Think Tech - Virtual Meetups Sessions

Welcome to the

Virtual Meetups Sessions

Summer Edition

Join us, and be part of the new digital revolution. August 11 - October 28, 2020

11 August, 2020 - 28 October, 2020

Virtual Meetups

30

Countries

80

Executives & Experts

100

Number of Views

1 Million

Virtual Meetups

30

Countries

80

Executives & Experts

100

Number of Views

1 Million

Think Tech is a digital awareness initiative organized by the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology

Providing a series of digital meetups that target all groups of society interested in technology, by hosting an elite group of experts and specialists in the technical fields to provide digital meetings and introducing this field, and how to benefit from it, and bringing together academics, specialists and companies to benefit from their experiences in enriching the content provided through these meetups. Topics related to Digitalization in : Health, Home Entertainment, women’s empowerment, entrepreneurship, emerging technology, gaming industry, Cyberbullying, Electronic Legislation and Regulation, Manufacturing and many other topics.

Specialists And Speakers

Nick Ayton

Futurist & Speaker, Family Office Advisor, and Filmmaker

Reena Dayal

Quantum Computing Leader, India at Microsoft

Simone Vernacchia

Digital & Technology Consulting Equity Partner at PwC

Jean-Gabriel Boinot-Tramoni

Associate at Quantonation, First VC Fund dedicated to Quantum Technologies

HRH Princess Nourah bint Mohammed AlFaisal

Founder at Adhlal, Founder at Nuun Jewels

Dr. Ibrahim Ahmad El Moussalem

Research and innovation consultant at SITE

Abdulaziz AlOmran

Chief Executive Officer at Impact 46

Anusha Dhasarathy

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Sahil Jain

Associate Partner at McKinsey & Company

Anthony N. Haddad

Chief of Staff at Amazon MENA / Souq

Ahmad AlNaimi

Partner at STV

Abhijat Sharma

Senior Engagement Manager at Strategy&

Alwaleed Alshuwaier

Government and Public Relations Director at Jollychic

Sebastian Stern

Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

May-Britt Høygaard

Partner at Devoteam

Orfhlaith Ni Chorcora

Vice President, Alliances & Channel Tech & Cloud Systems, South Europe & ECEMEA at Oracle

Walid Mansour

Managing Partner and CIO at MEVP

Naufal Khan

Senior Partner McKinsey & Company

Lynn Zovighian

Managing Director at The Zovighian Partnership

Dr. Murad Murad

Director of Technology Research Department at MCIT

Mazen Al Darrab

Founder at Zid

Ankit Bisht

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Noshir Kaka

Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

Melvina Tarazi

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Dr. Aymen Chakhari

Data Science / AI Director at Devoteam

Jason Issa

AI & ML Technical Program Manager at Facebook

Dr. Igor Holas

Lead Data Scientist at Devoteam

Riyad Abou Jaoudeh

Managing Director at MEVP

Dr. Nikhil Gulati

Senior Director, Data Science at Baker Hughes

Mohammed Alghadeer

Physics and Electrical Engineering at KFUPM. Associate researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jeongmin Seong

Partner at the McKinsey Global Institute

Sami Abou Saab

CEO at Speed Accelerator

Mehdi Bozzo-Rey

Business Development - Quantum at Cambridge Quantum Computing

Ankur M.

Quantum Computing - Program Manager at Microsoft

Mohamed Yassine Ferjani

Co-founder and Coordinator at QTunisia

Mohammed Alzubi

Managing Partner at Nama Ventures

Christian Stüer

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Dr. Sven Blumberg

Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

Miguel Rio Tinto

CIO at Emirates NBD

Abdullah AlQahtani

GM, Government Digital Transformation e-Government Program (YESSER)

Jan Schmitz-Hubsch

Partner at Strategy&

H.E. Younus Al Nasser

Assistant Director General at Smart Dubai and CEO of the Dubai Data Establishment

Dr. Ahmed Balkhair

The Advisor for the Digital Transformation and Advanced Technology at the Ministry of Health Saudi Arabia

