Unique initiative

King Saud University and ICDL Saudi Arabia set up computer programme for visually impaired.

King Saud University (KSU) and ICDL Saudi Arabia, the governing body and certification authority of the International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) programme in Saudi Arabia, in cooperation with the ECDL Foundation and Cairo, recently signed a memorandum of understanding that will establish a pioneering ICDL programme for the visually impaired in the Kingdom.

Empowering entire societies

The strategic alliance is part of ICDL's commitment to enable the proficient use of information and communications technology that empowers individuals, organisations and society.

Under the partnership, ICDL Saudi Arabia will provide the Quality Assurance Standards and Syllabus for the ICDL for the Blind programme, while it will also endorse KSU with Cairo to be one of the initial centres taking part in UNESCO's "Best Practice" initiative officials said. The project will support one centre in each country with a graduation ceremony and international recognition in the hope that other centres will learn from the best practice centre and establish their own facilities for the visually impaired.

KSU will establish a dedicated Approved ICDL Training and Test Centre for visually impaired students and will provide all the qualified staff and administrators. The university has also pledged to give each of its pioneering students a laptop specifically configured for the visually impaired.

Groundbreaking project

Dr Abdullah Al Othman, King Saud University Rector, said: "We are honoured to partner with ICDL Saudi Arabia, the premier global standard for computer literacy, for this groundbreaking project. King Saud University is fully committed to offering our best resources to ensure the success of the ICDL for the Blind programme as we believe that this will significantly raise the level of IT proficiency of the visually impaired, increase their employment opportunities and make them more productive members of society.

"The ICDL programme is already a requirement for KSU first-year male and female students. With its excellent reputation worldwide as a leading advocate for IT literacy, we are also looking forward to partner with ICDL Saudi Arabia for other specialised IT programmes."

Dr Sulaiman Al Dhalaan, managing director of ICDL said: "ICDL Saudi Arabia considers this partnership with KSU another significant milestone in our mission to equip all people with fundamental IT skills and knowledge that will help them become more productive individuals. The visually impaired have a lot of potential to be more participative in the socioeconomic development of Saudi Arabia, and providing them with world-class IT training under the ICDL standard is a huge step towards enhancing their ability to deliver more concrete contributions to the progress of society."

About the programme

The KSU Approved ICDL Training and Testing Centre is part of an initiative by ICDL and Cairo to establish Best Practice centres for the visually impaired in select locations across the Arab world.

The pioneering batch of the Saudi Training and Testing Centre will commence classes next month and will hold its graduation in June 2009, during which ICDL will jointly host an award ceremony for the top graduates of the programme.

KSU will assist ICDL Saudi Arabia in automating the ICDL for the Blind training and testing materials and has also committed to reviewing all test and training materials to ensure the highest level of accuracy and suitability for visually impaired students.

KSU will submit its comments and recommendations to ICDL Saudi Arabia, which will accordingly develop an automated training material compatible with JAWS and automated tests compatible with Supernova/Nattiq. Further details of the partnership and of KSU's Best Practice Centre will be featured on the ICDL website.

ICDL is a vendor-neutral digital literacy programme that is acknowledged through testing and proves that the certificate holder has fundamental skills in IT, using the computer, managing files, word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, and handling of the internet and e-mail. The ICDL certificate is recognised by education ministries, universities and government organisations with accreditations from over 168 countries; it is available in more than 40 languages.

KSU is an organisation in higher education, which has successfully implemented the ICDL programme as a minimum standard for its students.