Result of Service

• A report, in English and Arabic, of around 15 pages (7500 words), on Evaluating Jordan’s Preparedness to Leverage Immersive Technologies for Socioeconomic Growth.
• A PowerPoint presentation to be delivered during a the workshop.
Two pages executive summary of the report.

Work Location

Remotely

Expected duration

8 weeks

Duties and Responsibilities

Background

Building on the progress of technology and its use in various domains, immersive technology and metaverse would change the way people communicate, work, and interact together. The metaverse is considered the next step in the evolution of human-technology interaction and the outcome of the natural progression of developments in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR) technologies, which are currently called immersive technologies.

The potential benefits of immersive technologies and the metaverse have been highlighted in various studies, and in the design and gaming communities. They have proliferated in Arab countries of advanced infrastructure and digital technology adoption, such as the Gulf countries, yet their benefits to Arab countries need to be explored. Therefore, it is important to assess the preparedness of countries to cultivate and reap the benefits from immersive technologies and the metaverse.

To examine the economic opportunities of immersive technologies, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship (MODEE) in Jordan is collaborating with the ITU and ESCWA on the preparation of a study that support the decision makers on the launch of an initiative for promoting immersive technologies in varies sectors, such as education, health, gaming and sport.

The aim of this consultancy is to support the teams of ESCWA and ITU on assessing the readiness of Jordan to use immersive technologies, including metaverse, for socio-economic development. The assessment will rely on a number of components, including digital infrastructure, legal and regulatory framework, human capital, and others.

Duties and Responsibilities:

The consultancy involves the following duties and responsibilities:
• Propose to ESCWA team a detailed plan of work for the preparation of the report.
• Get knowledge about the assessment components of immersive technologies as it will be suggested by the ITU team.
• Develop and propose research methodology and provisional timeline and discuss it with the Study teams from ESCWA, ITU and MODEE, to agree on the methodology to be followed to assess the readiness of Jordan for the use of immersive technologies.
• Conduct interviews with various stakeholders, including e-gaming and e-sports startups, and capture their remarks and observations in a briefing report.
• Examine and assess the readiness of Jordan for the use of immersive technologies for social and economic development.
• Present and discuss the research data and findings of the assessment with the Study teams of ESCWA, ITU and MODEE.
• Prepare the first draft report, with analysis of the collected data, and discuss it during a virtual meeting with the Study teams.
• Update the draft report and share its second version, based on the feedback and comments received from the Study teams.
• Prepare a presentation to a national workshop, if any.

The Consultant should pay attention, with the help of ESCWA staff, to the inclusion of gender, disability, and integration of the gender considerations and youth dimension throughout the research work to ensure that the report and its recommendations give equal attention to the needs of both men and women, and girls and boys. Writing should use gender-sensitive and inclusive language.

This consultancy is open for consultant based in Amman as there are visit to stakeholders in Amman/Jordan.
The work will be done remotely and as part time work.

Qualifications/special skills

A bachelor’s degree in the area of computer engineering or any other related fields is required. A master’s degree or Ph.D. is desirable.
All candidates must submit a copy of the required educational degree. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
A minimum of eight years of experience in digital technology and/or immersive technologies is required.

Languages

English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat; and Arabic is a working language of ESCWA.

For this position, fluency in English and Arabic is required.

Note: “Fluency” equals a rating of ‘fluent’ in all four areas (speak, read, write, and understand) and “Knowledge of” equals a rating of ‘confident’ in two of the four areas.

Additional Information

Candidate is required to have the legal right to live and work in the specified working location.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.