Zayed University and HCT hold region's first 'IBM ThinkPad University Fly-In' event

The two-day event will be taking place at Zayed University and will start on the 14th of December.

The 'ThinkPad University Fly-In', an event addressing higher education institutions exploring the integration of mobile computing into their learning processes, will show how Zayed University, Dubai Women's College (HCT) and other universities from North America have addressed the challenges of today's rapidly changing education environment. These institutions are members of IBM's global ThinkPad University programme which enables them to enhance their teaching, learning and administrative capabilities by applying the latest technologies to the instructional processes, including the adoption of mobile computing using IBM ThinkPad notebooks.

"In holding this event, we want to create an enhanced learning environment across the region where our students are involved in the process, where learning occurs at any time and any place, and where there is greater interaction between the students and the faculties. It isn't simply the case of embracing technology for technology's sake, but we are promoting the development of independent learners," said Dr Hanif al Qassimi, Vice President of Zayed University. "We strongly encourage other institutions in this region to adopt similar initiatives that can help them achieve what we have been able to achieve so far and prepare our students for the workforce of the future."

The 'ThinkPad University Fly-In' event will offer presentations from a variety of school executives, academic faculty members, senior managers, consultants and students addressing the changes taking place in the regional educational environment. The speakers will look at how institutions in this region can start, manage and develop mobile computing initiatives, use information technology to enhance their teaching practices, and where technology lies in the future educational environment.

"We have been working closely with IBM and their ThinkPad University programme from the early stages when Dubai Women's College (DWC) started to incorporate notebooks into their students' study tools. Next year, all DWC students will be using IBM ThinkPad notebooks in their course work," said Dr. Reed, HCT. "Not only does this put the students at the forefront of modern business technology, but we are also building a highly skilled workforce to meet the demands of the digital economy."

The event will also cover issues on security, availability and mobility and discuss some of the effective solutions that have been deployed or are under deployment by top tier universities such as the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University-Acadia, Nova Scotia.

"This event will be a great opportunity to address our region's higher education institutions and teach them how to best progress towards their educational objectives in a cost-effective and timely way so that they can benefit from a highly functioning e-learning environment that will prepare their students in meeting the new demands of our information-rich and technology-driven work environment," said Sameh Farid, regional manager, personal systems group, IBM Middle East.

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