UAE launches Coders HQ to empower local, global coding communities

The UAE government has launched the Coders HQ, a new transformational project that re-defines local coding communities, in partnership with more than 40 companies in the UAE and around the world.

The project, established in the Emirates Towers, aims to build a new generation of coders, enhance their capabilities and skills in coding and technology, empower them with tools and expertise, and provide them with the opportunity to design innovative solutions to address local and global challenges.

The project was launched in a virtual ceremony organised by the National Programme for Coders, in the presence of Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Teleworking Applications, and representatives of partners in the project. Participants reviewed the key initiatives and programmes that the Coders HQ will launch over the coming period.

Omar Sultan Al Olama said that launching the Coders HQ comes under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai, to establish advanced coding communities as a major driver for defining the fast-growing digital economy.

He added that the project embodies the UAE’s vision in preparing a new generation of coders, capable of finding innovative solutions to future challenges, exploring new opportunities to build a competitive knowledge-based economy, and creating a comprehensive development process based on investing in skills and talents to build their future capabilities. It further provides an incubating and stimulating environment for skilled coders, building an enabling ecosystem to help them innovate technical solutions to address challenges.

As one of the projects and initiatives of the National Programme for Coders, the Coders HQ aims to consolidate the position of the UAE as a global hub for coders and an incubating ecosystem for projects and innovative ideas for building a better future. It further features advanced technological infrastructure to facilitate coders’ work and includes an events space, a supercomputer, and several workspaces. Over the coming period, six new Coders’ HQs will be inaugurated all around the UAE.

The Coders’ HQ focuses on four main objectives: assessing the skills of coders in the UAE, developing them, enabling continuous communication among coders in the UAE and abroad, and providing coders with the best opportunities to help them enhance the UAE’s leadership in this field.

Among its activities, the project encompasses nine main initiatives, namely:
‘HQ learn’ – to provide practical training courses in different coding fields to different levels of coders
‘HQ assessment’ – to provide a mechanism for evaluating the skills and performance of coders
‘HQ meetups’, – which focuses on developing and incubating software communities in all fields,
‘HQ challenges’ – to share private sector challenges whose winners receive prizes.
‘HQ hackathons’ – to organise a series of short hackathons in partnership with the private sector, where winners will be eligible for prizes
‘HQ conferences’ – to attract mega international conferences specialised in coding to the UAE
‘HQ get inspired’ – to hold a series of inspiring sessions presented by CEOs and technical influencers
‘HQ internship’ – to provide training opportunities for Emirati graduates in the digital companies
‘HQ 021” – a joint project with the United Arab Emirates National and Reserve Service Authority (UAENSR) to develop the talents of national service coders and help them reach global levels.

The Coders HQ further announced organising training programmes for emiratis to facilitate their participation in the various coding fields in the private sector while providing them with the best global knowledge to hone their skills. 40 government, semi-government, private and academic entities will provide support to the training processes to help achieve the defined objectives and yield the best outcomes. These include Abu Dhabi University, Majid Al Futtaim Holding, Microsoft Middle East and Africa, IBM, Presales MERAT, Meta, Rabdan Academy, the American University in Dubai, DP World, ADNOC, and VMware.

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