du and University of Dubai (UD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to further collaborate on 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT) development in line with the UAE 5G Innovation Gate (U5GIG). du is taking the lead to build a UAE 5G Innovation Lab to facilitate, contribute, test and validate early 5G and IoT equipment, services and use cases. du will collaborate with University of Dubai for research and development of the 5G ecosystem in order to achieve early 5G and IoT use cases.

Speaking about the importance of U5GIG and the MoU, Farid Faraidooni, Chief Operations Officer at du, said: “Technology is influencing every aspect of life, including education. Technology has the power to inspire young minds, and we are proud to bring future technologies to the students at University of Dubai through our latest collaboration. Together with the University, we will establish a robust, open platform for research and development to participate in the standardization and development of 5G and IoT use cases in the UAE.”

In line with the MoU, du and University of Dubai have agreed to share a strategic vision for 5G and IoT development towards the next generation 2020 5G evolution. Under the scope of this MoU, du will build a UAE 5G and IoT innovation lab to be the core of the U5GIG – which university staff and students will have access to – and experts from both du and University of Dubai will jointly supervise 5G projects and research programmes on mutually agreed selected practical research topics; in addition, du will offer an internship programme for University students. Moreover, du and the University agree to publish technical research papers and other relevant cases studies in order to showcase the latest innovations of 5G and the IoT ecosystem.

Speaking about the advancements in the academic institutions, Dr. Eesa Bastaki, President, University of Dubai said: “We have long recognised the power of technology and innovation in education; as such, we are pleased to collaborate with du on U5GIG. Participating in this incredibly exciting initiative will be a boon for our University as it gives us and our students the power to explore future technologies as they are evolving. Joining hands between industrial expertise such as du with academic expertise and research capabilities of UD the result will contribute to the advancement of UAE to reach the 2020 vision.”

The U5GIG has been envisioned to be a consortium of technical and academic organizations in UAE as well as global telecom vendors to plan and use their expertise to define and develop a global 5G network that will radically change lives across the UAE; furthermore, the promise of 5G and IoT brings many new business prospects and to help build a connected world.