News | Ministry of Transport

Monday, November 13, 2017

MoTC Features Key Digital Economy Programs at Rowad Qatar Conference

Doha – QatarThe Ministry of Transport and Communications is displaying four of its key digital economy programs at the Qatar Entrepreneurship Awards & Conference-best known as Rowad Qatar, which was launched yesterday by the Qatar Development Bank.At this year’s event, the Digital Incubation Center (DIC), the Smart Qatar (TASMU), the e-Commerce Program and the Digital Transformation of SMEs represent the Ministry’s digital transformation approach and knowledge-based economy enhancement.In addition to the DIC joining the event as a partner, six of its incubated startup companies are taking part in the 3-day event organized at the Doha Exhibition & Conference Center on Nov. 12-14. They are Speedli, XDensity, Lily, Advanced Computing Company ACC, the game of brands and e-Emdad. “We are delighted to participate in this event out of the Ministry’s strong belief that entrepreneurship is an important element for the economic growth of Qatar. We are committed to supporting innovative startups and helping them grow,” said Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.“Our participation features some of our key programs that aim to boost the digital economy and Smart Qatar agenda of TASMU. DIC participation reflects the commitment to supporting young entrepreneurs to boost the national economy and strengthen Qatar’s position among world digital economies. TASMU is the Smart Qatar Program designed specifically to accelerate the achievement of all pillars of the Qatar National Vision 2030,” she added.“Moreover, our Digital Transformation of SMEs program aims to promote digital innovation, competitiveness, and growth of SMEs through the end-to-end digital transformation of their value chain in areas such as web enablement, e-commerce, and cloud, supported by an ecosystem of technology enablers,” Ms. Al-Mansoori said.The Ministry is also organizing 7 workshops over the course of the three days in the areas of the digital transformation of SMEs, e-commerce, entrepreneurship, including a DIC IdeaCamp live mentoring event, and the TASMU program.Rowad Qatar 2017 takes place during the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) on Nov. 12-15; a global annual event that attracts millions of people in more than 160 countries around the world. Rowad Qatar is an important platform to spread the culture of entrepreneurship, which is significant to boosting Qatar’s economy. You can read more about TASMU at https://tasmu.gov.qa/en, and more on the DIC at http://motc.gov.qa/en/dic

Monday, November 13, 2017

HE Minister Receives Written Message from Indian Minister

Doha – Qatar HE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al-Sulaiti has received a written message from HE Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Minister of Law, Justice, Electronics and Information Technology of the Republic of India.The message included an invitation for HE the Minister to participate in the Global Conference on Cyber Space (GCCS2017) in India, in addition to means of further enhancing Qatari-Indian cooperation in the field of information technology.The missive was delivered by HE the Indian Ambassador in Doha Mr. P. Kumaran.

Wednesday, November 8, 2017

HIA Named Best Airport in West Asia

Doha-Hamad International Airport was recognized as the Best Airport in West Asia for the third time in a row. This came at the Future Travel Experience (FTE) Asia Awards 2017 in Singapore, with the awards celebrating airports and airlines that have displayed customer experience and innovative leadership.HIA was recognized for its continued commitment to delivering the highest standard of service to passengers. HIA Chief Operating Officer Eng. Badr Mohammed Al Meer said they were “honored to receive the Best Airport in West Asia Award for the 3rd consecutive time, which recognizes our state-of-the-art facilities and 5-star services.” HIA, he added “will continue to work towards delivering sophisticated and innovative solutions that offer an unparalleled travel experience."Winners were selected by a panel of industry executives from around the world, with HIA taking the lead among other airports in the region, HIA said Tuesday in a press release.FTE Founder Daniel Coleman said the awards recognize organizations for their "end-to-end customer experience achievements," noting that since 2014, "HIA has been setting the standard for the modern day airport experience and we are pleased to witness what it has been able to achieve in a short period of time."Combining cutting-edge technology, world-class sculptural art curated in partnership with Qatar Museums and an extensive hospitality and retail offering, HIA has successfully established itself as a leading international hub.

