Microsoft today announced that it will open an ‘AI Centre of Excellence for Energy’ in the United Arab Emirates – a global first for the company – to empower organisations in the industry in accelerating digital transformation, equipping the workforce with AI skills, as well as collaborating on coalitions to address sustainability and safety challenges.

The company revealed its plans at the ongoing Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference, ADIPEC, 2019.

Supported by partners that include ABB, Accenture, AVEVA, Baker Hughes, C3.ai, Emerson, Honeywell, Maana, Rockwell Automation, Schlumberger, and Sensia, the AI Centre of Excellence is expected to open in early 2020. The centre will support organisations to accelerate their digital journeys and drive innovation through active engagements with leading technologies and industry partners, as well as equipping the workforce with necessary AI readiness towards closing the skills gaps and enhancing employability.

“Microsoft’s mission is to empower every individual and organisation on the planet to achieve more,” said Omar Saleh, Microsoft’s Head of Energy & Manufacturing for the Middle East and Africa region. “Our aim with the AI Centre of Excellence is to foster innovation, develop effective collaboration, and champion AI skills development for the energy industry. We believe in the power of AI to drive business transformation, and Microsoft has been a leader in building best-in-class platforms to deliver that.”

The AI Centre also brings together coalitions to drive effective collaboration towards tackling the industry top of mind challenges and aspirations, with a primary mandate to create societal impact, as it focuses on environmental sustainability, worker safety and energy efficiency needs.

“At Microsoft, we are working on building lasting, meaningful alliances with energy industry players, technology partners and academic institutions. Together, we will infuse the energy sector with the power of the intelligent cloud, enabling innovation to flourish as never before,” said Darryl Willis, Microsoft’s Global VP of Energy.