First Middle East Apple case study showcases Dubai Women's College

The case study is the first one published by Apple in the Middle East region.

Today, DWC is the only Certified College/University in the Middle East that is able Proctor the Apple Pro End User Certification Exams. These exams are held online and the certification is provided by Apple Education in North America / Europe.

After having two years of experience working with Apple Education and more than ten years with Apple products, DWC is known today for its classroom efficiency and exposing its Applied Communication Technology students to the latest trends and techniques. Students spend more time on creativity and less time on trying to guess how something is supposed to work. The College provides students with a digital editing and media production environment that operates with supervision, guidance and specifications of the Manufacturer.

The initiative came from Marc Pelletreau, DWC's Media Technology coordinator at the Applied Communication Technology program, who recognized the significance of providing Dubai's employment market with highly qualified graduates. Since it is central to the College to train all students according to best industries standards, DWC's management were in full force supporting the initiative knowing that the market for graduates will only get more competitive.

'Our reputation is so strong because our students are exposed to and taught using the most updated technological and teaching methods in the industry. It is vital that we prepare them for a very competitive market and this is only done by using best technology and best educational methodologies during their college lives,' said Dr. Howard Reed, Senior Director at the HCT and DWC Director.

In October 2005, and after communicating with Apple Education in California for eight months, DWC's Applied Communication Technology program became the first Apple Authorized Training Center in the Middle East and Africa. 'I had been looking for Apple Certified training in Dubai since about 2003 but absolutely nothing was available. Our only options at that time were to fly to London or Singapore for training. The scenario of flying instructors off to London or someplace for training was not really going to solve our long term requirements,' said Pelletreau.

Once Pelletreau decided to approach Apple to look into requirements for such a project, a positive energy took over and led the way through completion. 'Apple was immediately very supportive and just as excited as we were. They provided immense help to get us up and running as a center quite quickly,' he added. 'From our end, we had to spend significant time studying the Apple Curriculums that were completely new to us at the time, as well as we had to bring our editing technology into line with the requirements.'

Since the partnership began, DWC has been able to grow along with Apple offering its students the opportunity to study and crate with highly advanced tools. It has certified trainers in Apple's Motion graphics software and Shake compositing tool. Senior students at the Communication Technology program have the opportunity to become certified in Final Cut Pro which, according to students, increases their employability in Dubai's competitive market.

Three students have already obtained the certificate and they are believed to be the first national Emirati women to have this qualification. 'We are today a hub for Apple software skills training and we are raising teaching standards and enhancing student employability across the HCT network,' noted Pelletreau. DWC also runs Editing courses for the general public through the Center of Excellence for Applied Research and Training (CERT) managed courses. So far, eight students from outside DWC have successfully passed the Apple certification exam.