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INDUSTRY WATCH
THIS PROJECT AIMS
TO PREPARE UAE’S
GENERATIONS BUILD
THE FUTURE IN THE BEST
POSSIBLE WAY.
aimed at discovering national skills and
competencies in the ICT field, and then
developing and refining them to meet the
needs of establishing the knowledge
based economy.”
HE Marwan Al-Sawaleh, Undersecretary
of the Ministry of Education for Academic
Affairs for General Education, said that the
ministry is constantly seeking to expand
its partnerships with all public and private
sector entities, in order to contribute to the
implementation of the ministry’s plans
and policies aimed at enabling students at
different ages to understand the language
of their era, through providing them with
high-level conceptual, intellectual, and
academic skills that achieve the concept of
optimal investment in future generations as
a preparation to transition to a sustainable
and knowledge-based economy.
HE Al-Sawaleh added that the project ‘Our
Future’, launched by TRA in co-operation
with the MOE, integrates with the ministry’s
continuous efforts to encourage students
to discover their future directions and
aspirations with regards to the future careers
and jobs they wish to occupy.
He indicated that the ministry organises a
series of programmes and events throughout
the academic year in order to raise students’
awareness on the importance of selecting
the best courses in the university stage, as
well as the consequent job opportunities and
occupations that meet the future aspirations
and ambitious plans of the country.
Nikitas Glykas, President of HTC Middle
East Africa, said: “We are thrilled to be
collaborating with the TRA and Ministry
of Education on this revolutionary
programme to support students identifying
their future profession.
“HTC Vive is a first-of-its-kind VR platform
built and optimised for room-scale
experiences and true-to-life interactions.
We are amazed by the endorsement of
VR and Vive by the UAE governmental
institutions as a crucial tool in tutorial and
training programmes like ‘Our Future.’ HTC
is committed to delivering these experiences
to students in the UAE and pushing the
boundaries of what VR can deliver to the
world of education.” n
90
INTELLIGENTCIO
G
lobal cybersecurity company,
Kaspersky Lab, in partnership with
Active Education, has embarked
on a series of interactive cybersecurity
performances at selected schools in
Dubai – aimed at driving awareness
around online safety.
The lessons, aimed at children aged eight
to 13, cover key threats that children
are vulnerable to online. This includes
cyberbullying, how to behave safely on
social media, and the general rules of
online safety.
Alex Tate, Assistant Head of Secondary
at the Horizon International School,
has commented on a lesson held at his
school: “We believe that educational and
engaging performances help to address
the key issues faced by young people, and
we are thankful that our school is taking
part in this initiative. We are sure that our
pupils took something key away from the
performance they saw, and that they will
truly ‘THINK’ next time they’re online.”
According to Kaspersky Lab data, 80%
of children in the Middle East are mostly
interested in Internet communication
media (social media). Almost the same
percentage goes for the children in the
UAE, showing very strong social media
presence of young residents of the Gulf.
The second most popular online content
among kids (about 7%) falls under
the category of ‘software, audio and
video’ and mostly refers to video sharing
websites; therefore, children are prone
to all the threats associated with these
online platforms.
Faisal Mohammed AlShimmari, Emirati
child protection activist, said: “Online
safety for children and raising awareness
on identifying and responding to online
threats is a key focus area of the UAE
leadership. Through initiatives such
as the newly-launched Emirates Child
Protection Association, the UAE is taking
a global leadership role in identifying and
addressing new threats facing children,
and working in partnership with global
experts to mitigate these risks. On the
occasion of Universal Children’s day,
www.intelligentcio.com