His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, stressed that investing in people is the most beneficial and most profitable.

His Highness said: Our goal is to graduate new and continuing leaderships in the second and third grade, and he added: We will continue to search for young leaders ... and prepare them to assume new responsibilities in a country that cannot stop.

This came during the honor of His Highness 32 graduates from the second batch of the influential leadership program launched by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, in the presence of Mohammed Al Gergawi, Chairman of the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Al-Gergawi said: The thought of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum leadership is a distinguished approach and style in leadership, and an inspiration for leaders who seek to influence and achieve excellence in their work process. To transform His Highness’s vision into accomplishments through which the distinguished position of the UAE is strengthened regionally and globally.

And that the UAE, thanks to the vision of its rational leadership that believes in the capabilities of its people, provides an innovative global model in preparing future leaders who are able to deal with all the changes and developments taking place in sectors and turn challenges into opportunities, and that contributes to enabling them to provide the best solutions to serve man and advance society.

The training journey for employees of the second batch of the influential leaders program continued for a full year, as the program was designed based on the elements of the leadership system of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, according to specific and major courses in partnership with 3 international universities: the strategic leadership course in cooperation with the International Institute for Administrative Development. IMD is from Switzerland, an Empowered Driving Course in cooperation with Imperial College London, and Entrepreneurial Leadership Course in Collaboration with UC Berkeley in the United States of America.

The program also included international trips, whereby the second batch members, through their visit to the Dutch city of Amsterdam, learned about a group of leading practices and experiences, in addition to holding a number of meetings and workshops with major international companies, the associates also visited the Dutch Parliament Building and reviewed their work mechanisms and met a group Of the workers in the building.

The associates also participated in a session of the Dutch Police Innovation Department focusing on developing the boundaries of police work, and the session "Technology, Philosophy and the Future of Humanity, a multidisciplinary view of the future world", during which the participants reviewed their experience in the Dutch capital through a visual presentation to a group of government officials Private in the Netherlands.

During the visit to a charitable organization concerned with hosting and empowering refugees in the Netherlands, the program members learned about the mechanisms of their work, how to enable refugees in the center and how to qualify them to lead a normal life and to be active actors in society. They also visited a store set up by one of the refugees and reviewed his experience, conditions and challenges And faced him until he was able to open his first project and gain from it.

The second batch includes 32 affiliates representing 10 different sectors, belonging to 28 local, federal and private entities at the state level. Miniature working groups of affiliates have been formed and assigned to develop 6 research projects throughout the year dealing with strategic topics such as advanced science, the legal system, and future technology, Global Environment, Social Innovation, and Future Economy.
Each member was also assigned to develop a project that benefits his workplace and overcomes an existing challenge in it, presenting it at the end of the program’s term to the rest of the affiliates and adopting it by the Mohammed bin Rashid Center team to prepare leaders, and then providing their employers with them.

The associates gained 32 new skills on a personal level, as each member was assigned a new personal development project, as 6 members gained 6 new languages: Russian, French, Chinese, and Spanish due to the need of some of them in their work, and 6 associates participated in new sports such as Skydive, He climbed mountains, diving, swimming, and horse riding, and others joined impressive speech courses, and one of them traveled to Nepal to participate and volunteer in humanitarian organizations.

Coordination was also made with 32 global executives to be guided during the affiliates ’trip throughout the year, whereby each associate is entitled to 10 directive hours of his own, in which he discusses the obstacles and challenges facing him in his professional and public life and ways to overcome them.

All the associates were subjected to a physical examination, and they were also subjected to workshops to develop media skills, speak to the media, and deliver speeches with exercises on "mental fitness" to develop the way of thinking and overcome the pressures facing leaders. The program also included specific sessions that hosted more than 60 personalities. And an official from the government and private sectors, at the local and global levels, to evaluate the actions of the affiliates throughout their affiliation period and at various stages.

The influential leadership program was launched in its first edition in 2017 to prepare leaders that stimulate innovation in work methods and creativity, and achieve qualitative transformations in the paths of empowering cadres and work environments, and contribute to the outlook and industry of the future, and the program received more than 4000 requests in the first and second sessions.

