Press Releases
10 Dec 2018
DIPMF Session Discusses Technology & PM Skills
The second panel of Day 1 of the 5th Dubai International Projects Management Forum featured several speakers including H.E Khalfan Belhoul, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dubai Future Foundation (DFF), Murat Bicak, Project Management Institute (PMI), Senior VP – Strategy, and Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). Vijay Tirathrai, Techstars Dubai, Managing Director, moderated the session.
In the session entitled “Take off your Business to the Future”, speakers tackled several topics related to entrepreneurs such as the PM skills, current & future investment prospects, technology and innovation among others.
Bin Sulayem spoke about the early stages of the DMCC and hailed the cooperation with various government entities in Dubai. He attributed the success of the centre to the strategic partnerships with government entities in Dubai. He called on business leaders to “be hungry” to achieve their future targets. He reported that the existing innovative platforms in the centre offered assistance to emerging projects.
Belhoul linked the PM with future ambitions. He stated that PM plays a key role in the ecosystem. He noted that many business leaders were young and pursued their passion more than managing their business. Therefore, improving their PM skills helps them significantly in realizing their dreams, he says. He believes that supports of business leaders, such as the organisers of the Forum, are dealing with an array of projects and resources.
Murat defined the project manager as a person who “gets the job done”. He called on business leaders to ask themselves certain questions related to PM components of their businesses. According to him, the answer depends on the type of project and the stage it had reached. He said that project managers could carry out benchmarks, identify their project status, and explore the skills needed; all of which come under the agile in business management. He also spoke about the change underway in the PMI, although these changes will not be affecting PMI certifications. He touched on Dubai’s key elements namely the capital, vision and unlimited opportunities.
He also said the modern technologies are not widely used or underutilized in PM. He asked a question about the new PM skills required and whether technologies could substitute humans in PM. He concluded by stating that technology can save time and thus allow more time for innovation.
Belhol replied to a question relating to the key elements attracting talents. “We in Dubai have the courage to test new things; which attracts investors not only in the private sector but also in the government sector,” he said. He believed that no place in the world had objectives set by of the Government and provided enablers and infrastructure to assist development and investment. He added that there would be a quantum shift between ‘Vision 2030’ and afterwards as our ambitions would not be limited. The Cabinet is overcoming difficulties through laws and legislations encouraging investment and the UAE will be a platform of future innovation.