Mohammed Al Omrani

CEO at Hawaz

Fadwa Al Hargan

Chief Innovation Officer at SAP

Fredrik Nannestad

Tech Lead at Devoteam

Eng. Majed Alhumaid

General Manager, Digital Justice

Vidhya Ganesan

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Abdulkader Lamaa

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Omar Alamoodi

Cloud Enterprise Architect at Oracle

Bayan Barri

Partner Account Manager at Cisco

Fawzi Mesmar

Head of Design at DICE

Ahmad Jadallah

CEO & Founder at Phi Science Institute

Khalil Abou Sido

The Gaming Recess

Mo Fadl

CEO & Co-Founder at Lahza Games

Osama AL Zoubi

CTO at Cisco Middle East and Africa

Emad Aldoghaither

Founder & CEO of Semanoor

Joseph Azzam

Technical Evangelist at Epic Games

MJ Fahmi

CEO of Babil Games

Eng. Fawaz Nashar

GM for Business & services Development at Makkah Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Eng. Mazen Abutalib

Deputy Secretary-General at The Makkah Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Ralf Dreischmeier

Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

Jigar Patel

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Dr. Salem Aleyani

Center for AI Director at King Khalid University

Samar Nassar

Executive Director - Healthcare Practice at KPMG

Mohammed AlKhotani

Managing Director at SAP

Ahmad Qasim

CEO at Qalam.ai

Abdulmuhsen Alajaji

Sales Team Lead

Abdullah Asiri

Founder & CEO at Lucidya

Abed Kasaji

Product Manager at Facebook

Mohanned Al-Thukair

Head of Customer Advisory at SAP

Marc Feghali

Founder & VP Product Management at Attivo Networks

Tom Isherwood

Partner at McKinsey

Dr. Ahmed Aldammas

Executive Director Cybersecuirty & Risk at CCHI

Dr. Aseel Addawood

Founder & CEO at Bayan

Widad Machmouchi

Principal Data Scientist Manager at Microsoft

Timur Korshlow

Partner at PWC

Dr. Abdulaziz A. Albesher

Dean of College of Computing and Informatics at Saudi Electronic University

Dr. Mahir Nayfeh

Partner at McKinsey & Company

Tariq Mukhtar

Game developer at Happiest Dark Corner

Dr. Sama Al Hashimi

Assistant Professor/Graphic Design and Interactive Multimedia at University of Bahrain

Mohammad Al-Shamsi

CEO at RoboHiTec

Ahmed Bukhamseen

Co-founder and CEO at Quant

Fatima AlKaabi

Inventor

Ahmed Al Rashed

Founder of AlaabGaming

Rana El Chemaitelly

Founder at The Little Engineer

Tamim Saleh

Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company

Antoine Jebara

Co-Founder and CEO of Myki

Enas Ahmad

Specialist in Information Technology and Video Games Enthusiast

Yousef AlHusaini

Co-Founder and CEO of Baims

Jim Boehm

Partner at McKinsey & Co.

Hamza Aljuaid

Game Developer

Retaj Al-Anzi

Robotics Programmer

Nader Alotaibi

Media Specialist at The Makkah Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Wadha Bin Zarah

Women Empowerment Director at MCIT

Melda Salhab

Doctoral Researcher at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis - UCL

Reine Abbas

Founder/CEO at SpicaTech

Jean Moussa

Regional Manager, Netways

Amar Basic

Co-Founder and COO at EBDAA

Abdou Ayoub

Managing Director at Paragon Shift

Layla Abdurrhman Albabtain

Game Developer and Founder of Player One

Dan Milward

CEO & Co-Founder of Gamefroot

Meetups Timeline

data & analytics
11 August, 2020 | 18:30
In English

AI for COVID-19 and the days after

This session tackles the power of AI during and post-COVID19. We are interested in discussing how AI and data analysis help in identifying, predicting, tracing, and monitoring outbreaks and individuals. We would also like to discuss AI's weight in future policy-making with a focus on centralized platforms and data ownership issues

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cyber security
17 August, 2020 | 18:30
In English

Cybersecurity in the face of social engineering

This session tackles the human factor in cybersecurity. We are interested to know more about people’s roles in cybersecurity and how they are tricked through social engineering techniques. We would also like to discuss how to install a cybersecurity aware culture and how human behavior can be changed

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cyber security
18 August, 2020 | 20:00
In English

