Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED); Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (ADTCA); Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi (EAD); Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC); Statistics Centre- Abu Dhabi (SCAD) and Health Authority - Abu Dhabi (HAAD).

Ministry of Health demonstrates smart mobile health consultation

The Ministry of Health of the UAE will be demonstrating an innovative new service at Gitex Technology Week that is designed to improve medical services to citizens.

At the Ministry of Health stand, visitors can experience healthcare professionals demonstrating how advanced Unified Communications and Collaboration, in combination with Mobile Communications, are envisaged to be used for remote medical consultations, diagnostics and e-Care. The new methods are part of the federal government’s strategy to make e-Services available for all citizens at any location.

This latest UC&C software provides powerful new collaboration and mobility functions enabling advanced and easy audio, video and web conferencing across PCs, smartphones and tablets. This enables "anywhere, anytime" access for increased efficiency, productivity and patient safety.

The e-Service will be supported by agents at a central medical call centre that will be the initial contact point with citizens calling in. At Gitex this process will be demonstrated with a patient calling in from a portable device, an agent opening up audio and video channels, and a medical specialist following up with a video conferencing consultation.

Ali Al Ajami, Director of Information Technology in the Ministry of Health, said, "These new solutions will improve the quality of medical care tremendously, lowering the threshold for many citizens in seeking medical care and advice. Tele-consultations can reduce the number of doctor visits and hospital stays, and will also stimulate early diagnosis. All of which help to reduce costs and improve quality of care".

Etisalat announces record energy savings for HCT

Etisalat on Monday announced at Gitex record savings on its Emirates Energy Star (EES) programme for its customer, Higher Colleges of Technology.

The Higher Colleges of Technology recorded a saving of 2,431 tonnes of CO2 in four months since implementation, resulting in energy savings of 4,120Mwh to September 2013.

HCT was the first educational institution to implement the EES programme in six of its colleges, including Abu Dhabi Women’s College, Al Ain Men’s College, Al Ain Women’s College, Dubai Men’s College, Dubai Women’s College and Khalifa City Campus.

The Emirates Energy Star programme, launched in partnership with Pacific Controls two years ago, has already registered energy savings of 43.8m Kwh.

Many buildings in the U.A.E., particularly older office facilities, are extremely energy inefficient and contribute heavily to the country's carbon footprint. The Emirates Energy Star programme involves retrofitting such existing buildings with machine-to-machine (M2M) sensors and Managed Energy Monitoring Services to help reduce energy consumption and the overall carbon footprint of the UAE.. So far, Etisalat has helped save 5,588 trees by helping enterprises eliminate more than 26,025 tonnes of unnecessary CO2 emissions solely through 24/7 monitoring, streamlining and reducing energy usage of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment in the facilities. 

The EES programme aims to reduce 20 per cent energy consumed and 20 per cent of the carbon footprint of buildings under its purview by 2015. The programme is close to achieving this much before the deadline as it has already registered 17 per cent average energy savings across all its facilities.

"Our early investment in machine-to-machine (M2M) technology has helped reap rich dividends for the country and the sector. The Emirates Energy Star programme is one of our initial M2M deployments and its early success is a clear indicator that we are moving in the right direction," said Saleh Al Abdooli, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat.

"The successful partnership with HCT will help us work in line with the strategic objectives of harnessing the immense potential of this technology to enable smart government and create a smarter ecosystem," he continued.

Dr. Tayeb A. Kamali, Vice Chancellor, Higher Colleges of Technology, said, "Joining hands with an integrated solutions provider like Etisalat will help us take the next step in contributing towards the development of a sustainable future. As the first educational institution to adopt the EES programme, we hope that our decision to adopt the EES program will serve as an inspiration internally and externally - to our students and other institutions - to understand how they can make a difference."