The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) and EDGE Group have jointly launched Talk 4.0, a new knowledge-exchange initiative to empower industrial leaders to adopt transformative technologies and sustainable practices.

The new initiative follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the two parties in August 2022, seeking to expand the offerings of EDGE’s Learning and Innovation Factory to the UAE’s industrial ecosystem and support the establishment of an Industry 4.0 Enablement Centre.

Talk 4.0 is the latest in a series of initiatives designed to encourage and accelerate digital transformation in line with MoIAT’s Technology Transformation Programme (TTP) launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in October 2022.

The move also supports the UAE Net Zero by 2050 Strategic Initiative, given technology’s key role in industrial decarbonisation.

Talk 4.0 brings together industry leaders to share learnings and best practices in Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) solutions through informative talks, workshops, seminars, and other learning activities.

The inaugural edition of the Talk 4.0 series was held at the Factory. The edition featured keynote speakers from global industrial organisations, including Nouman Qaiser, SC Digital Transformation Manager at Unilever, who discussed the lessons learnt from an entrepreneurial journey to becoming a 4IR lighthouse. Dr Omer Dawelbeit, Principal Solution Architect at Amazon Web Services, delivered a talk on artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Tariq Al Hashmi, Director of Technology Adoption and Development at MOIAT, said, “To fully digitalise industry, we must first spread awareness about advanced technologies and their potential to unlock value, as well as empower industrial leaders to adopt them through capacity building initiatives.