As part of ongoing efforts to diversify their economies and build a platform for sustainable future growth, MENA nations are increasingly turning towards artificial intelligence (AI). A slew of recent investment and initiatives – primarily in academia and the government, but also in the private sector – has reinvigorated interest from industry leaders around the globe in the potential for AI to strengthen the efficiency and sustainability of MENA economies. According to a report from the Economist Impact Unit (EIU) and Google published earlier this year, AI could bring about an additional $320bn in economic growth in the MENA region by 2030. Many long-term economic strategies in the region target high-value sectors with the potential to benefit from the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a raft of technological advancements in AI, data and cloud computing that merge the physical, digital and biological worlds. In recent years the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt have published ambitious, government-driven strategies to develop AI.

The pandemic saw the birth of the (AIoT), an "artificial Internet of Things" technology ecosystem. The Smart Home was then created. The AIoT is a combination of connected things (the IoT) and artificial intelligence (the AI), which are used in these things. The past 12 months have been difficult. People now know that Covid-19 is here to stay after the pandemic.

Digital health and mobile health apps have been a hype topic, ever since Apple's App Store began the app-craze in 2008. The initial hype about mHealth has now cooled, which is good news in a way because it shows that mHealth has made the leap from hype to reality. The hype of healthcare apps has since been replaced by other hot topics. So, what is the "next big thing"? We want to have a closer look at chatbots in healthcare. What are these so-called chatbots capable of doing?

Industry 4.0 is the current fourth industrial revolution that promises to restructure manufacturing methods and professional positions to support positive changes. Before the new revolution, Industry 3.0 also reorganized production strategies but needed cutting-edge technology to achieve higher productivity. Essentially, the development has to be integrated with CNC machining to transition the sector into a more competitive status in the current and future markets. Like other industries, machining is growing fast towards a better, connected, and more simplified network system to replace traditional and old systems, limiting massive data flow. Industry 4.0 and its benefits for CNC machining are hot topics in the manufacturing sector.

Every business must be centered around customer engagement. Customer satisfaction is the number one priority of any business. This includes answering all queries from potential customers and converting leads into business opportunities. Chatbots with AI make customer engagement much easier by answering customers' queries 24 hours a day. This makes the entire process more efficient.

For the 7th edition of the Prize, a group of academic experts from IÉSEG (composed of 3 professors from IÉSEG: Guillaume Mercier, Caroline Rieu-Plichon and Yulia Titova) evaluated 26 theses in order to select the 3 best ones in terms of academic criteria. The winner of the ICOR Award was then chosen among these three finalists by a jury of professionals, made up this year of Valérie Ader-Plaziat, Senior Advisor in charge of CSR policy at Colombus Consulting, Augustin Boulot, Managing Director of B Lab France and Charles Pick, CSR Director of Clinitex. Presented by Caroline Roussel, Deputy Director of the School, on the occasion of IÉSEG's CSR Day, the ICOR 2022 Award was awarded this year to Julia Guillemot (2021 graduate of the Grande École Program) for her thesis: "The integration of ethical concerns in the development and deployment of artificially intelligent systems within technological companies. Each year, the winner of the ICOR Award receives €2,000 and commits to donate half of his or her prize money to a non-profit organization or social enterprise of his or her choice. This year, Julia Guillemot has chosen to support the Global Schools Program, an initiative of the United Nations. This initiative aims to equip primary and secondary school teachers around the world with content and tools that can be adapted in any country to teach sustainable development to pupils from kindergarten to high school. The ICOR Award ceremony was preceded by a conference organized by ICOR on the theme "New forms of enterprise at the service of society and the environment: idealism or sustainable models?

Data science This field is a great choice for students with a keen interest in science and technology. Data science is a skill that is becoming increasingly important in today's data-driven environment. To make the most of the constant flow of real-time information to improve the company's competitiveness, companies are looking for data scientists. Data science is crucial to the future of any company due to the influx of raw data in this tech-savvy age. What is the best way for you to get started in data science?

In today's technologically driven world, data is the most valuable resource. Data is vital to any company's success because it allows for better and faster decision-making. Data science combines different algorithms, tools, and machine learning principles. This is where hidden patterns are found in raw data. As the data generated and analyzed continues to increase at an exponential rate, data analytics will be in high demand. Data science careers are promising.

Artificial Intelligence makes network evolution much more efficient than it was in the past. Between 2015 and 2019, internet connectivity has grown at a rate of around 2%. It has increased by 8% over the past two years, which is an incredible increase in connectivity. The user's expectations have changed over the past two years due to changes in their professional and personal lives. The transition from offline to online work has seen a rise in connectivity.

This year is full of possibilities if business leaders are willing to take action. There is no workplace "silver bullet". We are almost ready to begin the second quarter. We tried to understand the past two years and how we have changed in the first quarter. There are many unknowns in this new world. The epidemic is not over.