MBRF, DarkMatter Group To Create UAE Cybersecurity Talent To Meet Future Digital Challenges

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation, MBRF, and DarkMatter Group today signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, at the Knowledge Summit 2018 that will create the best digital talent for the UAE’s growing cybersecurity sector.

DarkMatter Group has created the Associate Talent Programme, ATP, to partner with universities and government organisations across the UAE in a joint effort to create and employ local cybersecurity talent. The MBRF is the first signatory to the new programme. The agreement was signed by Jamal bin Huwaireb, Cultural Advisor to the Government of Dubai and CEO of MBRF, and Dr. Karim Sabbagh, CEO of DarkMatter Group, at the Knowledge Summit.

Jamal bin Huwaireb said, "The agreement we have signed today seeks to support the UAE in achieving the Vision 2021 agenda and we are committed to investing in a competitive knowledge economy, which is crucial not only for Dubai and MBRF but the entire nation.

"The growth of the cybersecurity industry and the investment made by companies such as DarkMatter Group has been significant and we want to ensure it remains a thriving and sustainable sector within the national economy for decades to come."

Karim Sabbagh said, "We view the long-term success of the group as being contingent on developing a pipeline of UAE experts and innovators in the digital technology and cybersecurity domains.

"We focus on attracting talented and creative Emirati employees to our business.

"We must do so by engaging with the elite educational institutions, as together we can create a framework where we can identify and incubate these talents. We expect our engagement to start while these exceptional young minds are completing their studies and to continue as they graduate and build their professional careers.

"Today’s partnership announcement with MBRF will be an important step in the future development of the industry across the UAE. We need to ensure there is a steady stream of local professionals taking on the challenges of cybersecurity and delivering solutions that keep the wider digitisation of the economy on track."

The ATP programme will see a series of collaborations between the public and private sectors on research and the publication of data. It will be focussed on the acquisition of talent, promoting research and IP while supporting wider moves towards digitisation for the whole of the country.

Under the initiative, DarkMatter Group will hire and develop talented individuals currently studying in the fields of computer science, software development, data science, cybersecurity and STEM fields. MBRF will support by recruiting top graduates from across its network and partners, which includes the Ministry of Youth, Emirates Scientists Council, the Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Programme, UNDP.

In order to promote Research and IP Creation, the organisations will deliver events for all graduate researchers and scholars from the UAE at DarkMatter Group’s headquarters. Both organisations will set up joint initiatives to deliver groundbreaking publications in supporting the UAE’s Digitisation plans.