The program also organized more than 60 specialized training workshops, and forged strategic partnerships with 10 global strategic partners, and organized 4 international visits for its affiliates to learn about leading global experiences in vital areas such as digitization, technology, artificial intelligence, sustainability and other vital sectors of the human future.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, employees of the second batch of the influential leaders program at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development, were: Hanan Suleiman Al Suwaidi, Assistant Professor at the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Doctor of the Emirati astronaut Hazza Al Mansouri, and His Excellency Sheikh Salem Khaled Al-Qasimi, Assistant Undersecretary for the Heritage and Arts Sector, at the Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development, Dr. Karima Matar Al Mazroui, Executive Director of the Education and Knowledge Department and owner of the Education Without Borders initiative, and Bader Ahmed Anouhi, CEO of Global Village.

His Highness also honored Dr. Hazaa Khalfan Al Nuaimi, General Coordinator of the "Dubai Government Excellence Program" in the Executive Council of Dubai Government, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Jallaf, Executive Director of Air Navigation Services at the General Authority of Civil Aviation, and Jamal Zaal Al-Muhairi, Vice President of Safety, Environment, Health and Sustainability at Dubai Airports, Engineer Hamid Youssef Al-Ajmani, Vice President of Quality, Business Transformation and Excellence at Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, and Saeed Mohammed Al Falasi, Executive Director of Future Platforms at Dubai Future Foundation.

His Highness also honored Mohammed Saeed Bin Sulaiman, Head of Digital Solutions at the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Samah Mohammed Al-Hajri, Chief Executive Officer of Innovation at the Ministry of Economy, Khalid Ahmed Al-Jaber, Senior Vice President of Operations at Dubai Air Navigation Services Corporation, and Ibrahim Hamza Qasim, Director of Future Management at the Ministry Cabinet and Future Affairs, Aisha Hassan Al Bastaki, Senior Director of Strategic Infrastructure Planning at Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company -Do, and Hamad Thani Mubarak, Senior Director of Communication and Corporate Marketing at Dubai Courts.

Also honored, Nasser Salem Al Ali, Head of Commercial Banking Services in the country, at HSBC, Dr. Shamsa Abdullah bin Hammad, Executive Director of Operations at Medcare Women and Children Hospital, Haifa Mohammed Al-Bassatah, Head of Design Department at North 25, and Engineer Khalid Rashid Al-Shehhi is Director of the Department of Digital Communication Center at the Public Diplomacy Office, Abdul Rahman Muhammad Al-Janahi, Director of Facilities and Facilities Management at the Roads and Transport Authority, and Majid Saif Al Shamsi, Senior Director of Operations Consulting at the Economic Balance Council.

Mona Saeed Al Kindy, Director of the Strategic Communication Center in the Executive Office of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Secretary General of the Arab Reading Challenge Initiative, and Engineer Adel Mohamed Shakeri, Director of Planning and Business Development Department at the Roads and Transport Authority, and Al Maydi Ali Al Badawi, Director of the Office of Management Projects at the Ministry of Cabinet and Future Affairs, officer Khaled Ali Al-Basti from Dubai Police, and Ahmed Abdul Karim Al-Fahim, senior vice president of business development at the Dubai International Financial Center.

Hossa also honored Mohammed bin Ghurair, Head of Human Resources at the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Khaled Ahmed bin Brik Al-Braiky, Senior Director - Consulting Services in the Middle East at PricewaterhouseCoopers, Nouf Ahmed Al-Suwaidi, Director of Strategy Management at the Community Development Authority, and officer Ali Hamad Rahoumi from Dubai Police, Maria Mohammed Al Rayyes, Director of Business Development Department in the Department of Economic Development, and Engineer Faisal Abdul Ghaffar Al Hobbyist Director of Digital Transactions and Trust Services from Dubai Smart Office.

Since its establishment in 2003, the Mohammed bin Rashid Center for Leadership Development offers quality programs and targeted activities that contribute to the qualification of leadership personalities with diverse vital skills, in practice and in life, and can adapt to developments and deal with changes flexibly and intelligently, and have the competence and awareness that qualify them to make fundamental decisions and innovation Solutions to future challenges.

To date, the center has witnessed the graduation of more than 600 leaders in various vital sectors and sectors, many of whom have become leadership positions in the first ranks within the government and private sectors.