Qatar Open Innovation (QOI), the flagship programme of the Qatar Research, Development and Innovation Council (QRDI Council) this week announced the launch of Open Innovation Opportunities in partnership with the Ministry of Labour in Qatar.
This collaboration represents a significant milestone to enrich the technology sector and promote innovation.
Transforming the attestation process
The QRDI QOI programme, known for its dedication to fostering innovation, introduces an Innovation Opportunity geared towards transforming the certification attestation process and document analysis for the country’s Ministry of Labour.
According to QRDI Council Director of Research, Development and Innovation Programs Nada Al Olaqi, their collaboration with the Ministry of Labour marks a pivotal moment in innovation and technology, empowering government entities to serve as testbeds for initiating innovative technologies, effectively addressing possible critical challenges.
Dr Noura Ghanem Al-Hajeri, Director of Planning, Quality and Innovation at the Ministry of Labour said that launching these initiatives with QRDI Council signifies their commitment to modernise Qatar’s labour sector.
She said that the opportunities aim to enhance the efficiency of labour policies and regulations. These opportunities will streamline processes, reduce manual labour reliance, and ensure compliance with Qatari law and cybersecurity standards, ultimately enhancing efficiency and advancing the levels of excellence and innovative effectiveness within Qatar’s labour sector.
Ministry of Labour opportunities
The first challenge, Certification Attestation Process – Optimization through Blockchain Technology, is aimed at addressing various issues associated with the current manual certification verification process, such as workforce requirements, extended processing times, semi-automated university and government systems, high costs, intricate procedures, susceptibility to errors, degree forgery, and unauthorised verification.
The second challenge, Artificial Intelligence Driven Document Analysis for Qatar’s Ministry of Labour, focuses on improving the efficiency of the ministry’s operations. Manual document analysis has been time-consuming, labour-intensive and error-prone. By adopting AI-driven solutions, the ministry aims to modernise its processes, reduce manual labour and enhance efficiency, with a primary focus on contract analysis in Arabic language.
The deadline for the submission of the proposal for both opportunities is on 30 November 2023.
The Ministry of Labour has earlier unveiled a package of new e-services related to the management of work permits, as part of its strategy to digitally transform over 80 services since the launch of the Digital Transformation Unit. The new services include requesting new work permits, renewal requests for work permits and requests to issue a labour recruitment approval.
Unique opportunity for innovators
The QOI programme has consistently provided a unique opportunity for innovators to collaborate with leading organisations, industry experts and mentors to develop and scale their ideas.
In the past, the programme has launched more than 30 challenge calls in collaboration with various partners in Qatar, including GWC, Aspire, Baladna, Sidra, Ooredoo, Es’hailSat, Hassad Food, Kahramaa, Milaha, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, and the Ministry of Municipality.
To learn more about the Qatar Open Innovation challenges, visit the QRDI Portal.
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