Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
2026 Regional Winner | Skills Transformation
Industry
Government
Company HQ
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Number of Employees
500+
Office Locations
United Arab Emirates
How DEWA built an AI solution builder workforce with Udemy
Business outcomes
19,527
Hours of watched learning time
879
AI Academy learners reached
200+
Reusable AI skills generated
Challenge
Closing the gap between AI awareness and AI execution
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) is one of the leading government organizations in the United Arab Emirates, responsible for providing reliable, efficient, and sustainable electricity and water services to Dubai. DEWA plays a central role in supporting Dubai’s growth, economic development, and quality of life by delivering world-class utility services, advancing clean energy, and driving innovation across the energy and water sectors. DEWA serves millions of customers and is recognized for its commitment to excellence, sustainability, digital transformation, and future readiness.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) identified AI capability as a strategic workforce priority to support enterprise AI adoption. The organization needed to enable employees to become active AI solution builders rather than passive AI users, closing the gap between AI awareness and practical AI execution.
Employees needed specific skills in AI-assisted coding, coding agents, workflow automation, agentic AI, orchestration, governance, and business-focused AI development. The challenge was building a scalable learning model that would move employees from foundational knowledge to hands-on application and reusable AI capability.
“Before Udemy, we had no structured way to bridge the gap between AI awareness and practical AI execution,” said Mohammad Nsairat, Specialist, Business Excellence. “We needed a learning foundation that would turn employees into active AI solution builders.”
DEWA set out to build an AI Academy that would combine structured learning with hands-on application, creating a governance-aware model for enterprise AI adoption.
“Before Udemy, we had no structured way to bridge the gap between AI awareness and practical AI execution. We needed a learning foundation that would turn employees into active AI solution builders.”
Solution
The DEWA AI Academy powered by Udemy
DEWA created the AI Academy, powered by Udemy and reinforced through applied hackathons. The academy consisted of two phases: Phase 1, AI Coder, focused on Claude Code and coding agents, and Phase 2, AI Engineer, focused on agentic AI and Model Context Protocol (MCP). The academy emphasized building reusable AI solutions, automating business processes, applying governance principles, and collaborating across teams.
Udemy serves as the core learning platform for structured, self-paced AI learning, providing consistent access to relevant courses across divisions. Udemy is integrated into a three-layer learning ecosystem: Udemy learning builds foundational and advanced knowledge through structured courses, AI Academy tracking monitors participation and progress, and internal hackathons convert learning into hands-on application and reusable AI capability.
“Udemy is the learning foundation of our AI Academy, giving our employees the structured knowledge they need before they build real AI solutions in our hackathons,” Nsairat said.
The learning-to-adoption pathway moves from Udemy courses through AI Academy learning paths, through progress tracking and hackathon application, to reusable AI capability and enterprise adoption readiness. The model established a common AI language across departments, covering coding agents, reusable skills, hooks, workflows, orchestration, and governance-aware design.
“Udemy is the learning foundation of our AI Academy, giving our employees the structured knowledge they need before they build real AI solutions in our hackathons.”
Results
19,527 learning hours and 200+ reusable AI skills
The DEWA AI Academy delivered measurable impact across learning engagement and AI capability. 1,258 users joined the platform, 1,052 enrolled in courses, and 977 users watched at least one lecture. The organization recorded 19,527 hours of watched learning time, with 16 hours and 52 minutes watched per active user. The active user rate reached 76%, with 65% organization adoption.
The AI Academy reached 879 learners, with 785 active learners and 613 completing at least one phase. Phase 1 achieved a 70.8% completion rate, while Phase 2 continued to progress with 384 enrolled learners and 109 completions. In addition, 106 learners completed both phases. Technology skills accounted for 80.9% of Udemy learning, while business skills accounted for 17.8%, and personal development accounted for 1.3%.
“With Udemy, we’ve built a model where learning becomes reusable AI capability. Our hackathons have generated more than 200 reusable AI skills,” Nsairat said.
The Agentic AI Skills Hackathon drew more than 100 attendees and generated more than 200 reusable AI skills. The Hooks Hackathon drew 104 attendees and built capability in event-driven automation, trigger-response architectures, agent orchestration, and AI workflows.
“With Udemy, we’ve built a model where learning becomes reusable AI capability. Our hackathons have generated more than 200 reusable AI skills.”
Looking Ahead
Scaling AI learning
DEWA continues to expand the AI Academy and hackathon series, applying AI capability to real internal business processes including HR, procurement, IT, vendor management, reporting, and governance. The organization is deepening its focus on governance-aware learning, covering compliance, security, audit controls, portfolio management, and responsible AI.
“Using Udemy as our learning foundation, we’re building a workforce that doesn’t only use AI — it builds AI solutions for the enterprise,” Nsairat said.
The organization plans to continue combining scalable digital learning with hands-on application, measurable engagement, reusable AI asset creation, and governance-aware enterprise AI adoption.
“Using Udemy as our learning foundation, we’re building a workforce that doesn’t only use AI — it builds AI solutions for the enterprise.”
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