Category: Literacy

ABU DHABI: H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, has chaired a meeting of the Advanced Technology Research Council’s (ATRC) board of directors, during which His Highness reviewed the council’s plans to launch three new ventures, as well as its pioneering achievements and ambitious plans for Abu Dhabi and the UAE to reaffirm their respective positions in the global research and development landscape.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed reaffirmed the significance of continuing to implement plans and initiatives launched by ATRC locally and globally to advance research and development in innovative technologies and AI solutions, highlighting the UAE’s position as an incubator for innovation while encouraging the application of technology-based solutions across vital sectors.

He also highlighted the importance of the council’s UAE Research Map in enhancing research cooperation efforts among relevant entities nationwide and
supporting UAE National talent and competencies in technological innovation, as well as research and development of large language models.

He cited that elevating quality of life and enhancing efficiencies in relevant industries and sectors through the harnessing of technological innovations will support comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic development across the country.

Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed also reemphasised the need to qualify and prepare UAE National talent in STEM-based fields, referring to the significance of these vital disciplines in enhancing the UAE’s research landscape and developing advanced innovations to positively impact key sectors, particularly education, research and development, advanced industries, healthcare, agriculture, environment, robotics, and new technologies.

As the UAE pursues its National Innovation Strategy, ATRC is executing its mandate to shape Abu Dhabi’s R and D ecosystem and promote higher education and careers in STEM, ensuring the UAE develops a
dynamic talent pool that meets current and future demands, in line with the UAE Centennial Plan 2071.

The council discussed its progress toward shaping an innovative R and D ecosystem. This included the council’s commercialisation arm, VentureOne, preparing to introduce three innovative ventures to transform data security in the quantum era, smart autonomous mobility, and Agritech with robotic technologies, which align with the emirate’s economic priorities. These ventures are slated for launch later this year, marking a significant step in translating pioneering research into products and services.

The meeting also reviewed the council’s UAE Research Map, which has become a key resource for the research community. Since its launch in May 2024, the portal has attracted more than 2,000 visits in its first two months and features 30 participating entities, with more than 450 registered experts. Its success in centralising access to national research resources while fostering collaboration between academia and
the public and private sectors has recently led to 10 additional entities expressing interest in joining the portal.

Aligning with its ongoing endeavours to support advanced research and relevant subsidiaries, ATRC has attracted proposals from nations to access the council’s US$200 million ATRC Global Tech R and D Fund and is accelerating the integration of the UAE’s Falcon large language model (LLM) into local and global technological infrastructure and government services.

Additionally, the meeting reviewed ATRC’s applied research pillar, the Technology Innovation Institute (TII), which continues to excel in alignment with national priorities. It recently unveiled the new Abu Dhabi Quantum Optical Ground Station, representing the Arab World’s first and largest facility in the MENA region dedicated to developing secure free-space optical communications. Furthermore, in supporting the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 agenda, TII’s Directed Energy Center received a prestigious award from the UAE Research Program for R
ain Enhancement Science (UAEREP), which addresses critical environmental challenges.

TII’s latest Falcon large language model (LLM) was independently verified by the global LLM leaderboard, Hugging Face. The model has witnessed 85,000 downloads since its launch in May 2024, with a total of more than 45 million downloads across all Falcon LLM models.

The progress of ASPIRE’s work, the council’s programme management arm, was also discussed during the meeting. ASPIRE aims to execute several significant projects to support the UAE’s National Food Security Strategy 2051 and contribute to global food security through its partnership with XPRIZE Feed the Next Billion.

The ATRC meeting was attended by board members Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology; Dr. Ahmed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the President’s Office for Strategic Affairs within the Presidential Court; Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority; Mohamed Hassan Alsuwaidi, Minister of
Investment; Faisal Abdulaziz Al Bannai, Secretary-General of ATRC; Mansoor Ibrahim Al Mansoori, Chairman of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi; and Ahmed Tamim Al Kuttab, Chairman of the Department of Government Enablement – Abu Dhabi.

