Visa (NYSE: V), the world leader in digital payments, ended its UAE Innovation Month collection with a panel conversation today in its Innovation Facility in Dubai. Entitled Empowering Tomorrow's Innovation Leaders, the discussion focused around measurable metrics to measure innovation, the role of education in driving innovation, and just how the economic sector could sustain trainees in their course to becoming successful professionals and business owners, and playing key duties in the future on behalf of the UAE government's innovation agenda.

The panelists included of Dr. Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Secretary-General of the University Leadership Council (ULC); and, Dr. Imad Hoballah, Provost of American University of Dubai. Visas Andrew Torre, Regional President for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa region, moderated the discussion.

Andrew Torre, Regional President Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa said: "This event is the last one in our UAE Innovation Month series, and it's most likely the most essential one because it has to do with the people and the skills that will be had to create the smart cities of the future. We all have a function to play in the UAE government's innovation schedule and events such as today's are valuable in bringing us, our partners and like-minded organizations together to explore methods we could properly sustain the government's initiatives. It is fitting we are in Visa's innovation center to find together to speak about just how we innovate since we created these areas throughout the world to promote discussion with clients, and companions to picture and establish new services together."

Key recommendations that arised from the interactive discussion include giving students extra finding out chances and experiences outside the classroom, promoting the method of mentoring, and motivating interdisciplinary technique to solving problems.

" The ongoing dialogue in between academia, industry and public authorities is absolutely key to driving the innovation program which is a fundamental pillar of the UAE knowledge economic climate of the future. The ULC is privileged to be able to team up with leaders of industry, such as Visa, university presidents, and believed leaders in keynote panels for strategic deliberation on technology and innovation. The comments from our senior pupils and graduating mates is especially valuable in recognizing the requirements and aspirations of our future generations of young leaders," said Dr. Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Secretary-General of the University Leadership Council (ULC).

Ammar Al Malik, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City (DIC), commented: "We are delighted to see our business partner Visa concentrating on and sustaining the next generation of innovators. Research study offered by McKinsey at the recent World government Summit found that an approximated 45 per cent of existing tasks Middle East can be automated today, influencing more than 20 million permanent employees and $366.6 billion of wage revenue [1], so establishing the right skills for the future will certainly come to be vital to future proof our economic climates. Developing an innovation conducive atmosphere and community is necessary to allow firms and people to innovate and grow. At DIC, we intend to support, complement and work together with our business partners to additional drive technological innovation in Dubai and the region."

UAE Innovation Month, which occurred over February 2018, is one of the largest innovation events in the world and a consolidated initiative by government, the private sector and individuals to assist develop a prevalent culture of innovation in the UAE. Throughout the month, Visa hosted a collection of interactions on behalf of the UAE government's initiative, uniting some of its partners and like-minded companies to go over and share understandings on topics related to the federal government's innovation program. These include:

- Kick off to the month with an industry wide Visa eCommerce Summit, focusing on how the latest in payments technology can boost the UAEs and MENA regions eCommerce sector.
- Launch of Visas global study - Cashless Cities: Realizing the Benefits of Digital Payments - which found that increased usage of digital payments, such as cards and mobile payments, could yield a net benefit of up to US$2.2 billion (AED 8.08 billion) annually to consumers, businesses, and government in Dubai.
- Visa also participated in a media-hosted panel discussion last week that looked at how the public and private sector can collaborate to develop a real-time connected digital ecosystem for the UAE.

At the close of this week's occasion, the going to students and professors were also supplied an immersive trip of Visa's Innovation Facility, one of the company's 5 global modern technology centers that functions as the innovation hub for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The facility is where Visa collaborates with public and private entities to design, build and execute the current technologies in repayments innovations. It is additionally Visa's global facility of excellence for Smart Cities, a key pillar in Visa's smart city and innovation technique, where Visa and its partners design and fix for difficulties faced by smart cities across the world.