Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) partners with UC Berkeley to host Artificial Intelligence Leadership Program

October 17, 2018

UC Berkeley congratulates the Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (DEWA) on the completion of a successful and visionary Artificial Intelligence Leadership program, in cooperation with the Berkeley Artificial Intelligence Research (BAIR) Lab, the Berkeley Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS) and UC Berkeley Corporate Education.

The program was initiated through the vision of His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA, and was attended by DEWA's leadership and staff who specialize in artificial intelligence, AI. In his keynote speech, Al Tayer noted that the program underscores DEWA's commitment to lead the cutting edge in public utility applications of the latest research and developments in renewable energy, water, automation, artificial intelligence, and accelerators.  Al Tayer stated, "DEWA organized the AI Leadership Program . . . to consolidate the UAE's position and Dubai's role as a leading center for shaping the future and experimenting with disruptive solutions and technologies.”

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA

The three-day program was organized by UC Berkeley Corporate Education in conjunction with instructors from BAIR and ITS.  “It was extremely gratifying to work with DEWA to identify their strategic challenges and bring in world-class Berkeley instructors to deliver the best solution,” said Paul Mason, Senior Manager of Corporate Education at UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley ITS instructors Dr. Alexandre Bayen, Dr. Jane Macfarlane, and Eugene Vinitsky developed an intensive three-day curriculum exploring:

  • How Artificial Intelligence can be applied in model electricity grids and water systems
  • Building a Data Science Capability that enhances utilization and decision making in utility systems
  • Highlighting revolutions in the Transportation Industry to illuminate future markets of interest to DEWA.

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA with BAIR & ITS instructors

His Excellency Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Managing Director and CEO of DEWA with BAIR & ITS instructors

“ While AI is an exciting opportunity for many companies, the data science for exploiting AI Technologies can be just as challenging to develop. DEWA has established an aggressive program to expand their data science capabilities and leverage their existing data sources to improve their operations through informed data analytics and AI techniques,” Dr. Jane Macfarlane, ITS instructor.

DEWA is committed to leading global transformation efforts for utilities around the world. The pioneering concept of Digital DEWA, the digital arm of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, is redefining the concept of a utility to create a new digital future for Dubai. DEWA will disrupt the entire business of public utilities by becoming the world’s first digital utility to use autonomous systems for renewable energy and storage. 

“Talking to the engineers at DEWA was extremely exciting. DEWA is clearly committed to building extensive use of AI into their organization. I can't wait to see what comes out of this,” says doctoral student Eugene Vinitsky.

The workshop stems from a Memorandum of Understanding, between DEWA, and the University of California, Berkeley, signed by Diana Wu, Dean of UC Berkeley Extension. DEWA has since formed an additional strategic partnership with BAIR Lab to focus on AI. The DEWA- UC Berkeley AI Leadership Program represents the latest instance of collaboration between leading edge private and public organizations and UC Berkeley.

BAIR Lab brings together UC Berkeley researchers in computer vision, machine learning, natural language processing, planning, and robotics, as well as cross-cutting themes including multi-modal deep learning, human-compatible AI, and connecting AI with other scientific disciplines and the humanities.

The Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, has been recognized as one of the world's leading centers for transportation research, education, and scholarship for over 70 years.  Today, ITS Berkeley is home to a large and diverse community of people who study all aspects of transportation—from technological advances to social and environmental consequences.

The mission of UC Berkeley Corporate Education is to connect forward-thinking leaders and organizations with the leading edge instructors of UC Berkeley to solve strategic problems.  Corporate Education leverages the world-renowned instructors of the University of California Berkeley and their network into the vibrant ecosystem of Silicon Valley to enable client organizations to innovate, re-calibrate and thrive in the ever-changing economy of the future