Dubai Culture and Arts Authority and Dubai SME award diplomas to the graduates of the innovative ‘Mobtakir’ programme

Graduates from the innovative Mobtakir programme were presented their diplomas on Saturday, October 14, 2023, by officials from Dubai Culture and Arts Authority (Dubai Culture), Dubai SME and Dubai Entrepreneurship Academy. The diploma, which is accredited by the KHDA, was launched in May of this year, ran for a total duration of 12 weeks and involved 100 hours of training and practice. In total, 20 graduates were awarded the diploma. Mobtakir is a maker diploma and fast-track programme to equip entrepreneurs with the knowledge and basic hands-on skills, in addition to local market know-how necessary to venture into innovative product-based startups.

Mobtakir was launched under the umbrella of the Makers’ Month programming within Al Quoz Creative Zone and is supported by The Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Dubai SME), a subsidiary of Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). The diploma, which includes 14 modules and workshops, was delivered across a host of venues in Al Quoz by experts from different technical and creative disciplines, highlighting the vast array of resources available to makers in the area, as well as helping to create a community of like-minded, locally conceived, capable and resourceful makers with localised market knowledge and capabilities.

Khulood Khoory, Director of the Projects & Events Department at Dubai Culture, said: “Dubai Culture, in its collaborations, is dedicated to empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. Dubai is renowned for its attractive and supportive environment for the cultural and creative industries. Through initiatives like Mobtakir, we aim to further enliven this ecosystem by offering a platform to gain knowledge from international best practices, learn vital skills, and unlock their creativity. This programme equips participants with the skills they need and opens doors for them to transform their innovative ideas into successful and sustainable projects.”

The diploma, which was launched in collaboration with the UAE’s first purpose-built material library - Colab - incorporated soft and hard skill development in three main areas and culminated in the implementation of learnings via a Makathon competition between allocated groups and assigned projects. A total of 25 candidates were shortlisted for the programme, which featured a host of topics including hardware entrepreneurship, product conceptualization, manufacturing fundamentals, CAD design, IP protection, additive and subtractive manufacturing, DIY fundamentals and business modules as well as a field trip to key facilities in Al Quoz and other industrial zones across Dubai.

All through September, the participants were involved in a one-month practical challenge as a simulation of a hardware entrepreneurship journey, engaging in rapid and collaborative product development, prototyping and business planning of innovative product-based ventures. This allowed them the opportunity to apply the learnings from the earlier modules, working resourcefully in small teams to conceptualize an innovative product, research its technical and commercial feasibility, design and rapid prototype it, develop a business plan for commercialization and manufacturing and finally pitch the innovation as a startup venture to a judge panel. The winning team included Mona Zayed Rashed, Salama Al Hajeri, Hajar Al Ansari, and Manar Al Marzouqi.

Abdelaziz Almaazmi, Director of Business Incubation, Department of Economy and Tourism, commented: “The Mobtakir programme and the maker diploma underpinning it are a manifestation of years of close collaboration between different industry experts and stakeholders from the public and private sectors in Dubai all sharing a unified mission to inspire and empower the local maker communities and innovative startups As we celebrate the graduation of these talented individuals, we also recognise this is a testament to the strength of our partnership with Dubai Culture. Together, we have set the stage for aspiring entrepreneurs to embark on their journey after obtaining a profound understanding of local markets, the skills to develop groundbreaking products, and the vision to drive change. We are committed to supporting this initiative and also the various industry partners who play a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the Mobtakir programme.

Mobtakir attracted over 150 candidates, from which 25 were selected to participate in this edition. The graduates come from diverse fields in both the public and private sectors and from the healthcare, technology, creative, and manufacturing industries among others. They were divided into 5 teams for the month-long Makathon challenge and mentored by industry experts throughout the process, which involved ongoing review meetings, supervised fabrication and prototyping, and constant feedback. This at the end demonstrated the application of acquired skills through an accelerated process that simulates the typical journey of a hardware startup, concluding the ‘Mobtakir’ journey with a tangible entrepreneurial experience in the field of hardware entrepreneurship.

“Mobtakir initially aimed to build on a prior maker diploma that was developed and launched in 2018 by the Department of Economy and Tourism in collaboration with OriginBase. However, this latest iteration factored in all of the modules from the earlier programme to offer prospects an enhanced learning process and holistic experience that aims to elevate and empower the maker community in the UAE. A massive thanks goes out to all the partners who contributed to the success of Mobtakir, particularly Precision Plastics, United Trademark and Patent Services, C3D, Accumech, CNC, Falcon Group, Tashkeel, and in5 Design Lab. Congratulations to the winners and all graduates. This is just the beginning!” concluded Richard Wilson, Founder & Creative Director, Colab.