Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is committed to spreading and localising knowledge, as well as enhancing Dubai’s position as a centre for a knowledge-based society and economy. DEWA cooperates with the concerned entities to stimulate a knowledge and creative environment, according to the best international practices and standards. DEWA also encourages the creative capabilities of its employees, as this represents one of the critical guarantees of progress and future excellence. DEWA also supports the capabilities and abilities of its employees to improve their cultural awareness and creative skills, to achieve its goal of becoming a self-learning organisation.
DEWA has launched several initiatives and workshops for knowledge and cultural exchange among employees, to unify and consolidate the concepts of knowledge management as a foundation for achieving organizational excellence. This includes ensuring continuous learning and development and adapting to rapid developments. DEWA adopts an organisational culture that provides a healthy atmosphere and collaborative environment, facilitating the exchange of knowledge, ensuring progress and innovation, and applying acquired knowledge to see its impact on achieving sustainability.
“We are committed to promoting knowledge and investing in human development, in line with our efforts to make Dubai the city of the future and enhance its position as a global hub and a knowledge-based economy. We provide the best sources of knowledge and educational courses to exchange experiences, and raise employee awareness about the latest concepts of knowledge and management and types of data and information. To achieve this, we cooperate with the largest prestigious institutions in the world, specialised in attracting and retaining talent and achieving employee happiness,” said HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & and CEO of DEWA.
Sustainability Partner for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
DEWA continues its support for the Emirates Airline Festival of Literature for the eighth consecutive year (from 2017 to 2024), as Sustainability Partner, in line with its efforts to consolidate the UAE’s position as a capital of content, culture, and knowledge.
Internal Platforms to Share and Localise Knowledge
DEWA provides several internal platforms to share and localise knowledge. This includes:
Knowledge Management and DEWA’s Smart Library
DEWA’s Knowledge Centres are a network of libraries located in Al Qusais, Warsan, the Sustainable Building at Al Quoz, the Research and Development (R&D) Centre, and DEWA Academy. These centres provide a space for staff to read, work, research, and host knowledge-sharing activities. The collection includes books, DVDs, magazines and standards in Arabic and English. Subjects cover technical, business, management and soft skills. 41,022 stakeholders have benefitted from the DEWA Knowledge Centres. By the end of 2023, these Centres hosted 2,302 events and benefitted many employees and their families.
DEWA Smart Library (http://www.dewa-elibrary.ae) provides its employees with easy access to digital content and references in different disciplines, including renewable and clean energy. The number of uploaded files on was 195,394 files in 2023, compared to 74,938 in 2022. The library is a gateway and platform for accessing digital content such as e-books, e-periodicals, and other subscribed content. The library also provides a reference and research service (iAsk), which allows employees to obtain external information to perform their duties better. The number of users of this service reached 1,250 users by the end of 2023.
Share an Hour
This is an initiative aimed at increasing readership among employees to engage with others in a discussion for 60 minutes to discuss a book of their choice. The initiative aims to motivate employees to adopt reading as a daily habit. DEWA held 12 sessions in 2023, with the participation of 1,218 employees.
Knowledge Day
This is a day when employees develop knowledge through established knowledge-sharing activities. In 2023, DEWA organised 14 days of reading and knowledge, during which 84 topics were discussed, in the presence of 2,323 employees.
Digital Knowledge Management Training Programme
DEWA launched the Digital Knowledge Management Training Programme in February 2023 with the participation of 755 employees, while 89 employees participated in the programme, which explains the basic concepts of data, information and knowledge, knowledge management, knowledge-sharing tools and techniques, and review knowledge-sharing activities. The savings through the digitisation of this programme amounted to AED 383,133.24.
Ma’Rifa (Knowledge) Collaboration Platform
It is a smart platform that allows employees to interact with their colleagues to exchange knowledge and collaborate on tasks and projects. The number of experiences that have been shared through the platform until 2023 reached over 200 and over 221 technical fields that employees are proficient in, have been monitored. The number of knowledge topics now exceeds 1,307 subjects. DEWA rewards active employees and users of the platform every quarter.
The platform also provides specialised professional groups to share similar interests and goals. This contributes to developing their expertise, experiences, and knowledge to accomplish tasks and confront challenges. In 2023, DEWA held 7 active professional groups and 34 sessions, where nearly 2,700 employees participated. In the same year, the award programme for the best specialised professional group was launched based on well-researched criteria.
LinkedIn Learning
DEWA encourages its employees to participate in self-learning courses and programmes on LinkedIn Learning to enrich their knowledge and enhance their capabilities in AI and emerging technologies. Between 2017 and 2023, the number of completed courses reached 141,285, and the number of video-watched hours reached 179,653. By the end of 2023, this number reached 46,974 hours.
DEWA also launched the LinkedIn Educational Competition, for employees who use the platform to encourage them to develop self-learning. The competition is based on the number of courses and hours completed.
Reading Month
DEWA celebrates Reading Month annually, and organises activities, panel discussions and seminars by employees, stakeholders, writers, local and global speakers. DEWA also holds Arabic and English events on literary, cultural, technical, and other topics. In addition, DEWA provides discounts on books purchased in collaboration with key distributors in the UAE.
In March 2023, DEWA held various knowledge sessions and seminars for its employees under the theme ‘DEWA reads sustainably’, encouraging employees to read and enhance their connection with books. DEWA also organised the 1530X Reading Challenge to encourage employees to read for at least 15 minutes a day for 30 days in March, or to attend 30 training courses provided by DEWA. The number of participants in the challenge reached 614 employees, and by the end of the challenge, four winners were chosen and rewarded based on the number of books they read, the courses they took and the impact on their work.
Honouring distinguished individuals in knowledge management
DEWA promotes a culture of success and excellence among its employees. It encourages and motivates them continuously by recognising outstanding ones and highlighting their innovations for improving their organisational performance. Among the most prominent programmes of excellence and internal rewards that DEWA offers to distinguished employees in the field of knowledge localisation are the Share K. Recognition Programme, which is part of DEWA’s internal excellence awards. Employees are recognised for their effective utilisation of knowledge management tools, techniques, and practices, in accordance with the highest excellence standards predefined globally and at DEWA. More than 40 employees were recognised in 2023.
