Abu Dhabi, May 15, 2017 – Abu Dhabi Systems & Information Centre (ADSIC), the government entity responsible for overseeing Abu Dhabi’s ICT agenda, has organised a strategic workshop in cooperation with Google to explore means of cooperation and to bolster the emirate’s efforts to promote government-led innovation and digitisation. 

Saeed Mohamed Al Mansoori, Executive Director of Shared Government Services at ADSIC, said: “ADSIC strives to forge strategic partnerships with the world’s leading organisations, in a bid to achieve the goals of the Abu Dhabi Government – especially in digital innovation across all government entities working under its umbrella.” 

“We are delighted with this important workshop today,” Al Mansoori added, “which marks a new era of cooperation and partnerships with one of the world’s most prestigious companies, a pioneer in online technologies, search, cloud computing, software, and hardware. ADSIC highly values cooperation and coordination with Google, as it supports our strategic agenda and goals.”

Meanwhile, Selim Eddé, Google’s Head of Public Policy and Government Relations for MENA, said: “In this digital age, it is critical to acquire the right skills and knowledge of all the tools available on the web. Consumers today are embracing different technologies, but it is more important than ever to integrate this digital-first approach across the board, including business and government. We are pleased to offer our insight and best practices, and we look forward to future collaboration with ADSIC.”

For his part, Abdullah Al Neyadi, Head of Projects Unit at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court, said: “We applaud ADSIC’s efforts in organising this workshop, and we are proud to cooperate with Google. This partnership with Google is all the more ideal considering we have a major project in the pipeline – an Innovation Lab that promotes student’s scientific efforts, and stimulates their passion for science and technology via education-based activities and training.”

Al Neyadi noted that Jameyt Al bayt al Motwahed realises the importance of consolidating efforts between various government entities to develop this initiative, adding that this workshop is a great opportunity to introduce a variety of services and initiatives, most notably in technology, engineering, and mathematics, which serves students, educational institutions, and UAE society at large.”

The strategic collaboration with Google is aligned with the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s (ADEC) innovation agenda: the Google CS First programme promotes programming skills among Abu Dhabi’s youth, noted Dr Yousif Al Sheryani, ADEC’s Acting Executive Director of Planning and Strategic Affairs Office.