Both the MBRF and UNDP will set up a cross-continental team of specialists to oversee the index.
Dubai - According to the MBRF, the index will assess the knowledge situation of around 140 countries from the perspective of sustainable human development.
Published: Mon 19 Jun 2017, 8:30 PM
Updated: Tue 20 Jun 2017, 2:59 AM
With the aim of building knowledge-centred societies, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation (MBRF), in collaboration with United Nations Development Program (UNDP), has launched the Global Knowledge Index (GKI).
According to the MBRF, the index will assess the knowledge situation of around 140 countries from the perspective of sustainable human development.
The full report and findings of the GKI will be made available to the public in November this year and it will be used as "a new tool to flag the opportunities and identify the challenges facing nations". It will also produce accurate and objective data for governments and authorities to launch new programmes and initiatives to build a knowledge-centred society.
Both the MBRF and UNDP will set up a cross-continental team of specialists to oversee the index and to ensure that it operates along a well-researched methodology.
Dr Yousry El Gamal, GKI information and communication technology consultant, told Khaleej Times that the GKI will be based on six parameters: Basic education; higher education; technical vocational education and training; economy, information and communications technology; and research, development and innovation.
The MBRF and UNDP had previously worked on the Arab Knowledge Index in 2015 and the Arab Reading Index in 2016.
El Gamal, who was also the education minister of Egypt, noted that the GKI will benefit the UAE by benchmarking its level with global standards. "In the Arab world, the UAE ranks highest in almost all parameters, now we want to know how it ranks with the rest of the world. How it is compared to Europe, USA, or Japan."
MBRF CEO Jamal bin Huwaireb said: "Knowledge recognises no borders; it is not limited to specific peoples or nations. It becomes important that we embrace globalisation and be fully engaged with what is happening in the world around us - especially, the rapidly accelerating knowledge revolution."
angel@khaleejtimes.com
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