International Youth Day: Region’s only design varsity contributes to UAE’s innovation and entrepreneurial spirit

International Youth Day: Region’s only design varsity contributes to UAE’s innovation and entrepreneurial spirit

Hani Asfour, dean of Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation, explains how the institute nurtures young talent

Published: Fri 12 Aug 2022, 9:33 AM Last updated: Fri 12 Aug 2022, 9:34 AM

The Dubai Institute of Design and Innovation (DIDI), the Middle East’s first and only university exclusively dedicated to design and innovation, offers the region’s first integrated Bachelor of Design degree in collaboration with MIT and Parsons School of Design — two world-leading universities exploring technological innovation, creativity, and human-centric design.

The aim of the institute is to nurture young local and regional talent in the fled of design, unlocking their creative and entrepreneurial potential. Coinciding with the occasion of International Youth Day today, Khaleej Times spoke with Hani Asfour, the dean of DIDI, about a raft of issues, such as how the UAE is a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The academician held forth on the future of education, job prospects, the fifth Industrial Revolution, and key principles such as entrepreneurship and innovation. Asfour is best suited to speak about these issues because of his stellar academic credentials. He is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard-trained architect. He received his BSAD in Architecture from MIT in 1988, and his