Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) organized the Future Next Conference in line with its commitment to fostering a culture of innovation among its employees and society members. This was one of Dewa’s events during the UAE Innovation Month (UAE Innovates 2024). The conference was attended by a large number of innovation specialists in many government and private organizations. Experts and specialists from many international companies and organizations including the World Economic Forum, Microsoft, Amazon, Dell, and others also took part.
HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa, said that organizing the Future Next Conference in conjunction with the UAE Innovates activities is a part of Dewa’s effort to support the vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to provide an environment that fosters creativity and innovation across all sectors. Dewa supports the different government plans and strategies including the National Strategy for Advanced Innovation, which aims to position the UAE among the world’s top leaders of innovation and focuses on exploration, future skills, quality of health, living and life, green power, transport and harnessing technology to serve humankind. This conference also supports the Dubai Innovation Strategy to make Dubai the most innovative city in the world.
“Our efforts in innovation have resulted in world-class results. In collaboration with Siemens, Dewa developed the World’s 1st Intelligent Controller for F-Class Gas Turbines that uses big data, machine learning, and AI algorithm to improve efficiency, increase capacity, and reduce emissions. Thanks to using disruptive technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Dewa has set unprecedented global standards in the energy and water sectors and came in the top position globally in more than 10 KPIs in its areas of work. As part of our efforts in innovation, we have adopted Microsoft Power Platform and provided Dewa employees with the smart assistants Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Security Copilot. Dewa is the first government organization in the UAE to adopt this advanced technology based on generative artificial intelligence (AI), and one of the first utilities worldwide to adopt Microsoft’s Copilot to enhance Dewa’s digital transformation. We also enrich our services with ChatGPT to provide an added value to customers, employees, and stakeholders and make them happier,” added Al Tayer.
“Innovation is a pivotal goal for us and the cornerstone for developing our services and initiatives and achieving our ambitions and aspirations for the future. Our projects, initiatives, and programmes in innovation and adopting the latest disruptive technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution have contributed to Dewa achieving global competitive results in various fields, making Dewa a role model in efficiency and excellence achieving top global positions in various indicators. We are proud of Dewa’s many accomplishments and will continue to innovate unique experiences and proactive solutions that strengthen the UAE’s position as a global hub for innovation. We also continue to support innovators, enhance their capabilities, and empower them to implement their ideas and turn them into pioneering projects. We aim to make innovation a work culture and lifestyle for a brighter and more sustainable future for us and for generations to come,” concluded Al Tayer.
The conference’s programme included a speech titled ‘Journey in Adopting Generative AI in the Utility Sector’ by Cathy Li, Head of AI, Data and Metaverse at the World Economic Forum; a speech titled ‘Digital Ethics’ by Emad Shafik, Senior Executive – Partner at Gartner; and a speech titled ‘AI-Powered Utilities: Driving Innovation and Efficiency with Generative AI’ by Nermeen Alahmadieh, Data Solutions and AI specialist at Microsoft. Mohammed Heiba, Senior Innovation Solutions Architect at Amazon, also spoke about ‘Leveraging Amazon Web Services and Generative AI for Enhanced Utility Operations’. The conference also featured presentations by experts and specialists from Dewa.
