GDRFA Dubai organizes virtual session titled ‘The Role of Institutions in Sustaining Innovation’

The General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) in Dubai organized a virtual dialogue session titled ‘The Role of Institutions in Sustaining the Innovation Process.’ It saw the participation of Major Salem bin Ali, Director of Amer Department for Customer Happiness; Captain Maryam Taeb, Director of Administrative Operations Department at GDRFA Dubai; and Maha Al Suwaidi, Project Manager in the Dubai Excellence Program, with GDRFA’s Salha Obeid presiding over the session. It discussed a number of topics, including the most prominent projects that the Directorate has worked on to enhance its readiness for an innovative smart transformation even before the pandemic struck. The session was attended by Brigadier General Hussein Ibrahim, Assistant Director General of the Institutional Support Sector, Colonel Abdul Samad Sulaiman, Deputy Assistant Director for Leadership and Future Affairs and a number of officials in the Directorate and a number of employees of various governmental authorities in Dubai. His Excellency Major General Mohamed Ahmed Al Marri, Director General of GDRFA, highlighted the importance of these sessions that support the sustainability of institutional innovation. He said that innovation today is no longer an option but a necessity for countries, societies and people seeking to enhance their position globally and strengthen their competitiveness. He pointed out that GDRFA Dubai has placed the innovation aspect within its strategic plans based on its strong belief in the role that innovation plays in economic growth and productivity improvement. It is also vital in facing the challenges which the institutions and government agencies may face, he said. Colonel Abdul Samad Sulaiman, Deputy Assistant Director for Leadership and Future Affairs, spoke about the importance of holding virtual workshops and dialogue sessions by using modern tools to develop innovative solutions that serve the Directorate’s efforts and motivate employees to continue positive thinking. He underlined its keenness to consolidate the culture of innovation and build national capabilities that are necessary to implement effective plans and strategies to face any challenges, in line with the country's efforts and the national strategy to position the UAE among the most innovative countries in the world. Furthermore, Major Salem bin Ali spoke about how the pandemic crisis contributes to accelerating digital transformation, as well as its impact on most vital sectors such as Amer department and projects in the face of these rapid transformations. He mentioned the most prominent advantages of remote working for the Amer centres for customer happiness in light of its support for the smart transformation. He further pointed out the support provided by the wise leadership in launching the remote work system to provide innovative smart solutions to provide services to customers in an efficient manner. Maha Al Suwaidi addressed the issue of organizing the Dubai Government Excellence Program for remote training programs through workshops focusing on innovation and crises. She also talked about the most important ways to preserve the innovation system in the Dubai government in light of remote work, and explained that the Dubai Government Excellence Program is following up on the innovative systems of enterprises remotely to ensure their sustainability. In terms of linking innovation to improving operations, Captain Maryam Taeb explained the system of institutional integration in GDRFA Dubai, the results achieved through its implementation, the support provided by the wise leadership to support innovation sustainability, and how innovation is harnessed to ensure continuity of services. At the end of the dialogue session, the speakers reviewed a set of new, long-term scenarios in order to anticipate the future which could lead to greater innovation sustainability.