National Advanced Sciences & Technology Programme Established in UAE

A new National Programme for Advanced Sciences and Technologies has been established to connect scientific research and education more directly with strategic industries, with an emphasis on moving technologies from development towards manufacturing, scale and export.

The programme was established by presidential decision from President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and will initially operate through six tracks covering technical education and national talent, national service, a flagship initiative, a global challenge, global talent attraction, and technical research and innovation.

A Higher Committee chaired by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan will oversee the programme, with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan serving as deputy chairman. An Executive Committee chaired by Mohammed Al Gergawi will review plans, policies and budgets while coordinating implementation across federal and local entities.

The programme complements Operation 300bn, which targets increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to GDP from AED 133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031 and raising industrial research and development expenditure from AED 21 billion to AED 57 billion.

A separate National Programme to Transform Technology is targeting 1,000 technology projects by 2031, with an estimated AED 110 billion contribution to net domestic product.