GCC's IT industry requires major talent expansion to achieve goals

Academic staff from BUiD's Institute of Informatics have spent the last year building up a body of research and teaching experience which recognises the need for IT managers in the region. Specifically, there is growing demand for locally trained leaders in the knowledge economy.

Give the scale of the development project currently being undertaken in the region, many companies are increasingly dependent upon technology professionals with strong project management competencies to ensure the successful achievement of business objectives.

Traditionally, the Gulf region has relied heavily on overseas recruitment to fulfil these needs in its major industries. Now large-scale investment and innovation has to be matched by the development of soft skills in human resources.

According to the Institute's body of research, countries like the UAE - characterised by high technology deployment and sustainable economic growth - has both the need for such an expanded layer of professional IT managers, and the potential to rapidly develop it.

By offering two distinctive IT-based postgraduate degrees - MSc Information Technology and MSc Information Technology Management - BUiD's Institute of Informatics aims to supply this employment niche by training reflective practitioners capable of delivering effective project management.

"Technology needs effective application if organisations are to feel its full benefit. Our courses are designed to provide the knowledge resources and management skills necessary to enable the region's projects to make the most of their IT resources," said Dr. Saad Ali Amin, Head of the Institute of Informatics and Senior Lecturer at BUiD.

In line with the strategic needs of the region, the Informatics teaching team has spent the last year developing suitably qualified professionals, in partnership with the Universities of Edinburgh and Manchester in the UK. The first cohort of graduates has gone on to significant careers, including Fouad Zablith, now holding a postgraduate bursary at the UK's prestigious Knowledge Media Institute (KMi) of the Open University.

Programme modules offered include Strategy, IT Project Management, Data Mining & Exploration, Knowledge Management, Applied Databases, Cost and Value Management and People and Culture. The teaching team welcomes suitably qualified applicants.