Cybersecurity and the coronavirus pandemic

This session tackles growing threats of cybersecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. We are interested in discussing how cybercriminals are exploiting coronavirus for their benefit, how working from home increases cybersecurity risk and strategies to maintain cybersecurity and stay safe

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data & analytics
19 أغسطس, 2020 | 18:30
بالعربية

دور المرأة في مجال علم البيانات؛ قصص نجاح ملهمة، وتحديات تصنع المستقبل

تتناول هذه الجلسة التنوع والتحديات والفرص في مجال علم البيانات. نحن مهتمون بمناقشة أهمية علم البيانات في المستقبل ، وعلماء البيانات من النساء ، وما الذي يبقي المرأة خارج المجال ، والفرص المتاحة في السوق ، وكيفية تطوير المهارات التي تناسب المجال

data & analytics
24 August, 2020 | 18:00
In English

Advanced analytics and the next normal

Today, analytics, widely recognized for its problem-solving and predictive prowess, has become an essential navigational tool to support numerous urgent tasks facing the world. This meetup looks at how data and advanced analytics can be harnessed to significantly improve decision making and deliver better services for citizens and businesses

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learning & coding
26 أغسطس, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

برمجة الألعاب للأطفال والناشئين؛ رحلة مميزة مع تجارب ناشئة في مجال البرمجة والروبوت

يمكن لبرمجة الألعاب والروبوتات أن تقدم للناشئين مستقبلًا مشرقًا. تعرف على هذا المجال وكيفية الدخول إليه من خلال جلسة حوارية تجمع ما بين خبيرة في هذا المجال وبعض من الناشئين المميزين

learning & coding
31 أغسطس, 2020 | 19:30
بالعربية

مقدمة في التقنيات الناشئة للأطفال

يتناول هذا اللقاء التقنيات الناشئة في مجالات مختلفة: الذكاء الاصطناعي، علم الروبوتات، إنترنت الأشياء، إلخ. تعرف على التقنيات الناشئة من خلال التحدث مع بعض من الخبراء الذين سيبسطون هذه التقنيات للأطفال والناشئين بهدف تشجيع هذا الجمهور في المستقبل إلى الاستطلاع والمشاركة في الأنشطة المتعلقة في هذه المجلات

learning & coding
01 سبتمبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

التكنولوجيا والتعليم

يتناول هذا الحوار التكنولوجيا في مجال التعليم فتطرق للمواضيع التالية: كيف تستعمل التكنولوجيا في التعليم؟ ما هي الموارد المتاحة لتلبية المتطلبات المستقبلية من حيث التنمية البشرية والتعليمية؟ كيف ساهم الوباء في تسريع وتيرة التعلم عن بعد عبر الإنترنت؟

learning & coding
02 September, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Gaming for educational purposes

This meetup discusses the benefits and advantages of learning through interactive games and how games can be useful for reaching a young audience. It also covers the general benefits and skills gained (team skills, planning, and communication) while playing non-educational and popular games that are not built for educational purposes.

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learning & coding
07 September, 2020 | 19:00
In English

The development of electronic games in the middle east

The Middle East is the fastest-growing gaming market, and the MENA region holds the most active gaming community with a growth rate of 25% a year. Who are the leading players that dominate the market today? With a growing demand for localized content, what role do publishers and developers play? What are the missing elements for successful development projects? How do we grow talents, and how can we equip ourselves to compete globally?

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digitalization
09 سبتمبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

كيف تساهم التقنية في صناعة القرار

سيكون للرقمنة تأثير على هيكل العمل، وزيادة كفاءة العمليات، وفي النهاية تغيير العمل بأكمله فالعالم اليوم يظهر أن الآلات تتخذ قرارات لصالح البشر. لذلك سوف نخوض رحله سريعة عن كيف ستساهم التقنية في صناعه القرار

Emerging technologies
14 سبتمبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

استخدام التقنيات الناشئة في الشركات التجارية

الذكاء الاصطناعي، البلوك شين، الواقع الافتراضي، والجيل الخامس(5 جي) من أكثر التقنيات الناشئة المستخدمة في الشركات التجارية. مع وجود العديد من أنواع التكنولوجيا الجديدة في السوق اليوم، ما هو الاتجاه التي تأخذه الشركات لمواكبة هذا التطور؟ كيف تختار التكنولوجيا الأنسب والتي تمنحها ميزة تنافسية لشركتها؟

retail & businesses
15 September, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Innovating from necessity: The business-building imperative in the current crisis

