Dubai - MENA Herald: Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation organised a visit to the University of Cambridge as part of its third course in Diploma in Government Innovation as it pursued efforts to take theoretical concepts to practical levels to enhance national capacity building and achieve the National Agenda and the UAE Vision 2021.
The visit included a series of training workshops, lectures and tours involving leading supporters of innovation that helped enrich the scientific and practical expertise of the participants of the course.
Huda Al Hashimi, Executive Director at Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation, said the third course aims to complement the first two courses by building on the theoretical concepts, practical training and the available opportunity to effectively evaluate innovative projects and apply them to enhance national capacity building and achieve the National Agenda and the UAE Vision 2021.
The lectures and workshops at the University of Cambridge were addressed by officials and experts at the university and the British government, highlighting the best practices in the implementation of innovative projects and services, Al Hashimi said. They included Professor Christoph Loch, Dean of the Cambridge Judge Business School; Stelios Kavadias, Professor of Enterprise Studies in Innovation and Growth at the Cambridge Judge Business School and Director of Research, as well as a number of academics and specialists.
The third course also included field visits and meetings with government innovation leaders in the United Kingdom which offered an opportunity for participants to gain insights on government innovation policy-making mechanisms and cities of the future.
During a visit to the headquarters of ‘Nesta’, a British organisation specialised in the promotion of innovation, the UAE delegation was briefed on the efforts to encourage creative ideas and turn them into innovations. Experts at Nesta explained the various projects related to government innovation around the world as well as the organisation’s programmes, including the functioning of its open data and electronic work teams.
Geoff Mulgan, Chief Executive of Nesta, lauded the UAE efforts to stimulate innovation, stating that the impact of these initiatives is clearly visible at the ground level in terms of the services provided in the country. Mulgan also commended the participants of the Diploma in Government Innovation course for their passion to promote innovation and growth.
The UAE delegation was briefed on the work of ‘Sanger’, an institute specialised in genetics, which offered an overview of the latest research and tools adopted in this area. They also got an exposure in the application of technology in the field of the judiciary.
The delegation discussed with Hugh Robertson, former Minister of State for the Middle East, the practical application of innovation policies and the future direction of government policies in the field of technology. They also met Dominic Campbell, founder and president of FutureGov, an entity specialised in the field of leadership and innovation.
The participants in the Diploma on Government Innovation course includes 55 executives from 39 federal and local government entities, and focuses on the principles of innovation in the public sector and the creation of innovative leadership in the country.
The Diploma in Government Innovation, organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation in collaboration with the University of Cambridge aims build national capacities to prepare a distinct generation of innovative leaders, and establish a new culture that adopts innovation on daily basis in government functioning.