Monday, November 6, 2017

Ministry Launches CTO Training Program

Doha-The Ministry today launched its Chief Technology Officers Training Program with participation from 26 CTOs representing 22 ministries and government entities.The program is a partnership between Qatar Digital Government Training Program (QDGTP) and HEC Paris and aims to provide an intensive and immersive learning experience for the CTOs and develop senior leaders’ strategic levels of acumen and execution, as part of the implementation of the objectives of the Qatar Digital Government 2020 Strategy.“The CTO Training Program is part of the Ministry of Transport and Communications’ plans for preparing highly qualified IT professionals to guarantee the execution of QDG Strategy. This is being done by training national professionals and making them available for government entities in order to fill the current skills gap in this field,” said Ms. Reem Al-Mansoori, Assistant Undersecretary of Digital Society Development at the Ministry.“We look forward to building highly qualified leadership and administrative capacities through this advanced program to boost government professionalism in information and communication technology at ministries and government entities with a view to serving the digital transformation agenda for QDG 2020,” she added.“HEC Paris has developed an important partnership with the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Qatar and the CTO Training Management Program has been designed to enhance the management skills of Chief Technology Officers and IT Directors. Thus, the program helps the participants to further contribute in the Qatar e-Government 2020 strategy,” said Dr. Nils Plambeck, Dean & CEO of HEC Paris in Qatar.“HEC Paris, with the support of the Qatar Foundation, is committed to shaping the business leaders of the future and through the program, participants will be given access to the renowned HEC Paris faculty’s expertise in Strategy, Big Data Change Management, Project Management and Leadership. We look forward to see and support their development and progress as they work on projects that are relevant towards digitization in the country,” he added.The 6-month program covers six different learning modules: Risk & strategy in a volatile and uncertain world, big data, digital transformation & innovation, change management, advanced project & contract management, optimizing decisions & negotiations and leading high performing teams, in addition to a case study group activity to be completed.The program offers its participants an opportunity to understand best world practices in these fields, in addition to exchange of expertise through participation and group work.The program comes within the framework the QDG Training Program launched by HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani during the 4th edition of Qatar’s ICT conference QITCOM 2017.To date, the program has trained some 2050 professionals through 150 training courses.HEC Paris, one of the world’s leading executive education providers, has worked closely with the Ministry of Transport and Communications in Qatar to customize the executive CTO Training Program. The participants will benefit from the renowned knowledge and expertise of the HEC Paris faculty, led by the program’s Academic Director Prof. Joseph Nehme, Affiliate Professor in Operations Management and Information Technology at HEC Paris. With a focus on Strategy, Big Data, Change Management, Project Management and Leadership, the program, which runs until April 2018, will enhance the management skills of Chief Technology Officers and IT Directors. In parallel, the participants will work on projects that are relevant to the country’s digitization, enabling them to adapt their learnings of the program to their specific roles.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

IdeaCamp starts activities with 95 ideas participating

Doha-IdeaCamp is a new program provided by Digital Incubation Center (DIC) under the Ministry of Transport & Communications for entrepreneurs, developers and designers who have a great idea for a technology solution.Through a six-week program of workshops, training and mentorship participants will create a business model, build a prototype and test their idea with customers. By the end of the program participants will know whether their idea is likely to succeed in the market in Qatar and will pitch to join DIC’s two-year startup program to take the idea to the next level.DIC received 129 applications to join IdeaCamp and 95 ideas were accepted, based on their level of technical innovation and feasibility. Almost half of the IdeaCamp applications featured one of DIC’s technology focus areas: 3D Printing, Blockchain and IoT.The IdeaCamp program launched on Saturday 21st October with 85 entrepreneurs taking part in a full day workshop which introduced participants to the Business Model Canvas tool, with examples from companies such as Airbnb, Flickr and Uber. Participants then created their own Business Model Canvas showing the value proposition, key activities, partnerships and cost model related to their idea.The second workshop on Saturday 28th October focussed on customer validation. Participants created a Value Proposition Canvas, building a set of customer segments and looking at how their business could address customer needs. They were then set the task of researching their customers and refining their business model to meet real customer needs.The final ideation workshop took place on Saturday 4th November. Participants learned about the different ways to prototype their ideas and created wireframes showing how their customers would experience their products and services.The program will continue for the next three weeks with pitch training and industry mentorship sessions, as the participants prepare to pitch to join the DIC Startup program.DIC will incubate 25 ideas from IdeaCamp, these teams will be accepted onto the two-year Startup program where they will receive support, training and mentorship allowing them to launch a business in Qatar, build a product and grow their market reach. They will join the 28 startups currently incubated at DIC. To date, DIC has incubated a total of 87 startups and idea stage teams.

Sunday, November 5, 2017

HE Minister Meets with Turkish Counterpart

Doha – QatarHE Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim Saif Ahmed Al Sulaiti met with his Turkish counterpart, HE Minister of Transport, Marine Affairs and Communications Mr. Ahmet Arslan.The two officials discussed aspects of cooperation in the fields of transport, communications, ports and aviation and means of further enhancing them. They also reviewed the potential investment opportunitiesavailable in these industries, as well as a number of matters of common interest between the two friendly countries.