Engages Community in DSOA’s Smart Initiatives.
Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA), the regulatory body for the Dubai Silicon Oasis, the integrated free zone technology park, organized a one-day smart city awareness session for the residents and tenants of the community to encourage the adoption of smart technology and innovation in their daily lives.
The session held at GEMS Wellington Academy, Dubai Silicon Oasis, highlighted DSOA’s Smart City Program that has been deployed within the free zone community. Led by Eng Muammar Khaled Al Katheeri, Executive Vice President, Engineering Management and Chairman of Smart City Committee, the interaction outlined DSOA’s blueprint for initiatives planned between 2014 and 2017.
Presenting a segment on ‘CitySPark: We listen to our Community’, Eng Ali Al Mazmi, Associate Director -MEP at DSOA led the participants through the dynamics of the online portal that invites community members to share ideas and participate in DSO’s activities. He also outlined the procedures for posting ideas and replying to discussions on the portal.
This was followed by presentations by Amine N Issa, Post-Doctoral research fellow at the Mayo Clinic in USA, and Professor Vojko Strojnik, Head of Scientific Committee Faculty of Sport University of Ljubljana in Slovenia on behalf of 24alife. Issa analyzed the ‘Challenges of Physiological Monitoring’ while Strojnik shared insights on the active use of 24alife, a portal that helps individuals maintain a healthy lifestyle and effectively manage stress; which is aligned with the smart living initiative.
Speaking at the event, Eng Muammar Khaled Al Katheeri said: “We lead the emirate’s smart city initiative at Dubai Silicon Oasis by working closely with local government departments in Dubai and our business partners to encourage the integration of smart technologies in the community. This knowledge session highlighted the role of digital technologies that make cities truly smart and sustainable. The event also provided an opportunity to highlight the importance of introducing smart living aspects with its quantitative and qualitative criteria.”
“We believe it is important for the private and public sector to work together to achieve the smart city concept. The involvement of the community through an open communication channel where they can post ideas, discuss and even vote on future plans of DSO is a key component in adopting the smart city concept. We look forward to working with our community and receiving their ideas that will enable us to transform Dubai Silicon Oasis into a smarter city,” Eng Muammar added.
Michael Gernon, CEO and Principal of the Academy said: “We thank DSOA for engaging us in its initiatives. Today’s session served as an ideal platform to educate the community on the relevance of smart technology in their daily lives and encourage them to proactively support DSOA’s smart city’s program. The Academy will be playing a full part in supporting the SmartCity initiative and our students are looking forward to engaging with this exciting program on a number of fronts. ”
A wholly-owned entity of the government of Dubai, DSO operates as a free zone technology park for large enterprises, medium and small companies looking to set up their offices in Dubai.