The UAE has unveiled an ambitious strategy to become a world-leading hub for technology and innovation. As part of this, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, detailed plans to develop and exploit 3-D printing for construction projects.
New targets for driverless cars in Dubai – a quarter of journeys in the city are expected to be driverless by 2030 – were also set. While these targets might seem daunting at first glance, that is exactly the point. Reaching the targets will require the UAE to build critical infrastructure, create jobs, spur innovation and elevate the country’s position as a centre for talent in the region and beyond.
At the height of the space race in 1962, American president John F Kennedy delivered one of his most famous speeches. “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,” the president commented. We are setting ambitions targets not unlike the United States did during the race to the Moon. We are doing this to be challenged and to raise the bar of our technological footprint in the Middle East and the world. In a profound manner, reaching these targets constitutes our own Moon challenge.
Innovation requires infrastructure, and the process of reaching the goal of driverless cars and 3-D construction will require infrastructure projects on the scale we have yet to see in the region. “Our vision for development is driven by a deep understanding of future needs, and built on proactive ideas because we want to be in first place globally,” Sheikh Mohammed noted as he unveiled the new targets. “The future does not wait for those who hesitate and slow down. The next stage requires us to act fast and utilise the opportunities.”
He is right. In setting these benchmarks for innovation, we will elevate our own economy and integrate ourselves deeply in the global economy. Just as the race to the Moon resulted in a number of unforeseen advancements such as weather satellites and communication technology, so too will the race to build using 3-D printing manifest in benefits we can’t yet fully comprehend. The process has already begun. The leadership has set concrete targets and now it is up to society to meet them. In so doing, we the nation will entrench the UAE’s global position as the falcrum for ingenuity.