Top reasons why teaching coding should be the smartest move of the UAE schools

The news that the UAE aimed to train 1 million Arabs in computer coding has brought storm in the educational sphere of the Middle East. The project is meant for equipping the youths to build a better future. 

The 1 million Arab Coders Initiative is a part of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) foundation has begun with the fluency in coding and programming. Coding is accepted as the language of the future. The objective is to provide employment opportunities to the Arabs. It will also empower them with the needed skills for contributing to digital economy development.

• The youths are targeted:

Dubai Future Foundation managed the 1 Million Arab Coders Initiative aims at empowering one million young Arabs through the means of training that will enrich their knowledge, boost their skills, provide them jobs in the tech sector, and grow their expertise in the area of advanced science.  This initiative is undoubtedly the first grand step to master coding that is one of the optimum needs of the digital economy of the future.

The initiative is meant to provide excellent training opportunities for free to the Arab youths and rewards the top tutors and students with the incentives that surpass Dh3.67 million which is equal to $1 million. Coding can show the way for the youth to take participation in the global economy online right from the home. 

• Smart move by the UAE schools:

The schools throughout the UAE should teach coding as an integral part of the regular session plans in order to make the country capable of participating in international competition. The teachers have warned that if the subject is taken as a mere extra-curricular activity, it may lead to ignoring the potentiality of the specialty. 

• Coding is the language of the future:

The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid stated modern coding as the future’s language. Coding tells a computer what should be done in different situations. It is the building blocks of artificial intelligence and informational technology. 

As per the founder of Dubai-based Coded Minds, Omar Farooqui, many schools in the Emirates are still unwilling to embrace the subject as conventional. In fact, both robotics and coding are still considered as vocational instead f the mainstream subjects. But, it must change fast and dramatically, and become an integral part of the national curriculum. It is observed that the premium schools in the UAE failed to meet the international standards in spite of the fees they charge. 

A graduation ceremony has been attended by Sheikh Mohammad for 250 students who participated in the continuing scheme for enhancing computer programming skills in the Gulf. The Coders Initiative ensures that one million Arabs must be taught the techniques of virtual coding during the next three years. As per Sheikh Mohammad, new technologies are the fastest method for creating new opportunities for young Arabs. 

• What are the 3 stages of the initiative?

1.    One needs to register to join one of the two given categories that are Arab students and Tutors throughout the world. This first stage can be completed via registering online at arabcoders.ae.
2.    Secondly, it needs the applicants to complete multiple 3-months virtual coding programs. Then, the top 1,000 students will be selected, given certificates and will be enrolled in the final stage that is Coder Challenge. 
3.    Stage three involves the best 1,000 coders who have to compete in the Coder Challenge for becoming the topper. 

Finally, the top ten students will be in a grand prize of Dh3.67 million that is $1 million, and the remaining nine will be awarded Dh183,500 that is $50,000 each. 
Again, the best fur tutors who will be voted by the students will be the winner of Dh734,000 that is $200,000 each. 

• What does the platform provide?

It renders a specialized and amalgamated curriculum in computer science and programming that holds training courses of three months in alliance with the leading international companies and educational institutions of the world. 

The primary target of the initiative is the young Arabs who covers the largest portion of the Arabian communities. To make them globally competitive is the motif of investing hugely on them. By the year 2020, around 80 million jobs will be available in different IT sectors and this initiative leads the Arabs to become an active part in it.