First Facebook AI camp for coders to be held this month

The National Programme for Coders and Facebook will organise a camp this month to equip students with a variety of digital skills and train them on programming languages to involve them in the UAE’s digital transformation.

The “Facebook AI Camp” – the first of its kind in the Middle East region – will take place between August 15 and 26 and will equip university students passionate with valuable skills and insights about artificial intelligence.

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On July 10, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced the launch of the programme in cooperation with Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, HPE, LinkedIn, Nvidia and Facebook to attract 100,000 programmers and create 1,000 major global digital companies in the UAE.

The camp will train 50 hand-picked university students on topics that are at the core of artificial intelligence, from the fundamentals to advanced state-of-the-art technology. The camp is open to students in their last year of university with a background in Python and Mathematics.

The participants will also gain access to a variety of offerings and unique activities, including training workshops, knowledge sessions and a roundtable led by Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, the UAE’s Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy and Remote Work Applications.

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Senior leadership members of the Facebook Mena team, as well as Facebook AI researchers from across the globe and specialised AI experts and recruiters will also be available. In addition, attendees will receive an invitation to attend the Facebook PyTorch Developer Day.

“The UAE government supports the creation of integrated digital societies that supports the growing role of programming applications in various aspects of life, work and all vital sectors. Empowering youths with digital skills that enable them to innovate and create new solutions to turn challenges into future opportunities will be a key milestone to achieve that,” said Al Olama.

Azzam Alameddin, public policy director for Mena and Turkey at Facebook, said: “We believe the ‘Facebook AI Camp’ will provide students passionate about the field with a robust programme that will instil key capabilities to leverage new and progressive AI technologies. Training up the youth in this field will play a fundamental role in providing a significant opportunity for cementing the UAE’s positioning as a place where the coding community can develop, grow and thrive.”

Source: khaleejtimes.com