NEP 1.0

An expert in data strategy, business intelligence, and information security, Yaqoob Alshamsi has transformed how data is acquired, sourced, and utilized in the UAE. A disciplined professional with an exceptional academic record, he serves as both a leader and team player who is highly skilled in data science and deeply committed to his country. 

Alshamsi currently serves as Acting Director of Data Strategy & Intelligence at the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD), where he has led the development of a data strategy and business intelligence plan for the UAE. In addition to establishing an operating model for all data workflows, operations, and statistics, he developed and launched the first Statistical Admin Registers Program, which consists of population, establishments, and real estate registers. 

This work, which introduced cross-sectoral data analytics to the UAE government, has significant implications for government entities and leaders. Now, these entities have access to clean, governed, and aggregated data that can help inform decision-making in areas such as the labor force, business economics, and child development. Alshamsi sees his work as the “bridge between experience and specialization” that contributes to social and economic development and increases the global competitiveness of the UAE. As a next step, he hopes to develop a new model of data management that helps more experts understand data sources and effectively apply them.

Before joining SCAD in 2021, Alshamsi was a Data Science Specialist at the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority. There, he helped build a “Child Insight System,” which sourced data about children and parents from government entities to aggregate use cases in child protection, early care, and education. He began his career as a Research and Development Engineer at YAS Holding, where he helped spearhead the Defense Manufacturing Agenda 2030 in collaboration with the Crown Prince Court and a team of senior defense strategists. He also worked on the research and development of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and interacted with more than 30 local and federal government entities and semi-government entities within the Emirates.