The extraordinary constraints and imperatives brought on by the COVID-19 crisis have rapidly thrust businesses into challenges they could never have envisioned. Many have had to innovate new capabilities for remote operation almost overnight and complete digital transformations in weeks rather than months or years. This session will look at early solutions and concrete steps leaders can consider as they plan and build new businesses for the next normal

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retail & businesses
16 سبتمبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

أهمية تحليل البيانات والبحوث لتطوير الخدمات والمنتجات

في عالمنا اليوم السريع التطور، تعتمد الشركات على تحليل البيانات لفهم حاجات المستهلك فتطور خدماتها ومنتجاتها وفقا لهذه التحاليل. ما هو تحليل البيانات؟ لماذا يمكن أن يساعد في زيادة المبيعات؟ ما هي الخطوات التي يجب أخذها كي تصبح الشركة متمحورة حول المستهلك؟ ما هي الأدوات المستخدمة في هذا السياق؟ هل يوجد إستراتيجية معينة ممكن اتباعها لهذه الغاية؟

Emerging technologies
21 September, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Emerging technologies are transforming Healthcare as we know it

Today, technology is transforming the healthcare industry with exciting innovations around patient-centric care and early diagnosis. How do emerging technologies such as AI, Robotics, and IoT improve patients and their caregivers' quality of life, especially in progressive and incurable diseases such as Alzheimer's? How can these technologies diagnose such diseases at an early stage and increase the chances of mitigating their symptoms?

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retail & businesses
22 September, 2020 | 17:00
In English

A practical way for CIOs to manage IT modernization

The topic of digitization has been on the agenda of top management for a while, but the crisis has put a spotlight on it. The need to offer remote services, find new revenue pools and leverage data more effectively has increased and with it the urgency to modernize IT. This meetup will focus on how to unlock the full potential of IT, how to structure the IT transformation and how to support business in creating an competitive digital advantage through technology, building on the experience of digital leaders and companies that went through the transformation.

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retail & businesses
28 September, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Digital transformation strategy in organizations

The pandemic has, without a doubt, fast-tracked digital transformation in companies. In this meetup, we are interested in discussing what type of technologies are used, how digital transformation strategies are deployed, and, more importantly, the factors that influence these strategies' success

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digitalization
29 September, 2020 | 17:00
In English

Harnessing design to transform government services

Governments operate in an increasingly complex environment and must deliver on an expanded set of policy objectives. In a world characterized by technological innovation, citizens’ expectations of what government ought to deliver are rising. This session will highlight examples of successful delivery of services that meets the citizens’ growing expectations

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digitalization
30 سبتمبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

التحول الرقمي في المنظمات الحكومية

العديد من المنظمات الحكومية تستخدم الرقمنة والتقنيات الناشئة لتقديم الخدمات الرقمية لمواطنيها. ما هي قوة الحكومة الرقمية؟ كيف يمكن أن تساعد في تحسين أداء المنظمات الحكومية؟ وما مدى تأثيرها على حياة المواطن اليومية؟ وكيف تساعد في تأمين الخدمات الفعالة والسريعة في القطاع العام وفي القطاع الخاص؟

digitalization
05 October, 2020 | 18:00
In English

AI in government

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the power to dramatically enhance the way public-sector agencies serve their constituents, tackle their most vexing issues, and get the most out of their budgets. As citizens become more familiar with the power of AI through digital banking, virtual assistants, and smart e-commerce, they are demanding better outcomes from their governments. As government agencies seek to deploy artificial intelligence, they face hurdles in data awareness, availability, and quality. This session will highlight a five-step, mission-based data strategy that can help sidestep these challenges.

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retail & businesses
07 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

The growth of e-commerce in a post-pandemic world

This meetup tackles the state of e-commerce in the region post-pandemic. We will discuss the pace of change and the increased need for online businesses and transactions, the new habits in terms of consumer behavior, and current solutions to respond to this change.

