Zain demonstrates Cloud Campus online learning service at Mobile World Congress 2013

The demonstration, took place at the Zain booth at Mobile World Congress on February 26, showcasing the various components of the service together with a number of courses for different educational levels, collaboration environments, and academic support.

The courses that will be available through Cloud Campus are grouped in three different categories targeting various age groups as follows:

1- Business skills: More than 150 online sessions covering soft skills areas such as Leadership, Communication, Entrepreneurship, Talent Management, Sales and Marketing, Finance, Global Business, Driving Operations, Self-Development, Strategy, and Innovation. The target is working adults, managers, employees, parents and university students.
2- Languages: More than 600 online lessons, categorized into Kids English, Teens English, General English, and Business English. These lessons follow the Cambridge curriculum, and prepare learners for the various levels of Cambridge exams.
3- School Content: More than 1,200 online lessons, covering all math, sciences and IT topics for grades 4 to 12. These target school students, to support and consolidate what they learn in school.

Zain commenced its collaboration with HBMeU and Global Learning in January 2013, making it the first telecom operator in the Middle East to cooperate with the University in such a manner. HBMeU is a first mover in e-learning in the Arab World, being the first accredited e-learning academic institution by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Global Learning is a specialized company in social, online and mobile learning. With more than 15 years' experience in the Middle East, and a large number of implemented online learning projects, Global Learning brings a wealth of knowhow and expertise in the field.

This innovative Cloud Campus learning platform is the first of its kind in the Middle East and appeals strongly to Zain's corporate social responsibility priorities to support education and learning.

Zain Group CEO, Mr. Scott Gegenheimer said: "Zain Group is pleased to build on the earlier agreement we established with HBMeU, and we believe Cloud Campus will play an instrumental role in raising education levels across the region."

Gegenheimer continued: "This demonstration of the new Cloud Campus service highlights the importance of social media in its ability to influence and to educate. Cloud Campus leverages these abilities in a formalized way, and we expect this initiative to be well-received and adopted across all the markets in which it is introduced."

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMeU, said: "Our partnership with Zain is in line with our commitment to constantly strive to enhance our core offerings by taking advantage of innovative learning applications and popular online platforms to cater to a much wider range of target audiences. The launch of Cloud Campus at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona enabled us to optimally demonstrate how this online learning service has opened exciting opportunities to offer more compelling and customized solutions to learners across the region. Looking ahead, we will continue to leverage the latest advances in technology and HBMeU's strategic relations with other key organisations such as Zain and Global Learning to further reinforce the university's position as a leader in e-Learning in the Arab World."

Starting with Zain customers in Kuwait, any user can register to Cloud Campus either by sending an SMS, or online. In both cases, the monthly subscription fee will be charged to his mobile number.

All Zain customers will be given a free month subscription to try the application and the courses, after which they can decide to stay or unsubscribe. Zain expects to make the service available in Kuwait in April, with other group companies following in due course.

High-level representatives from Zain, HBMeU, and Global Learning, including Scott Gegenheimer, Zain Group CEO, HBMeU Chancellor, Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, HBMeU Assistant Chancellor and Director of IT, Dr. Raed Al Awdeh, and Global Learning Vice Chairman, Paul Zalloua, were present at the demonstration of Cloud Campus at Mobile World Congress.