- Organised under the patronage of His Highness, Forum features more than 1,500 international participants
- Event seeks to explore best practices and innovative solutions in project management

His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, today opened the 7th Dubai International Project Management Forum (DIPMF). The event, which features more than 1,500 international participants, is being organised by Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in collaboration with the Project Management Institute (PMI), Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and DP World.

Upon his arrival at the Dubai Exhibition Centre in Expo 2020 Dubai, His Highness was received by His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority.

The Forum’s opening session was attended by a host of dignitaries and top officials of government departments and private entities as well as top international experts and specialists in project management.

During the opening session, His Highness watched a movie about the Forum, which showcased the growth trajectory of Dubai and how it has turned into a prominent global finance and business hub. The movie also showcased the Forum’s development over the years.

During her keynote address at the opening session, Dr. Pippa Malmgren, Technology Entrepreneur and Former Advisor to the former American President George Bush praised the development witnessed in the UAE over the last 50 years. “Some very extraordinary things are happening in the world today. The seemingly impossible is possible in the UAE,” she said.

Dr. Malmgren touched on the concept of future cities, that are transforming the way the world economy works. “The future is arriving faster than any time before to a degree that we all feel like we cannot keep up with what’s going on in the world. For instance, Buckminster Fuller, the famous American Architect and Futurist, was right about the Knowledge Doubling Curve. In the year 1900, knowledge doubled every century. By 1945, it was doubling every 25 years. By the 1980s it was doubling every 12 months. IBM has confirmed that in 2020 it began to double every 12 hours. The rapid change in knowledge and information has some effects highlighted by the inability of humans to adapt to change,” she said.

Digital World
“People aren’t very good with change. So rather than focusing on innovation alone, we also need to focus on teaching and adoption. We need to create knowledge economies where citizens themselves become tech experts. The knowledge and information are doubling at that pace, you just can’t read fast enough anymore, you can’t process the change. Therefore, you turn to new ways to process a lot of information at once. That’s why we are moving from a society that reads books and annual reports on pieces of paper to one in which we participate in reality through VR and AR and the so-called Metaverse. For instance, the follow-up of new projects and infrastructure remotely through Metaverse enables the engineer to virtually tour the project. Through VR, anyone will be able to see a building or a power plant or an electrical grid that doesn’t exist yet but which is planned,” she elaborated.

Dr. Malmgren also reviewed the anticipated revolution in finance that is set to profoundly transform the way big infrastructure and public projects are financed. “The digitisation of money itself is underway. It Is not just that we’re seeing the introduction of both sovereign digital money and private crypto. It’s also that the mechanisms we rely on to finance projects and ideas are changing. In a world of blockchain and digital money, assets will be fractionalised and tokenised.

“In this new digital world, countries no longer automatically control the regulatory environment. Any nation that steps forward into this digital space and provides a clear framework will attract talent and capital. It is not yet clear who the Digital Regulator of this new world will be. What is clear is that it will not be a world where geography or size or the old guard automatically define new realities. The race is on to see who will have the vision and imagination to own this powerful regulatory role that the entire digital world needs. You here in the UAE are uniquely qualified to engage in this imaginative process,” she concluded.

Sponsors Honoured
During the event, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, accompanied by HE Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, honoured the co-organisers of the Forum, namely the Project Management Institute, Dubai Electricity and Water Authority and DP World.

His Highness also honoured ENOC Group, the strategic sponsor of the Forum, as well as Qatar Insurance Company, Al Nabooda, RTC, Parsons, Al-Futtaim Auto and Machinery Company, United Motors and Heavy Equipment Company, Planisware, and SineTechnic in addition to Dr. Pippa Malmgren, the Forum’s keynote speaker.

Inspection Tour
During a tour of the event hall, Sheikh Hamdan visited the stand of Emirati artist Abdullah Lutfi from the People of Determination, where he viewed his doodle artworks. The artist’s works include a drawing that combines several Dubai landmarks along with an illustration of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed.

As part of the tour, His Highness also made a stop a large mural that displays the Forum’s journey over its last six editions. Facts and figures on the mural show that the event lasted for 26 days and was attended by 11,000 people from 45 countries. Since 2014, the event has attracted 370 speakers who delivered 30 keynote speeches. The Forum has also hosted 26 discussion sessions, 126 parallel sessions, 10 workshops, 33 specialised training courses, and 12 closed sessions. Figures show that the Forum has conducted 17 technical visits and 16 case studies.

The mural also displays images of 24 iconic projects in Dubai implemented in four fields including transportation, tourism and marketing, real estate and entertainment.

Global Platform
Commenting on the event, HE Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, said that the 7th Dubai International Project Management Forum explores future leadership, management of the sustainable digital economy, artificial intelligence, design thinking, agile project management, future trends of project management and value and benefits management.

The event also discusses flexible transformation, digital management, blockchain technology in project management, sustainability of mobility projects, hybrid project management, in addition to risk and crisis management, cybersecurity and big data, he added.

“Project management is an effective tool in managing and streamlining operations in public and private entities. The rapid technological advancements have changed the principles of project management, business and the economy. The Forum demonstrates how smart, sustainable and innovative practices can be applied in project management to optimise the results achieved. Over the years, the Forum has cemented its position as a global platform for showcasing best practices and innovative solutions in project management. The event features the presence of co-organisers and global speakers with immense knowledge and extensive experience in project management, said Al Tayer.

Sessions and Speakers
The 7th Dubai International Project Management Forum features 6 masterclasses and 30 sessions including 4 keynote addresses, 4 parallel sessions, 3 seminars and one discussion panel. More than 40 speakers will discuss a diverse cast of topics such as Project Management in Knowledge-based Economy, Project Benefits Management, Data Science in Project Management, Artificial Intelligence, Future Project Management Office and Human-Centric Dynamic Change.

The Forum features a panel of prominent local and international speakers who represent several economic and business sectors. Speakers include His Excellency Suhail bin Mohammed Al Mazrouei, UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure; Her Excellency Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth; His Excellency Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy; and Her Excellency Sarah Al Amiri, UAE Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency.

Other prominent speakers include Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, President of the Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA); Dr Pippa Malmgren, Technology Entrepreneur and Former Advisor to the former American President George Bush; Joseph Cahill, PMI Chief Customer Officer; His Excellency Mattar Mohammed Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority; His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority; His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DP World; as well as other speakers representing local and global businesses.