ATRC’s Dr Mae Almansoori on why Abu Dhabi is betting big on STEM
Economies that invest in STEM gain more than skilled workers; they create ecosystems where knowledge drives innovation, and innovation promotes enterprise
15 November, 2025
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Across much of the world, a quiet crisis is unfolding. Countries are struggling to equip their young people with the skills needed to thrive in a world shaped by artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and advanced engineering. Employers cite talent shortages in critical sectors, while universities report a decline in interest in core scientific disciplines.
As the OECD notes, “today’s education systems were established more than a century ago and were not designed to develop the knowledge and skills required for 21st-century life.”
The consequences are already evident. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 63 per cent of employers identify skills gaps as the most significant barrier to business transformation, and less than half believe current education systems are preparing talent for the future.
This is not just an economic problem. It is a strategic one. Countries like the UAE are prioritisng the development of a generation of local talent primed to lead in high-impact fields. Without more substantial alignment between education and workforce needs, nations risk falling short of their ambitions to become global innovation hubs. Investing in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is therefore not optional. It is the foundation for economic resilience, technological leadership and long-term sovereignty in critical sectors.
While many governments are still debating how to bridge this skills gap, Abu Dhabi has moved decisively from diagnosis to implementation. The emirate has launched a comprehensive strategy to embed AI across all public services by 2027. Supported by Dhs13bn, the Abu Dhabi Government Digital Strategy encompasses the deployment of over 200 AI-powered solutions, the complete automation of government processes, and the development of a sovereign cloud infrastructure.
Crucially, it pairs this technological transformation with talent development through programs such as AI for All, ensuring that digital progress is matched by national capability.
This is already visible in the classroom. Across the UAE, students are learning to program autonomous systems, apply machine learning, and experiment with robotics, skills once confined to postgraduate labs. The A2RL STEM Competition, for example, challenges high school and university students to design and code self-driving cars.
The value lies not in the spectacle, but in the steady, structured effort to turn theory into application and curiosity into capability. The UAE is also among the first countries to introduce AI as a formal subject to its national curriculum, from kindergarten through to Grade 12, ensuring every student graduates with a foundational understanding of emerging technologies and the confidence to apply them.
Global labor trends underscore the urgency of this effort. The WEF’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 predicts that AI will displace 92 million jobs globally, while creating 170 million new ones — many in roles such as AI and machine learning specialists, autonomous vehicle engineers, and data analysts.
The objective, therefore, is not simply to produce more coders or engineers, but to cultivate a generation that can think computationally, navigate complexity, and adapt to technologies that have yet to be invented. Abu Dhabi’s focus on STEM education and applied research reflects this shift from short-term training to long-term capability building.
That shift is also reflected in the data. UNESCO reports that over 30 per cent of UAE graduates are earning degrees in STEM fields. More strikingly, 61 per cent of those graduates are women, compared to 57 per cent across the rest of the Arab world. This progress underscores how a well-designed education strategy can advance both competitiveness and inclusion.
To build an actual knowledge economy, education systems must do more than deliver qualifications. They must reward experimentation, foster critical thinking and connect learning to real-world challenges. That means equipping students not only with technical skills, but with the mindset to question, adapt and lead.
STEM is not a quick fix, but it is a reliable foundation. Economies that invest in it gain more than skilled workers; they create ecosystems where knowledge drives innovation, and innovation promotes enterprise. In Abu Dhabi, this alignment is becoming increasingly visible in efforts to accelerate the commercialization of research. The aim is to transform scientific discoveries into technologies, startups, and intellectual property that directly contribute to growth. This is part of a broader strategy to future-proof the economy by ensuring that research does not remain in the lab, but reaches the market through local talent and national infrastructure.
The next breakthrough in energy, healthcare or mobility may well come from this region. Not by chance, but by design, through sustained investment in the people and ideas that will define the future.
Dr Mae Almansoori is director of R&D Talent Enablement at the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC).