Source: Emirates News Agency

BEIJING: Establishing high-end industrial chains and strengthening core competitiveness are crucial for achieving high-quality development of China’s fine chemical industry, and fine chemical manufacturers are encouraged to embrace breakthrough initiatives to better navigate the transition, said industry insiders.

According to a report by China Central Television (CCTV), given the structural shortages of high-end products in China’s chemical industry, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with eight other departments, has recently released an implementation plan for the innovative development of the fine chemical industry (2024-2027). This plan aims to guide the sector towards high-end, green, and intelligent development.

The plan proposes to cultivate more than 500 “little giant” enterprises that apply special, sophisticated techniques to produce unique and novel products by 2027.

It also gives priority to the high-end advancement of the industrial chain and the fostering of essential
competitive advantages.

“We should provide our raw material products for such strategic emerging industries such as new energy, new materials, and industrial machinery. For instance, carbon fibre can be a suitable product for applications in large aircrafts [sic] and new energy materials,” explained Zheng Baoshan, Deputy Director of the China National Petroleum and Chemical Planning Institute.

Meanwhile, the plan aims to promote collaboration and integration among fine chemical companies, specialised equipment manufacturers and software developers. It encourages them to jointly develop crucial equipment, components, and process control software in order to create diversified support systems for production.

“The actual purpose of achieving breakthroughs in key technologies and overcoming challenges in the development of critical products is to effectively strengthen and enhance the supply chain. We will establish an innovative development system that fosters seamless collaboration among large, medium, and s
mall enterprises while promoting coordination between upstream and downstream industries, to drive the high-end, green and intelligent development of the fine chemical industry,” said Li Bin, Vice President of the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: The UAE Cybersecurity Council has confirmed no indications of cyber attacks or breaches following the global technical outage with CrowdStrike software that affected electronic systems across various strategic sectors worldwide.

In a statement on Friday, the Cybersecurity Council advised caution to avoid potential exploitation of the technical glitch by cyber criminals. The Council emphasised that efforts are underway to address the global technical issue in collaboration with official and international partners.

The Council urged the public to seek information from official sources and avoid spreading rumours.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has been honoured with the SAS UAE Award in the category of Innovative Transportation AI Use Cases. This recognition acknowledges RTA’s efforts in applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in research and development related to traffic management solutions, as well as developing numerous AI-based solutions and initiatives through partnerships with the private sector and signing Memoranda of Understanding with leading global companies.

The key factor contributing to RTA’s winning this award is its early investment in Big Data and AI solutions. RTA has one of the largest Big Data platforms, enabling the collection and analysis of data with the required speed and quality, and the creation of dashboards that allow management to make data-driven decisions.

RTA has also developed a Corporate AI Platform that allows for data processing and use in training AI algorithms, contributing to the rapid development of AI models. The platform is equipped with tools to monito
r AI performance and govern the decisions made. These enablers support RTA’s efforts to align with Dubai’s strategy to become the smartest city in the world by employing AI to foster the well-being of residents, promote sustainability, and improve service efficiency.

Represented by the Smart Services Department in the Corporate Technology Support Services Sector, RTA has collaborated with SAS in training Emiratis on AI applications and solutions, conducting brainstorming workshops and benchmarking, and monitoring the use and implementation of AI technologies across the RTA. SAS is a leader in business data analytics and one of the prominent companies in the field of business analytics software and services.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: The UAE Research Programme for Rain Enhancement Science (UAEREP) has concluded its Roadshow in the United States. With an agenda focused on exploring new opportunities for innovative research collaboration in the fields of weather enhancement through rain enhancement technologies, the roadshow also officially launched the research project awarded recipient of the 5th UAEREP grant cycle, led by Professor Will Cantrell from Michigan Technological University (MTU), USA.

The roadshow included visits to key research centres specialising in advanced technology and water sustainability in the states of Michigan and New York. These centres included Michigan Technological University (MTU) and its Great Lakes Research Center, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Thomas J. Watson Research Center at IBM, Columbia University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and The City College of New York.

