Zoho signs MoU with Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Dubai to foster innovation amongst young developers

Through this partnership, Zoho will enable developers & IT undergraduates to transform their ideas into deployable, real-life solutions using its low-code platform, Creator

Dubai, UAE- 5 July, 2022:  Zoho Corp., a leading global technology company, and School of Engineering & IT, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Dubai have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate hands-on training and knowledge-transfer to the institute’s developer community.

The MoU was signed by Ali Shabdar, Regional Director, Middle East and Africa at Zoho and Dr. S. K. Pandey, Dean – STEM Programs and Chairperson, School of Engineering & IT, MAHE Dubai. The agreement aims to empower the next generation of developers and IT professionals in Dubai by integrating academic learning with professional experience. Through this partnership, Zoho will enable undergraduates to transform their ideas into deployable, real-life solutions using its latest low-code application development platform, Creator. 

Commenting on the partnership, Ali Shabdar said, 'We are pleased to partner with School of Engineering & IT, MAHE Dubai to promote industry-academia collaboration, innovation, and knowledge-sharing as part of our 'transnational localism' strategy, which is anchored in working with local communities. By forging this partnership, we strive to contribute to building the future IT leaders and developers in Dubai and empower them to hone their creative and problem-solving skills through technology. In learning low-code technology, students can get first-hand experience in application development from Zoho's experts and gain a competitive edge when entering the job market.'

According to Gartner, by 2024, applications developed using low-code application development tools will account for more than 65% of application development activity. 

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Jason Fitzsimmons, Academic President, MAHE Dubai, said “We are looking at a long-term partnership, where our students are provided the opportunity to learn and explore a range of new and innovative information technology products. Our partnership with Zoho Corporation will allow students to share ideas and work on Creator portal to develop applications. Through this collaboration, we aim to expose students to the latest software and web-based tools, which will help in building relevant in-demand skills, validate innovative ideas, and ensure they stay competitive and relevant in the corporate world. This is an outstanding opportunity for students to learn from industry experts and upgrade their skills for better career growth.”

MAHE Dubai has opened up registration to the undergraduate students of School of Engineering and IT, MAHE Dubai, to submit ideas for digital solutions that would help solve existing challenges. A select number of candidates will be shortlisted to gain full access to the platform to start implementing their ideas. 

Zoho, in collaboration with School of Engineering & IT, MAHE Dubai, have co-hosted the first training session on-campus, where students attended a mix of interactive sessions and workshops that will demonstrate use case examples, and offer the guidance needed to help them kick-start their projects.

Positioned as a technology leader in the 2021 SPARK Matrix for Low Code Application Development (LCAD) Platform by Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, Zoho Creator is a low-code application development solution that empowers business users, citizen developers, and professional developers to easily build, deploy, manage, and analyze custom solutions with little to no prior coding knowledge.