Picture used for illustrative purpose.

India has launched a series of competitions to popularise Expo 2020 Dubai as its preparations gather steam for participation in the world exposition in just over six weeks.

“The main purpose of these competitions is to amplify the core message of the Dubai World Expo: Connecting Minds, Creating the Future,” according to an overview of the contests by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The representative organisation of Indian business, FICCI is the industry partner for Indian participation in Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Since the Dubai World Expo is pivoted on sustainability, empowerment, a more equitable and a greener world, these competitions will get the conversation going and attract the right funding for such projects,” according the FICCI overview.

Through as many as 10 competitions now under way, the India Pavilion intends to identify and felicitate individuals and groups with innovative ideas which merit demonstration at Expo 2020 Dubai.

“Winners will get to exhibit their project plans at the India Pavilion, promote it among 25 million visitors, network with delegates participating from 191 countries and present them on the Expo Live platform,” FICCI said. “Besides, they would get an opportunity to interface with industry honchos and Indian ministries’ representatives.” The contests range from a Digital Services Design Competition and an Ocean Pollution Mitigation Competition to a Future Universities Design Competition and a Global Sustainable Housing Design Competition.

The challenges are collectively themed as “Ideas and Innovations at the India Pavilion”. One contest whose winners are expected to be a big draw at the India Pavilion features success stories of women from India’s villages, concrete examples that have added value to people’s lives.

“Women in rural India have been quietly working to improve their lives through various initiatives, including self-help groups. The competition focuses on stories of such inspiring rural women. These success stories can inspire the underprivileged across the world,” says the rationale for this contest. This challenge is, by its nature and content, open only to residents of India.

Most of the competitions are open to all nationalities above the age of 18, living anywhere, putting FICCI’s effort to popularise Expo 2020 Dubai beyond India’s borders on a global scale. A Business Plan Competition for Social Enterprises, although open to global contestants, is limited to start-ups social enterprises and individuals associated with such ventures.

A Global Photography Competition will be on the theme “Many Hues of Mankind: Celebrating Culture”. This contest is open to non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin resident anywhere, including those living in the Gulf. The winning photographs will be exhibited at the India Pavilion.

UAEU launched Bootcamp: As the country’s flagship institution participating at Expo 2020 Dubai, the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) has launched the AUA Future of Learning Accelerator Bootcamp in partnership with the Asian Universities Alliance (AUA) and the Future of Work Lab.

The AUA Future of Learning Accelerator Bootcamp is a significant part of the Institute of the Future (IoF) Initiative, previously known as 100 Million Stars, one of the central programmes of UAEU Pavilion at Expo 2020. The Bootcamp, that started on 1st August 2021, will run for five weeks and aims to enable the youth across the Arab World, Africa, and South Asia Region (AWASAR) into continuous learners in the Future of Work.

During the launching ceremony, Professor Ghaleb Ali Al Hadrami Al Breiki, Vice Chancellor of UAEU, said, “I am very grateful to our partners at the ‘Asian Universities Alliance’ and the ‘Future of Work Lab’ for their inestimable contribution to support UAEU goal in setting the Institute of the Future to make our students as continuous learners and continuously employable through the Future of Learning Acceleration milestones and coaching sessions.”

The Bootcamp received over 200 applications from various universities, 60 of which are from 10 different AUA Member Universities across the AWASAR and many regions of Asia, and 16 participants are selected from the UAE University.

With the social innovation and action learning experience, the selected group of students, education leaders, tech professionals, policymakers, researchers, and high school students will work together to re-imagine the future of learning in the AWASAR region. The five solutions developed during the Future of Learning Accelerator will be unveiled at Expo 2020 Dubai in March 2022 during the IoF Summit.