Abu Dhabi Women's College launches the 2008 UAE Educational IT Challenge

The competition challenges students, teachers and organizations from across the GCC to create projects which promote the educational use of IT.

The UAE Educational IT Challenge is an innovative and internationally recognized platform for identifying, sharing and rewarding best practices in Information Communication Technology (ICT). The competition encourages excellence, teamwork, innovation and the sharing of great ideas across different sectors. The IT Challenge promotes the best projects from the UAE, both nationally and internationally, and maintains established links to the international challenges held in Stockholm and Rome.

Projects may be submitted by teachers, students, secondary schools, colleges or universities in the GCC. Commercial organizations may submit projects in the "Business" category.

The categories for 2008 include:
Special Needs,
Organizational/Business,
E-Commerce,
Secondary Schools,
Colleges/Universities,
UAE Nationals, and
Mobile Application, which is a new category for this year's Challenge.

Best Student and Best Teacher Awards will be given in the Secondary Schools, Colleges/Universities and UAE Nationals categories.

Best Project Awards will be given in the other categories.

"The Abu Dhabi Women's College of HCT is proud to launch the 2008 UAE Educational IT Challenge," said Dr. Bradley Cook, Director of ADWC.

"This event showcases the diversity of talent and ingenuity present throughout the Gulf region, and provides students and educators an opportunity to put their ideas into action and demonstrate their knowledge and skills in the information technology sector."

The previous success of the event has resulted in significant growth and increased capacity since its introduction in 2002. For example, for the first time since its inception, the UAE Educational IT Challenge will include an Academic Conference and a Career Fair.

The Academic Conference will provide an opportunity for students, teachers and other interested participants from the Gulf Region to present and discuss papers on the theme,
"Technology, Education and Culture: Impacting the Future." Topics of discussion will include the role of information communication technology in the classroom, as well as best educational practices.

The UAE Educational IT Challenge Career Fair is a unique opportunity for employers to interact with a large number of students and graduates from institutions across the Middle East. The event will give employers access to a motivated and talented pool of recruits for current and future employment opportunities. Participating organizations will have the opportunity to inform individuals of their company recruitment needs and to assess the potential of prospective applicants. The Career Fair is also an ideal opportunity for students and graduates to network with organizations in order to better understand the current job market and the particular skills required to enter the IT sector.

The innovation partner sponsor for this year's UAE Educational IT Challenge is the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), and the platinum sponsor is Dubai Aluminium (DUBAL). Additional sponsors include the National Bank of Dubai, Synergy Professional Services, Union National Bank, the Higher Colleges of Technology, DELL and the National Bank of Fujairah.