Ruler of Dubai begins search to find 1,000 greatest Arab minds

Dh100 million fund will be used to develop mathematicians and scientists

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said Dubai's Museum of the Future will be used as a base for the programme. Reuters

A major fund has been set up by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to identify the brightest minds in the Arab world and harness their ideas.

Sheikh Mohammed on Tuesday unveiled Great Arab Minds with a Dh100 million ($27.22 million) budget.

The programme will identify and develop the brightest people in their fields, including mathematics, physics, computer software and data science.

Dubai's Museum of the Future will be used as a base for the programme, which will be overseen by four Cabinet ministers.

“Today we launch a new project to search for 1,000 Great Arab Minds in the fields of physics and mathematics, software and data science, economics and higher education and research,” Sheikh Mohammed said.

“Great minds built Arab civilisation — today I believe we have the talent to build a better world.

“We will accelerate the Emirates' role as an incubator for fostering Arab and global talent. We built the Museum of the Future as a global hub for scientists, thinkers and innovators — it is the ideal headquarters for a fund to develop the potential of our region's finest minds.”

The museum is scheduled to open soon, he said.

The committee leading the project is chaired by Mohammed Al Gergawi, president of the Museum of the Future and Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences and chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency, Omar Al Olama, Minister of State for Digital Economy, AI and Remote Working System, and Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth.

Each year on January 4, Sheikh Mohammed marks the year he entered office as Ruler of Dubai in 2006 with a new project, typically focused on education and knowledge.

Sheikh Mohammed took office in 2006 after the death of his brother, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid, who had been ruler since 1990.

The following day, members of the UAE Supreme Council elected him as vice president and approved President Sheikh Khalifa's nomination for him to be prime minister. Sheikh Mohammed and the members of his first Cabinet took their oaths before Sheikh Khalifa at Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi, on February 11.

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