In line with the new innovation vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Internet City will organize the first round of its tech developer competition, titled ‘Decode Dubai’.
The competition to be held on January 24, 2015 is expected to reflect DIC’s continuous efforts in driving Dubai leadership’s new innovation strategy forward, by empowering entrepreneurs and inspiring creative ideas.
80 tech entrepreneurs and developers are likely to participate in the competition who will compete in groups to solve problems and provide solutions by building mobile and web apps around the theme of ‘improving the lives of Dubai residents through public services’.
The judging panel will evaluate the apps after the competition and decide upon a winning team, who will be awarded a grand cash prize of 20,000 AED. There will also be cash prizes for the runners up, and the three winning teams will be supported and mentored by the in5 innovation centre. The winner and runners-up will be announced on 25th January 2015.
Majed Al Suwaidi, Managing Director of Dubai Internet City and Dubai Outsource Zone commented, “Innovation and entrepreneurship play a fundamental role in achieving growth across different business sectors in the UAE, and “Decode Dubai” falls within the framework of our commitment to promote and support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for his new innovation strategy.”
“Today we have over 70 companies in our in5 innovation centre, with more than 500 applicants and ideas. Decode Dubai will bring together developers to pioneer innovative solutions, and this will support our continued efforts to facilitate innovation and empower entrepreneurs going forward,” he added.
Dubai Internet City has played a major role in driving Dubai’s development into a knowledge-based economy and is now a front-runner in Dubai’s new innovation strategy. Through in5, the innovation centre launched by DIC in 2013, it continues to implement new initiatives and projects to drive and foster innovation across all business sectors especially in the field of IT and communications.