Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, stressed the importance of preparing digital generations qualified in artificial intelligence is the primary step in accelerating digital transformation of all work models.

He explained that such efforts embody the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in building coders’ capabilities, developing their skills, as well as encouraging them to share their digital knowledge in building the best digital economy of the future.

This came, as part of the “UAE Codes” day events and celebrations, taking place on 29th October and the announcement of the National Programme for coders selection of 56 Coding Ambassadors, targeting government and private sector leaders, employees, and university & school students to share digital knowledge with the coding community.

Providing ambassadors with the right opportunities and tools will integrate ambassadors within the coding community, create smart solutions and enhance future skills in the digital sector.

Al Olama further added that the “Coding Ambassadors” initiative would support the other initiatives of the National Programme for Coders in general and support coders, in particular, to enhance their skills and qualify them to occupy a leading role in the fields of artificial intelligence and coding. The initiative also attracts digital talents, creates a global platform for the digital economy, and builds cooperation to develop projects by the youth’s innovative minds.

The National Programme for Coders selected 23 Emiratis out of the 56 Coding Ambassadors, from across the country, including; Lateefa Al Hammadi, Hamed AlHashmi, Bashayer Alsalami, Amna Al Hammadi, Faris AlKaabi, Hazaa Daiban from Abu Dhabi, Dr. Essa Basaeed, Mariam Al Naqbi, Muhammad AlBlooshi, Fatima Al Falahi, Maryam Al Qassim and Sarah Al Bastaki from Dubai, Fahd Al Jneibi, Hajar Al Naqbi, Ali Abu Zanjal, Muhammad Eid, Reem Jassem from Sharjah, and Dr. Ahmed Al Ali and Shaher Tayfor from Umm Al Quwain, And Maryam Al Mansoori from Ras Al Khaimah, and Moza Quraini, Shaima Al Antali, and Maryam Al Amiri from Fujairah, with the aim of ensuring the distribution of coding concepts to the entire community and increase the number of the coding community.

Through the programme, coding ambassadors will coordinate monthly meetings, hold in-person, physical and virtual meetings as well as organising workshops for the ambassadors and the coding community, reaching a larger number of the community to share coding concepts in all vital sectors in the country, and organising special coding sessions for talents that are interested in the field of coding in focusing on refining their skills and enhancing their programming experience and developing their speaking skills as an important part for the coder to be an ambassador.

The National Programme for Coders identified 3 different tier programmes for Coding Ambassadors after applying, evaluating, interviewing many applicants, and passing the last stage of submitting a short case study related to coding; Silver Tier which has 16 ambassadors consisting of students and fresh graduates with skills in coding; Gold Tier that includes 33 ambassadors who are advanced in the digital field; and Platinum Tier including 7 ambassadors that are experts in coding, leaders and employees in government and private institutions.

The ambassadors will work in different teams to enhance competitiveness through a points system that will be awarded to the most effective team according to the type of initiatives submitted, such as holding meetings, workshops, and hackathons to enhance positive outcomes and compete in presenting the best programming skills to the community and sharing coding experiences to all social categories.

Coding ambassadors will further support the National Programme for Coders’ initiatives by meeting experts and inspiring the coding passion through the Coders HQ’s “Get inspired”, conduct meetings at the HQ “Meetups” sharing the successful stories, and organise educational workshops in the HQ “Learn” spreading new digital methods.

The Coding Ambassadors initiative was announced on “Update” platform launched by the Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications Office to increase the number of coders in the UAE and empower the coder’s community.