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digitalization
12 October, 2020 | 17:00
In English

Harnessing data and analytics to deliver better performance at a lower cost

Harnessing the flood of data available from customer interactions allows companies to price appropriately—and reap the rewards. In this meetup, we will discuss how organizations use data and analytics to inform strategic and operational decisions.

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Emerging technologies
13 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Empowerment of women in the technology sector and digital innovation

With an increasingly digitized economy, there is a need for higher innovation and building new products and services. Women are an essential part of the growth in technology as they represent half of the tech users. One of the benefits of having more women in the technology sector is to create solutions that fit women’s needs. How can we encourage women to join the technology and digital innovation fields? What tangible steps can management do to create an environment that is more welcoming for women? What are the highs and lows of being a woman in tech? And how to empower women in the field?

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Emerging technologies
14 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Is your technology operating model ready?

The meetup will highlight three actions companies can take to ease the transition: organizing technology teams around user-facing products and the underlying platforms that enable them, creating a governance structure to keep the technology organization focused on the business’s strategic priorities, and establishing a rigorous system for prioritizing and delivering technology work. In this article, we offer a closer look at what these actions involve and how to get them right.

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Emerging technologies
19 أكتوبر, 2020 | 19:00
بالعربية

نحو الريادة في الحوسبة الكمية

تعتبر الحوسبة الكمية من أهم التقنيات الناشئة في عالمنا اليوم. تعتمد الحوسبة الكمية على قوانين الفيزياء الكمية تمكننا من القيام بحسابات "تستحيل" على الحاسب التقليدي. فما مزاياها؟ ماهي الفرص والتحديات؟ وماذا يتوجب علينا كأفراد ورواد أعمال وحكومات للاستعداد لهذه التقنية الواعدة؟

Emerging technologies
20 October, 2020 | 17:00
In English

How technology is safeguarding health and livelihoods

Deepening technological capabilities and innovations—most notably digital and mobile technologies—enabled early responses to the COVID-19 crisis. Six broad categories of measures to safeguard both health and livelihoods helped guide governments and businesses in the region (exhibit). They could also help countries in and beyond Asia as they seek to contain the current and future pandemics. In a globalized world fighting a virus that does not respect borders, exchanging best practices and experiences appears to be vitally important in combating this common enemy.

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Emerging technologies
21 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

Machine learning - a gate to the future

Machine Learning impacts our daily lives without us knowing it. In fact, several of our everyday tools rely heavily on it: face recognition, traffic prediction, online customer support, online fraud detection, etc. How are we as individuals adapting to Machine Learning? Why are companies today investing in Machine Learning research, and how are they using it to their advantage? What are the untapped opportunities in the field, and what will be the impact of Machine Learning in the future?

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digitalization
27 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

How venture capital is driving the future?

"Saudi Arabia’s startup market is witnessing one of the biggest growth in the region. In line with Vision 2030, governmental initiatives and entrepreneurial-friendly regulations have facilitated the deployment of a favorable environment for startups. In fact, compared to last year alone, the amount of funding has doubled in Saudi. According to STV’s Insights report, Saudi investments could go up to $500 million in 2025. What type of opportunities are investors looking for in the Saudi market? How does the market facilitate scale-ups? When do we expect to see more later-stage funding? What is needed for the market to mature? How to channel the ecosystem in order to reach that stage? What is the role that VC firms play in paving the way towards it?"

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Emerging technologies
28 October, 2020 | 19:00
In English

What is Quantum Computing, and why does it matter?

In today’s world, Quantum computing is considered as one of the most prominent emerging technologies. Quantum computing leverages on quantum theory to develop new techniques and solve problems differently. How is this done? What are the advantages of quantum computing? What type of breakthroughs do we expect to see in the coming years? How will this affect our near future?

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Emerging technologies
03 November, 2020 | 19:00
In English

The Future of Quantum Computing

Quantum computing is on the verge of changing life as we know it. As this emerging technology moves from the laboratory to the real world, we expect it to disturb and innovate numerous sectors and industries such as healthcare, security, energy, and many others. What type of breakthroughs could we witness in the coming years? Why are big tech companies racing towards quantum computing? How can governments and businesses equip themselves to face this new technological era? What main strategies can they develop in order to have a competitive advantage in the field?

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