Sandooq Al Watan, the national initiative launched by prominent Emirati businessmen to support research projects for the post-oil era has celebrated the first batch of graduates from the Dubai chapter of its "Emirati Coder" programme at GEMS Modern Academy.
The first batch included 86 graduates.
In attendance at the event were Lt. General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sandooq Al Watan, Mohammad Taj Al Deen Al Qadi, Director-General of Sandooq Al Watan, and a number of VIPs.
Al Qadi said that Artificial Intelligence, AI, would be incorporated in the programme in the second phase.
The first phase saw the graduation of 2,670 male and female students across the country, he added.
Launched by Sandooq Al Watan in cooperation with Dark Matter and Aldar, the Emirati Coder Programme teaches Emirati children aged 7 to 14 years of age the basics of coding in a fun and interactive way. By 2020, the programme aims to teach 2,500 children the basics of coding and enrol 500 in advanced coding programmes.
The initiative is of great value in creating a generation of Emirati coders and providing opportunities for students to learn computer science and consider as a profession. Studies show that 60 percent of high-income jobs will require programming skills in the near future.
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