Sustainable Innovation: Earlier this month, EMG gave a lecture on Sustainable Innovation at the British University in Dubai (BUiD). Drs Daan Elffers and senior consultant Katarina McCartney had been invited by the head of the department of Project Management and Innovation, Prof. Mohammed Dulaimi, recipient of the 2015 ‘Best Professor in Project Management’ award at the prestigious Asian Education Leadership Awards.
Prof. Dulaimi: “We are pleased to have had Daan Elffers and Katarina McCartney as guest speakers addressing our PhD in Project Management students at the British University in Dubai. Their talk made a significant contribution to the debate that the students were having on how sustainable development is driving innovation and creating challenges and opportunities to public and private organisations. The experience shared by Daan and Katarina was found both inspiring and thought-provoking.”
Sustainable Innovation is a hot topic in the UAE this year, with 2015 being marked ‘The Year of Innovation’ by the UAE cabinet, chaired by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The announcement came in line with the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Shaikh Khalifa stressed the importance of innovation to UAE strategy.
Shaikh Mohammad: “Today, more than ever, we need to stimulate the spirit of innovation in our young people, and establish environments that encourage innovation in our communities, universities and schools. We need to establish methodologies for research, investigation, and exploration in our new generations and we need to urge and push our government and private sectors to explore new areas for the development of our economy.”
EMG Founder Daan Elffers, who was the chairman of last year’s CSR summit in Dubai, has said he believes that the potential for CSR in the UAE and the GCC is phenomenal. “Countries such as the UAE, with their strong ambition and unique potential to make a positive contribution to both society and the environment, are in an ideal position to accelerate innovation and take the lead in transforming challenges into sustainable competitive advantages.”
The British University in Dubai was established in 2004 and is the Middle East’s first research-based postgraduate university. The university has the reputation of being one of the region’s most innovative institutions, setting the standards for study and research that will significantly contribute to the technological innovation and growth of the Arab world and beyond.
Article: Sustainable Innovation