Prof. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Chancellor , University of Sharjah
The University of Sharjah started distance learning on March 7 this year immediately after the announcement of the implementation by the UAE authorities. Ever since, academic, administrative and support staff have been working literally around the clock to ensure that technologies and supporting tools are in perfect working order for both distance learning and remote working.
The extraordinary achievements in a very short time came as a result of the endless support of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University of Sharjah. Collective efforts, hard work and dedication of the UoS personnel at all levels made this a very successful experience for our students.
We are very pleased and proud of the progress and success of both distance learning and remote working expertness. Our students were able to successfully complete the current academic semester with plans also under way to continue distance learning in the summer semester as well. The university was also able to develop the policies for online distance learning to include assessment and grading options, which took into account the Covid-19 circumstances and the stress of homestay and social distancing.
The statistics of the first few weeks were amazing, with more than 15,000 students attending an average of five courses held twice per week. The online classes cover typical theoretical didactic lectures, practical sessions, clinical shifts, discussion groups, tutorial classes and more.
During the first two weeks of distance classes, more than 8,000 lectures were held with over 60,000 minutes of live video, streaming and over 100 lectures held concurrently during peak hours. In addition, over 10,000 clinical and training hours were conducted during the first two weeks of classes. In a recent analytics report published by LMS provider, UoS registered over 10 million minutes since the start of distance learning in March.
The extraordinary achievements in a very short time came as a result of the endless support of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and President of the University of Sharjah. Collective efforts, hard work and dedication of the UoS personnel at all levels made this a very successful experience for our students.
Prof. Elsiddig Ahmed ElMustafa El Sheikh, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
The University of Sharjah witnessed tremendous collaborative effort to transform all academic duties and day-to-day tasks online. The university went through a series of steps and rose to the online operational challenges in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to ensure adequate information such as policies, procedures and other related documents were produced and communicated well with all the stakeholders via frequently asked questions and IT tools.
The university went through a series of steps and rose to the online operational challenges in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to ensure adequate information such as policies, procedures and other related documents were produced and communicated well with all the stakeholders via frequently asked questions and IT tools.
This is an opportunity to thank the Chancellor, Vice-Chancellors, Deans, Directors, Heads of Department, Professors, Faculty, Lecturers and Staff for their incredible efforts to adjust to the new academic operational environment.
This team successfully stayed adaptable and agile to perform extensive online training, ToT and online teaching, for our students around the globe. I appreciate their efforts to provide the best support to our students in these difficult times and I feel proud to play a part with such an excellent team.
Prof. Maamar Bettayeb, Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies
As is often said, the root of all goodness lies in the soil of appreciation for goodness. It is in the context of appreciation for the exertion of others that I pay homage to the extraordinary people who work under my office. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the directors of research centres, the dean of graduate studies, the heads of support units, and all my administrative staff, whose work I regard with great awe and devotion.
Words don’t do justice in expressing my gratitude to faculty researchers, research centres and groups, lab supervisors, research assistants, post docs, lab engineers, lab technicians, and others, whose efforts allow us to wear the smile we are wearing today.
Words don’t do justice in expressing my gratitude to faculty researchers, research centres and groups, lab supervisors, research assistants, post docs, lab engineers, lab technicians, and others, whose efforts allow us to wear the smile we are wearing today.
Prof. Qutayba Hamid Al Heialy, Vice Chancellor for Medical Colleges and Health Sciences and Dean of College of Medicine
The spread of Covid-19 saw the faculty at the Medical and Health Sciences colleges facing a challenge in delivering high-standard education to undergraduate and postgraduate students, in addition to meeting their clinical responsibilities.
I am grateful to the faculty and supporting staff who managed to deliver the whole curriculum and complete training for the graduating students, training them to perform online examination particular to the graduating medical and health professional students so they could gain placements in the UAE.
They were also requested to contribute towards research in the area of coronavirus in the UAE. Meeting the challenge, in a short time they were in business and became leaders in all these aspects. That required hard work, enthusiasm, discipline and loyalty to the university and the country.