This tour took place as the programme began preparations to announce the start of its new grants cy
cle due to start in January 2025. The new cycle will focus on five principal areas: enhanced seeding materials, rain enhancement systems, autonomous aerial systems, localised climate intervention, and advanced models, software, and data. Additionally, it will also explore opportunities to build on the outputs of the 14 research projects that received programme grants in previous years.

The roadshow also included the participation of the programme’s delegation in the ‘United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development,’ organised by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs at its headquarters in New York. This participation allowed the UAEREP team to learn about the latest global trends related to the SDGs, especially SDG 6 and SDG 13, enabling the programme to continue supporting water sustainability goals through innovative new rain enhancement technologies as a sustainable water source.

The roadshow also strengthened cooperation with key stakeholders, leading scientists, and expe
rts in weather modification and rain enhancement research in both Michigan and New York. The programme exchange expertise with key researchers and scientists in water security and environmental sustainability from all the eminent institutions visited by the roadshow.

Dr. Abdulla Al Mandous, Director-General of the National Centre of Meteorology (NCM) and President of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), said, ‘In line with the UAE’s commitment to supporting ground-breaking research initiatives and building international partnerships to seek effective solutions to address water scarcity challenges and improve weather worldwide, we commit to exploring new collaboration opportunities with some of the world’s leading environmental and water sustainability research institutions, stakeholders, researchers, scientists, and policymakers.’

Alya Al Mazroui, Director of UAEREP, said, ‘Our first stop on this tour focused on launching the innovative research project by Professor Will Cantrell and his team at MTU
, award recipients of the 5th UAEREP grant cycle. Their project utilises laboratory studies and modelling to determine the suitability of clouds for hygroscopic seeding. We very much look forward to further collaboration with Professor Cantrell through the unique expertise and research infrastructure provided by the national centre in the field of rain enhancement research.’

The research project led by Professor Cantrell, entitled ‘Laboratory and Modeling Studies of Cloud Susceptibility to Hygroscopic Seeding’, aims to identify those clouds that can be effectively modified through hygroscopic seeding or electrical charging for enhanced precipitation. The project’s experimental approach relies on a unique cloud chamber at MTU, which can create and sustain steady cloud conditions over extended periods to enable the collection of high-resolution data on cloud properties. By conducting studies on highly polluted clouds, the research team hopes to gain valuable insights into identifying suitable clouds for seedin
g and determining the amount of seeding materials and charging required for successful rain enhancement operations.

Professor Cantrell, Associate Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of the Graduate School at Michigan Technological University, and recipient of the UAEREP 5th cycle grant, said, ‘My team and I are thrilled to share the details of our ambitious project with the programme team on the ground. We are confident that this research project will make a significant contribution alongside the other research projects that have received programme grants in previous cycles.’

The research team led by Professor Cantrell includes key researchers from international institutions, including the University of Utah, Mesa Photonics Laboratory, and Weather Modification International. The project aligns with the programme’s vision of supporting initiatives that foster capacity-building initiatives within the research community, ensuring sustained progress and knowledge exchange in the field of rain enhancement sc
ience.

Source: Emirates News Agency

NEW YORK: A fireball in the sky caused a sensation in New York as it passed over the city in broad daylight on Tuesday, German News Agency (DPA) reported.

The phenomenon was a meteor, the US space agency NASA announced on Facebook early Wednesday, a trail of light that is created when rock debris from space enters the Earth’s atmosphere.

The analysis of witness reports suggests that the streak of light became visible over the city on Tuesday morning and then travelled west at a speed of around 61,000 kilometres per hour towards the state of New Jersey.

The phenomenon was accompanied by thunder-like noises and tremors similar to an earthquake, local media reported, citing eyewitness accounts. However, NASA said they could have been due to military activity in the area.

Chunks of rock like the one that caused the streak of light over New York only have a diameter of around 30 centimetres, NASA said. Such cosmic particles usually burn up completely before they hit the ground and are therefore not dangerous.

Source: Emirates News Agency

GENEVA: The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has issued its annual report on the incidence of sand and dust storms, as well as their impacts on society.

