FEATURE STORY: KNOWLEDGE VILLAGE

Knowledge Village partners leading UAE high education institutions in supporting the 2004 IT Challenge.

Knowledge Village in Dubai expressed its commitment for the UAE 2004 IT Challenge, a pioneering project first launched in 2002 to promote best practices of IT in classrooms and facilitate partnerships between the educational sector and industry, when it recently hosted a gathering of leading high education institutions across the country to confirm their support for the second cycle of the year long competition.

The reception hall of Knowledge Village brought together a unique partnership of Zayed University, United Arab Emirates University, the UAE Ministry of Education, the Higher Colleges of Technology and Knowledge Village to announce the launch of the 2004 nationwide Challenge. The competition hopes to establish a forum where schools, universities and various educational institutions across the country share IT projects and related knowledge and ideas in the field.

Held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mabarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the IT Challenge invites projects from students, teachers, schools and colleges and universities about the way they use technology in their classroom. The UAE Challenge is modeled on the Stockholm and Rome global challenges that are proven forums for exchanging ideas and increasing the use of IT in schools and universities.

Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Director of Knowledge Village announced the commitment of Knowledge Village as a partner sponsor, confirming that the Challenge will run throughout the year and that the final deadline to receive projects was set for February 25th, 2004. Speaking at a press conference that was attended by officials from the five supporting organizations to announce the opening of the 2004 cycle of the competition, Al Karam stressed that the activities of the competition will shed light on the Challenge as it aims to increase IT awareness among students in the country.

He further stated that the Jury will begin selection of the finalists in February 2004 and will be comprised of members from the educational sectors and the IT industry. Each project will be evaluated on innovation, transferability, participation and user needs.

"the activities of the competition will shed light on the Challenge as it aims to increase IT awareness among students in the country" - Dr. Al Karam, CEO

“This Challenge is unique and is the first of its kind in the UAE. It is a proven method of encouraging team work, creativity and sharing of ideas. We have had a tremendous response so far from schools, colleges and universities in support of the event,” said Dr. Suliman A Jassim, Director, Community Relations and Manpower at the Higher Colleges of Technology.

First held in 2002, a total of 235 projects were received by the closing date from various educational institutions in the UAE, with 52 projects selected as finalists, 17 of them in the winning category. The winners went on to submit their projects at the Stockholm and Rome Challenges and two of them were accepted at the global finals. “UAEmath.com” entered the finals of the Stockholm Challenge and “OneDirham.com” contested the finals of the Global Youth Challenge in Rome, Italy. Both projects received wide recognition in the global challenges, promoting the UAE as a world leader in innovative educational practice.

The launch was also attended by Nafissa Al Mulla from the UAE Ministry of Education, Dr. Ali Al Nouaimi, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the United Arab Emirates University, Dr. Jim Horton, Vice Chancellor Higher Colleges of Technology, Dr. Nic Gara, Director, ADWC, Higher Colleges of Technology, and Mr. Larry Wilson, Provost, Zayed University.