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Qatar University Department Takes Higher Education To New Heights
Published Nov 19, 2009
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One of the Middle East’s leading software professional services firms and a global expert on SharePoint-based education gateways, ITWorx announced today the successful launch of a functionally-rich portal implemented on behalf of the Department of Chemical Engineering of Qatar University (QU). Development of the portal was part of project sponsored by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF).
The Department’s ultimate mission is to produce graduates who will contribute to the Qatari economy and region. To help achieve this mission, faculty members are working to incorporate Inquiry-Guided Learning (IGL) activities into their courses and they wanted a portal that would provide access, for both their students and themselves, to a wide variety of resources to support these IGL activities. They turned to a provider to construct a portal that would deliver a multitude of content and online services. Leveraging Microsoft Office SharePoint (MOSS) 2007 and Office Communicator Server 2007, ITWorx developed a higher education portal that is easy to maintain and update with new dynamic content. The solution provides a simple and consistent user experience and ensures secure control and management of sensitive information to meet ISF regulatory requirements.
“We are very pleased with our new fully-customised portal. Its scalable and secure enterprise platform provides us with the ability to extend our online services and content in the future,” said Dr. Fadwa Eljack at QU Chemical Engineering Department.
“Working with ITWorx professional services team has been an excellent experience, allowing us to capitalise on their experience in higher education and meet our goals and deadlines for launching.”
The portal offers learners, administrators, teaching faculty, alumni, and external experts publishing and interactivity services including a knowledge base repository; collaboration and communication functions like task management, messaging, and surveys; member requests; content publishing and approval; and single sign-on services. Chemical engineering faculty members and project team members from project partners, McMasters University and Texas A&M University, can share the resources they develop and collaborate on new resources.
“In our highest endeavour to deliver an outstanding quality of education, it is critical that we provide our students and professors with the best possible access to educational resources while driving peer collaboration,” said Eljack. “Society is working to ensure our students reach their full potential; we will continually seek solutions that enhance the lives of citizens.”
Magdy El Komy, ITWorx Education Engagement Manager, commented: “We are delighted to have partnered with Qatar University’s Department of Chemical Engineering to develop a portal that will empower college students to maximise their potential as well as equip with them with skills needed in the workplace, now and in the future.”
With the new solution, team sites can be easily requested and created for greater collaboration and knowledge sharing. All users enjoy personalisation features with “My Site” that enables them to manage their experience through a personal workspace; while “Plant Explorer” gives students the opportunity to train on real-life cases in the field.
“Education is a strategic area of focus for ITWorx,” explained Hossam Badr, ITWorx Regional Director – EMEA. “We’ve developed a wide range of innovative solutions for educational institutions using technology to improve collaboration among students and teachers for both higher education and K-12.”
ITWorx is a Microsoft Gold Certified and Strategic Education Partner specialised in providing solutions to ministries of education, local counties, and academic institutions to help realise their e-learning vision. Higher education institutions selecting ITWorx Education offerings include the University of Sharjah in the UAE, Kuwait University, and Sultan Qaboos University in Oman. ITWorx is a worldwide SharePoint expert and a contributor developer to MLG 2005 and its MOSS 2007 Refresh.
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VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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