While dust concentrations in the most impacted areas remained above the long-term average in 2023, they were slightly lower compared to 2022.

The report, titled “Airborne Dust Bulletin,” highlights the most severe storm of the year, which struck Mongolia in March 2023. This massive storm covered over 4 million square kilometers and impacted 20 provinces in China. The bulletin’s release coincides with the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms, observed annually on 12th July.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said, ‘We need to be vigilant in the face of continuing environmental degradation and current and future climate change. Scientific evidence shows that human activities are having an impact on sand and dust storms. For example higher temperatures, drought and higher evaporation lead to lower soil moisture. Combined with poor land
management, this is conducive to more sand and dust storms.’

Source: Emirates News Agency

BEIJING: China’s internet industry is experiencing its “golden age” after three decades of remarkable growth, said Shang Bing, President of the China Internet Association, during the opening ceremony of the 2024 China Internet Conference in Beijing on Tuesday.

CGTN reported that China’s internet has undergone significant transformation over the last three decades, evolving from its early stages into a formidable, globally prominent network. Fixed broadband penetration stands at a 110.2 percent, surpassing 100 percent due to multiple subscriptions in certain households.

Furthermore, the 5G network currently encompasses more than 90 percent of China’s counties. This growth is reflected in user numbers, with three-quarters of residents, or nearly 1.1 billion people, now connected to the internet.

The internet has also spurred the development of related technologies. Shang highlighted advancements in large AI models, advanced semiconductor chips and ongoing research into 6G.

Beyond technological innovation, t
he internet has significantly improved people’s lives. Shang pointed to the convenience of smart devices, online shopping and ride-hailing services. The internet has also facilitated the widespread adoption of remote work, boosting business efficiency.

“The world is witnessing unprecedented technological advancements,” Shang stated. ‘Emerging information technologies like AI are reshaping both the digital and physical worlds. The future of the internet industry is undeniably bright, poised for even greater influence.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: Lockheed Martin recently inducted its largest-ever summer internship cohort in the UAE at the Centre for Innovation and Security Solutions (CISS) in Abu Dhabi.

The merit-based programme welcomed 32 students from leading UAE universities, significantly expanding the company’s investment in Emiratisation and human capital development efforts within the aerospace and defence industry.

About 50 percent of the new interns are women, 70 percent are Emirati citizens, and 30 percent represent nine countries across four continents, reflecting the UAE’s diverse talent pool.

Over three months, the students will be immersed in hands-on experiences, working on real-world projects. The programme helps bridge the gap between academic learning and industry application so that graduates are well-prepared to make meaningful professional contributions.

“This record-breaking cohort of interns highlights our commitment to developing future UAE leaders, scientists, and engineers to take up critical positions within
our programmes at Lockheed Martin and across the wider aerospace and defence industry,” said Gen. John ‘Mick’ Nicholson (U.S. Army, Ret.), chief executive, Lockheed Martin Middle East. ‘By providing these students with specialist training and mentoring opportunities, we are inspiring and equipping the next generation of innovators who will help shape the future of global security.’

During their tenure, the interns will work closely with experts from Lockheed Martin on various projects, including artificial intelligence algorithms to automate foreign object debris identification in critical environments, interdisciplinary research, modelling and simulation efforts related to advanced defence systems, and space exploration initiatives.

“We are very pleased to welcome such a diverse and talented group of students to our team,” said Hala Majeed Al Zargani, manager, Lockheed Martin CISS. ‘Our goal is to provide a transformative experience that not only broadens their technical knowledge but also encourages innov
ative thinking and problem-solving skills that will be crucial in tackling complex challenges in the future.’

Lockheed Martin is committed to developing a pipeline of skilled professionals ready to meet the future demands of the aerospace and defense industry. The company’s UAE-based internship program, which began in the summer of 2017 with just four students, has steadily grown into a year-round endeavour with additional sessions held in the spring and fall.

Overall, in 2024, the company expects to graduate more than 50 interns and will double its training capacity in the years to come as part of its broader strategy to invest in UAE education and human capital development.

Source: Emirates News Agency