UAE Air Force & Air Defence Institute delegation gets insights into Dubai eGovernment's eServices

The delegation was briefed on some of the 1,400 online services available through the Dubai eGovernment portal www.dubai.ae and the advanced back-end systems that power the smooth delivery of these services.

Lt. Colonel Ahmed Al Mail and his team showed keen interest in the integration logistics of the various services, and sought more information on some projects, including the online courses available on the portal.

'It was an enlightening experience to see at first hand the operations of Dubai eGovernment,' commented Lt. Col. Ahmed Al Mail. 'It was interesting to see the integration of services of various government departments under one umbrella, allowing users access to multiple services through a single sign in. We were also impressed by the progress made in the field of e-learning which is providing a new channel to acquire new skills.'

Briefing the delegation on the progress achieved so far, Mahmoud Al Bastaki, Business Process Re-engineerng Consultant, highlighted several key drivers, including ePay, the secure online payment mode; mDubai which allows departments to deliver SMS messages to its database of customers using the Dubai eGovernment messaging gateway; e4all which seeks to boost Internet and PC usage through value packages by providing classroom and on-line learning programmes; eCitizen, a program that helps people acquire computer skills in a methodical manner and eEmployee, a double certification program for government departments.

'Organisations like the UAE Air Force and Defence Institute will produce young men who will shape the future of the country,' said Al Bastaki. 'By learning about e-governance they will be able to develop a greater interest in IT, so that they can prepare for a new Knowledge Society in which most of the routine services will be conducted through online channels. We were pleased to introduce our operations to the team from the Institute and look forward to more such visits.'

The team was also familiarised with online transactions pertaining to utility bills, visas, traffic fines, medical services, e-learning, trade licences, tourism, real estate, transport, education and civil defence.