The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has been among those most interested in securing a better future for its citizens in the post-COVID-19 period. The efforts have included mechanisms and strategies to reopen the economy and to implement a new model of business that reduced the risks of spreading the virus. It is argued that the UAE government has found most solutions in technology through a digitization program. As it will be discussed here, many sectors, including healthcare, education, science and technology, private businesses, and even the entire economy as a whole, are being built around digitization. It is important to appreciate the concept of technological innovations and the problems it helps solve. COVID-19 is a global pandemic that affects all aspects of society. In the economy, the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) both in the UAE and other countries are among the most affected, as explained by Guo et al. (2020). In the UAE, SMEs are among those firms embracing new technologies that present them with new ways of doing business.
Many scholars have established that economies across the world are looking for ways to build resilience and to restart operations without posing risks to human health. According to Pinzaru et al. (2020), manufacturers are adopting intelligent manufacturing (IM), which includes automated machines and decision-making assets that utilize data from networked infrastructure. In education, the UAE government has implemented measures to ensure all-online courses, which started in March 2020 (AlShamsi et al., 2020). Based on this reading, it is apparent that the UAE has used online classes as a new way of learning.
I think that online classes are becoming common in the UAE. The concept of e-learning has become a new norm in the UAE, and scholars and the government are considering the possibility of continuing with it in the post-COVID-19 period (Almuraqab, 2020; Hussein et al., 2020). These new developments in education and other sectors will most likely persist after the pandemic. This is because the UAE government has been pursuing digitization for a long time. The UAE and the broader Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been described as excited about the benefits digitization brings (Papazian et al., 2016). As such, both the governments and the private sector have been keen to embrace the agenda in pursuit of the gains. I support the fact that the UAE has not allowed the pandemic to completely halt the economy and that it is preparing the public for the new norm.
I guess the UAE has been the pioneer of digitization in the country, and, therefore, it is important to appreciate the new digital government and how it is intended to operate. A case study of the Ajman digital government presented by Abughazaleh and Ahmad (2018) reveals that Ajman has implemented e-government to comply with the UAE’s e-government standards. This is an indication that the country is deliberately pursuing digitization of all aspects of the government and extends the same to all public institutions and private entities. In the country’s new media, these efforts have been well-documented. In ITU News, for example, Al Mansoori (2020) details how the UAE is boosting digital transformation in the face of COVID-19. The new technologies that are being implemented in this massive change include 5G, Artificial Intelligence, blockchain, innovations, and smart cities, among others (Al Mansoori, 2020). It means, therefore, that if there is a new norm in the UAE post-COVID-19 period, it started even before the pandemic.
The UAE has also been considered a leader in the digital healthcare market. This is an opinion presented in the Gulf News by Chaudhary (2018), who explains that the UAE government was investing $232 million between 2014 and 2016 to build a digital health care system. Such a huge investment makes the UAE a leader in the market. It is argued that the government seeks to accelerate the digitization process to be at the top not only in the region but also globally. If the pandemic had had any impact on digitization, then it would have fast-tracked the process that started several years ago. This argument has also been presented by Nair (2020), who expresses that the vision 2030 will be realized in 2020. I think this vision is founded on the idea of using new digital technologies to boost productivity and the economic output of the country.
The education and healthcare sectors have thus far been highlighted as examples of how the UAE pursue digitization both as a response to the pandemic and as a means of building the economy. It has also been expressed that these plans were developed even before the pandemic, meaning that the COVID-19 has had little impact on how the country implements the digitization process. Most importantly, the focus is on all sectors of the economy, both private and public entities. A full-on transition, as explained by Nair (2020), was the plan before, during, and after the pandemic. The new norm in the UAE was always the intended one, and now the citizens have had to experience it before its due date because of the pandemic. To support this argument, the technologies mentioned earlier on, including smart cities and artificial intelligence, revolutionize how people interact with each other (Al Mansoori, 2020). Smart city Dubai has already been achieved, which, I guess, serves as a perfect case study of the new norm attained before the pandemic.
The idea of a smart Dubai is that all components of life in the city are interconnected with high-speed wired and wireless networks that relay data. According to Kadhim (2019), such cities are built to reduce energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The result is the improvement of human life because businesses adopt new practices, such as online selling and other solutions to current problems. Based on this reading, it is clear that the new norm also includes addressing sustainability issues. Virtual interactions through interconnected systems are made possible, meaning socially distanced individuals can communicate efficiently. The pandemic has had the result of causing measures such as lockdowns and prohibitions of mass gathering or other forms of contact. With AI and other technologies such as augmented reality (AR), virtual reality has become possible and is already creating a new norm in the UAE and across the world. I support the UAE in these efforts because they offer up to date and more effective mechanisms for creating a new norm.
Technological innovations in the UAE have been spearheaded by investments in science, technology, and innovation (STI) through entrepreneurship education. These efforts by the government, before the pandemic, were in the pursuit of sustainability and sustainable development goals (SDGs). Studies conducted by Hameed et al. (2016) highlight the observation that the UAE has perceived the STI as a new driver of economic growth with lessons learned from some of the developed worlds, including France, where 50% of businesses are technology-based. The UAE, therefore, has sought to cooperate with the West and Asia to develop the STI as a means of improving income and the economy through diversification. These views support the argument that the new approach to COVID-19 digitization has been coincidental in that it allows the economy to operate through the pandemic. I think the government should be commended for these efforts because they have helped the country head in the right direction.
The commitment to technology by the government before and during the pandemic has also been significant. For example, the UAE is the first country in the world to appoint a minister of artificial intelligence to oversee the implementation of AI at government levels. A new concept of Gov. 3.0, as described by Halaweh (2018), is leading the new generation of digital government. Investments in the STI, therefore, have been the major way of creating a new norm and effort that started before the pandemic. I think the commitment to technology has helped UAE massively in creating a new future for its people.
While the developments described so far have appeared coincidental, it is important to appreciate some of the efforts implemented by the UAE specifically to address the COVID-19. Measures have been categorized into employment-related, economic stimulus, lockdown, customs, and other measures (“United Arab Emirates: Government and institution measures in response to COVID-19,” 2020). Regarding employment, the UAE has reduced working hours, restricted workplace access, and implemented remote working mechanisms. It is this aspect of remote working that embodies the advances in economic digitization. The economic stimulus measures include a reduction in interest rates, waiver of all payment fees, zero-interest-rate loans, and limits on bank fees for SMEs. I support the UAE in implementing them because they have helped ease the shocks of the pandemic.
There have also been efforts to ease the lockdown with safety certifications and protocols for internal flights and schools. Most of these measures have coincided with the country’s digitization agenda and has helped the citizens live through the pandemic with relative ease. The developments described so far are innovations because they are radical and revolutionary. Improvements are often smaller scale and seek to make current systems better. In the UAE, new and novel infrastructure is built from built, which makes them innovations. Therefore, I think that UAE has used innovations as a mechanism to build a sustainable country.
References
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Al Mansoori, H. (2020). How UAE is boosting its digital transformation in the face of COVID-19. ITU News. Web.
Almuraqab, N. (2020). Shall universities at the UAE continue distance learning after the COVID-19 pandemic? Revealing students’ perspective. SSRN Electronic Journal, 11(5), 226-233. Web.
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Chaudhary, S. (2018). UAE leader in digital health care market. Gulf News. Web.
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