Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to the 29th issue of KICconnect. 

I am optimistic and hopeful for 2021, as we leave behind what has been a difficult year for all of us.    

This year I am proud of how KIC was able to pivot to face the challenges of going online whilst at the same time introducing health and safety measures at both our Al Ain and Abu Dhabi campuses to protect our students and staff against the COVID-19 pandemic. Our rapid response, the effectiveness of our measures, and the support and guidance of the Ministry of Education in the UAE has made me realize the importance of being agile in the face of major challenges. I am confident that KIC is equipped and able to face any future challenges.

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at KIC.  Our Board of Trustees, the Senior Leadership Team, our Faculty, Staff, and of course, our wonderful students for all the hard work, continuous effort, and energy needed to complete the learning, teaching, and management of the College.

We are striving to improve the student learning journey at KIC, and an important tool in that process is collecting feedback from students on their college experience.  As part of our digital transformation this year, the IQEA team has launched a set of student evaluation surveys using the Blue Explorance platform.  The responses will be used to continually improve the quality of our courses and services at KIC.

I was pleased to join with other international university and college participants at a symposium last week on "The Online Teaching, Learning, and Assessment of Interdisciplinary, Practical Project-Based and Design Studio Courses," where I represented KIC by sharing with them the  KIC experience about transitioning to Online Education in the UAE.

This winter break period offers a much needed rest for everyone and I hope that you are all able to have some rest and relaxation during this time.   

I wish you all the Season’s Greetings and my Best Wishes for a happy and healthy new year.

Stay safe, Stay well.

Dr Assem Al-Hajj

KIC President, Dr. Assem Al-Hajj, participated in a symposium on "The Online Teaching, Learning, and Assessment of Interdisciplinary, Practical Project-Based and Design Studio Courses," where he presented an evaluation of the factors impacting the transition to Online Education of higher education institutions in the Gulf region.

The evaluation was based on KIC's swift digital transformation. Dr. Al-Hajj showcased factors that impacted the transition to Online Education and highlighted the learned lessons in addition to the future state of thinking.

The President noted several factors that stimulated digital transformation. Regulatory authorities, technology & infrastructure, policies, resources availability, stakeholders' response, leadership and clarity of goals, and of course the pandemic, were the major catalysts of change. 

Khawarizmi International College addressed and capitalized upon these factors to introduce alternative learning platforms that would keep its students on their academic track.

Dr. Al-Hajj highlighted the college's investments in learning management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, and other critical IT infrastructure that enabled the digitalization of the related processes.

Evidently, the success of these investments was pointed out by the positive results of the reports pertaining to student satisfaction, face-to-face hours, and attendance, in addition to other supportive figures. 

Based on the findings and their analysis, Dr. Al-Hajj highlighted the most important lessons that would enable HEIs' optimal response to a volatile environment. Teamwork is a key to success, as is the acceptance of new realities.

Higher education institutions must be quick in accepting the change and adapt to the new normal. According to the KIC President, automating processes, faculty development for E-Learning, designing and developing online courses, are critical.

KIC Business Department hosted its annual ‘Meet the Entrepreneur’ event to discuss innovative ideas and contemporary entrepreneurship, aiming to enhance students’ understanding of being a successful entrepreneur.

The event is a platform that allows KIC business students to hone their innovative thinking and entrepreneurship skills. In addition to presenting their business startups and learn from one another, this year several panel speakers participated in the event to share their knowledge related to entrepreneurship and sustainability. Future entrepreneurs also got the chance to participate in an interactive conversation with KIC alumni, who successfully launched and expanded their startups.

Prior to students’ presentation, the webinar participants learned about the qualities of successful entrepreneurs and the importance of sustainability. Dr. Abed Baidas, Group Chairman and CEO Identity Branding Forum, stressed the importance of having an agile mindset and a people-driven approach as key to being a successful entrepreneur. Ms. Aisha Al Mazroui, Project Manager at Sustainable Campus Initiative, EAD, highlighted the importance of environmental sustainability in the business operations and highlighted how these operations are kept in check by her organization.

Dr Yasser Bentahar, Assistant Professor and the lead of AACSB accreditation teaching effectiveness unit - HCT and Co-founder of the American Centre of Training and Coaching, enlightened the KIC's aspiring entrepreneurs on applying Design Thinking in entrepreneurial problem-solving.

The panel speakers also acted as judges to the projects introduced by KIC entrepreneurs, by giving valuable feedback and ideas on how their proposals can be optimized, based on industry best practices.

The event attracted more than 125 guests. Click here to watch the full webinar.

KIC Emergency Medical Care students attended a workshop on obstetric emergencies, organized by Danat Al Emarat Hospital.

The workshop aimed to familiarize the students with obstetric emergencies. Obstetric emergencies are sometimes life-threatening for pregnant women and their babies. In order to prepare the EMC students to deal with these emergencies, the workshop covered topics like normal delivery, vaginal breech delivery, eclampsia, sepsis, and obstetric hemorrhage.

KIC IT Department hosted a workshop that aimed to familiarize the students with the concepts of AI, image processing, and machine learning using Python.

Led by Dr. Samar Mouti, Assistant Professor, IT Department, and Mr. Samer Rihawi, Lecturer, IT Department, presented definitions, applications, branches, and history of artificial intelligence. They also explained the concepts of  Image processing using Neural networks and machine learning using Google’s Teachable Machine, in addition to building face detection, speech synthesizer, and speech recognizer applications using Python.

Muḥammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi,  was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, and scholar in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. The House of Wisdom was the birthplace of transformative mathematical concepts and the hub for the brightest scholars,

Earlier this month, BBC has featured an article covering this prestigious Islamic library, and its implications to the world. Dated to the 8th century, the House of Wisdom was initially founded as a private collection for caliph Harun Al-Rashid. Almost three decades later, it was transformed into an academy that hosted scientists from all over the world. Little is known about the House of Wisdom as it was destroyed in the Mongol Siege of Baghdad, during the 13th century.

Click here to read the full article.