I am grateful to the faculty and supporting staff who managed to deliver the whole curriculum and complete training for the graduating students, training them to perform online examination particular to the graduating medical and health professional students so they could gain placements in the UAE. Our faculty were also leaders in performing research in the area of Covid-19 with a large number of projects. Congratulations to our faculty and staff and thank you on behalf of the university, we are proud of you.
Dr Salah Taher, Vice Chancellor for Community Affairs
This is to thank all the employees of the University of Sharjah, specifically those working in the community affairs sector. During the Covid-19 situation the university was able to sign MoUs and agreements remotely such as the Huawei Tech agreement, and also organised advisory board virtual meetings for the colleges, such as the College of Computing and Informatics and the College of Sciences.
During the Covid-19 situation the university was able to sign MoUs and agreements remotely such as the Huawei Tech agreement, and also organised advisory board virtual meetings for the colleges, such as the College of Computing and Informatics and the College of Sciences.
It also helped secure financial support from different donors to provide laptops for students in need to complete their studies.
Majid Al Jarwan, Vice Chancellor for Public Relations, University of Sharjah
The University of Sharjah began its precautionary and preventive procedures as soon as they were issued by the relevant authorities. All the departments joined their efforts to ensure the continuance of the educational and administrative processes at the university. The Business Services Department was at the forefront of those departments that took it upon themselves to provide all forms of support necessary for the university family in applying and implementing these measures.
The University of Sharjah began its precautionary and preventive procedures as soon as they were issued by the relevant authorities. All the departments joined their efforts to ensure the continuance of the educational and administrative processes at the university.
This started with organising entry and exit procedures for university gates, conducting initial temperature checks on entry gates for workers and university visitors, permanent and direct supervision of all insurance operations around the clock for all university buildings and facilities, cooperating with the male and female Student Affairs Departments in the dormitories while providing all their needs from outside the university, and its cooperation with the national sterilisation programme team that was performed for all buildings.
For this we all must thank and express gratitude to the Business Services Department and security teams for their continued efforts in serving our prestigious university.
Prof. Adnan Ibrahim Sirhan, Assistant Chancellor of branch Affairs
Pursuant to the directives of the Ministry of Education, due to the Covid-19 pandemic distance learning at the University of Sharjah (UoS) was implemented. Consequently, the three UoS branches in Khorfakkan, Kalba and Dhaid followed steps taken by the UoS main campus in applying online learning remotely.
Since the whole process is about online learning and communication technologies, our colleagues from IT and other departments responsible for the branches took on a major part of the task and for that we thank them all. The process was smooth and applauded by all.
Since the whole process is about online learning and communication technologies, our colleagues from IT and other departments responsible for the branches took on a major part of the task and for that we thank them all. The process was smooth and applauded by all. An online exam training was also conducted in preparation for the final exams to be held in early May.
Prof. Esam Agamy, Dean Quality Assurance, Institutional Effectiveness & Accreditation
I am grateful to all staff for advancing their practices to support distance learning.
The Deanship of Quality Assurance, Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation staff had to work hard to cope with the vast requirements from all stakeholders and ensure education continuity with quality and ensure accreditation of all existing programs and new programs. I am grateful to all staff for advancing their practices to support distance learning.
Dr Hussein El Mahdi, Dean of Academic Support Services
Over the past two months, University of Sharjah (UoS) students enjoyed distance learning, with 100 per cent of the teaching and learning activities being conducted through learning management systems (LMS) over the internet.
UoS deserves a big round of applause for the excellent effort and dedication to learning, which demonstrates its commitment to attaining the highest level of quality education.
According to a recent survey, UoS students are very satisfied with the experience, enabling them to finish the academic year on time. Student engagement in various teaching activities via the LMS tools and apps was overwhelming and exceeded our expectations. The students enjoyed various assessment tools including projects, assignments and oral presentations as well as digitally proctored online exams. The latter promoted self-dependency and confidence among students.
UoS deserves a big round of applause for the excellent effort and dedication to learning, which demonstrates its commitment to attaining the highest level of quality education.
