Dubai has opened nominations for the first edition of the Dubai-it Award, creating a new recognition platform for people, projects, companies and organisations whose work reflects the emirate’s results-driven approach.
Nominations are open from 10 August to 10 September 2026. That makes this more than a ceremonial announcement: there is a real one-month window for eligible achievements to be documented and submitted.
Who can take part?
The official announcement says the award is open to individuals, projects, companies, organisations and government or private-sector entities. The important point is that the nomination needs to show more than an interesting idea. The Dubai-it approach is built around action, measurable impact and an achievement that can stand as a model for others.
For professionals working in the UAE, that could make the award relevant to teams behind public-service improvements, digital transformation, infrastructure delivery, sustainability projects, community initiatives and business innovations.
What will make a strong nomination?
The award framework emphasises the clarity of the achievement, the impact created and whether the work can inspire others. In practical terms, a nomination should be able to answer simple questions: What problem was being solved? What changed? Who benefited? What can be measured? And could another team learn from the approach?
This is useful even for people who never submit an entry. The same questions are exactly what make a project achievement stronger on a CV, LinkedIn profile or professional portfolio.
Why Gulf professionals may want to pay attention
Recognition programmes can become useful visibility platforms for teams that normally work behind the scenes. Engineers, project managers, technologists, service-design teams and community organisers often have substantial achievements that are described internally but never presented as a clear impact story.
Before nominating anything, however, employees should check their organisation’s approval process. Commercially sensitive information, customer data and internal project details should not be published without authorisation.
What you can do now
- Review completed projects from the last year and identify measurable outcomes.
- Check whether your organisation permits an external nomination.
- Collect evidence: before-and-after results, verified figures, stakeholder outcomes and approvals.
- Use the official nomination platform rather than third-party forms.
- Submit before the 10 September deadline rather than leaving documentation to the last day.
MalluMetro Take
The most interesting part of this award is the emphasis on completed action rather than presentation alone. Even if you never enter, it is a useful reminder for Gulf professionals: good work becomes much more valuable when you can explain clearly what changed because of it.