Manama: Higher education leaders on Monday discussed in Bahrain how information and communications technology (ICT) can facilitate higher education’s role in building Bahrain’s knowledge economy.
The second annual Bahrain Higher Education Executive Forum was organised by Ahlia University, one of the earliest private universities to open in Bahrain, and SunGard Higher Education, a provider of software solutions and information technology management services, under the theme “Building a Smarter ICT Infrastructure for Higher Education.”
“We are in an age where knowledge and technology are perhaps the most important factors of sustainable economic development,” Abdullah Al Hawaj, President of Ahlia University, said as he described his institution’s experience in using ICT to enhance delivery of quality education by meeting the expectations of young tech-savvy students as well as serving the different operational needs of the institution efficiently. “We rely on global IT vendors to provide solutions that will help us deliver on our strategic objectives.”
Other speakers who shared insights on the role of ICT in higher education and their specific experiences included Ian McKenzie, IT Director, Emirates College for Advanced Education and Russell Barron, ICT director Bahrain Polytechnic.
During the forum, SunGard Higher Education highlighted its new Signals solution - an early intervention system that warns students who are at risk of underperforming in a course and helps facilitate faculty interventions. Commenting on the Signals solution, “This is one of a number of specific initiatives we have developed to help institutions enable their learners to achieve their goals, to track academic progress, increase retention and graduation rates,” Mathew Boice, vice president EMEA and India, SunGard Higher Education, said. “Signals will be enhanced and brought to higher education institutions through a joint effort by SunGard Higher Education, Purdue University and the Purdue Research Foundation.”
