New user data from online education platform Udacity shows the major impact of the One Million Arab Coders initiative in bridging the digital skills gap among Arab youths.
More than one million Arabs from 80 countries clocked five million hours of study to learn computer programming from experienced trainers in software sciences and advanced technologies.
They took part in 76,000 training workshops over the four-year initiative, making it the largest initiative of its kind to train Arab youth with 21st century skills.
Khalfan Belhoul, chief executive of Dubai Future Foundation, which led the initiative, said the programme met its “key aim” of “facilitating the access of more than one million young Arabs with free digital courses to future-proof their skills and drive their nations' digital economy”.
There is a critical need to equip more people for the jobs of the future. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development estimates that 1.1 billion jobs are likely to be radically transformed by technology in the next decade.
The World Economic Forum predicted an overall net positive between job growth and decline but warned of underinvestment in what it calls “lifelong learning”.
Currently, only 0.5 per cent of global GDP is invested towards this type of professional development. Wide-scale investment in re-skilling has the potential to boost GDP by $6.5 trillion by 2030, the WEF reported.
One Million Arab Coders is part of Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives and concluded last month with a competition for a winning software project.
Mahmoud Shahoud, a 32 year-old Syrian refugee who resettled in Turkey, clinched the $1 million prize for his app, Habit360.
He took advantage of the offer of free training in coding after seeing the competition on Facebook in 2018 and used the skills he learnt to develop the app, which enables people to build better habits in their lives and track their accomplishments and feelings.
Mr Shahoud told The National that half of his winnings would go towards helping children orphaned by the Syrian civil war and that he plans to relocate to Dubai to establish his start-up.
He said the app has attracted more than 200,000 organic installs on the Google Play store and that he plans to release a version for the Apple App Store. Currently a one-person team, Mr Shahoud plans to make his first hire in the coming months.
Sheikh Hamdan announces the winner of the One Million Arab Coders Challenge: in pictures
The five pillars of Islam
Springtime in a Broken Mirror,
Mario Benedetti, Penguin Modern Classics
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BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
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Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
The biog
Family: He is the youngest of five brothers, of whom two are dentists.
Celebrities he worked on: Fabio Canavaro, Lojain Omran, RedOne, Saber Al Rabai.
Where he works: Liberty Dental Clinic
The years Ramadan fell in May
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre, twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 582bhp
Torque: 730Nm
Price: Dh649,000
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
