(PAAET) recently signed an agreement with (ITS), a systems integration company in Kuwait, to develop the “Electronic Management System of Student Academic Affairs” project, a product of ITS within its “OneCampus” philosophy of IT solutions that is specialized in private sector higher education.
Benefiting more than 45 thousand students
AL- Rifai: Use of modern technology is among our priorities to deal with modern developmentsAl- Saed : ITS is becoming a strategic partner to the higher education sector in Kuwait
The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET) recently signed an agreement with International Turnkey Systems (ITS), a systems integration company in Kuwait, to develop the “Electronic Management System of Student Academic Affairs” project, a product of ITS within its “OneCampus” philosophy of IT solutions that is specialized in private sector higher education. This system is based on an innovative and unique approach that provides universities and applied institutions with a technically and socially integrated solution along with unmatched services. This is in line with the Authority’s keenness to adopt new technologies to help it achieve its mission and objectives to serve more than 45 thousand students spread over 40 locations throughout the State of Kuwait.
Dr. Yaqoub AL- Rifai, General Manager of PAAET, said “The use of modern technology in all its dimensions has accompanied the successful realization of an educational institution’s goals and has become the basis for success and survival. Therefore, it is a priority for us at The Public Authority for Applied Education and Training to choose modern techniques that achieve such goals, especially since our authority caters to a large number of students distributed among more than 45 locations in Kuwait in four faculties and seven educational institutions. It is a must that we use the best technical support any educational institution can have.
Dr. Al-Rifai added that the need to develop modern techniques used in the educational process, particularly in the applied institutions, requires partnering with professional specialized entities that have made their mark in this field, entities like ITS, whose technical solutions and services signify a quantum leap in educational performance.
Dr. Yaoub AL- Rifai stressed that the use of modern scientific technologies including IT is one of the most important directions of the Authority at this phase as this enables it to deal with the changes and requirements of modern times. In the end this is reflected by the educational process and raising the graduates level of learning to suit the requirements of the labor market.
For his part, Managing Director and General Manager ITS, Mr. Khaled Faraj Al Saeid commented on the agreement, “We are proud to have signed this strategic partnership with the largest educational institution in the State of Kuwait. Applications and solutions provided by ITS are fully compatible with the future plans for PAAET, and are designed to keep pace with its growth to ensure the best level of educational, administrative and technical services. “He also pointed out that ITS succeeded in recent years in providing a range of unique solutions and IT systems that fit the universities and educational institutions operating in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and in the region in general and that fit with the students requirements in the region. This distinguishes ITS from other companies working in the same field.
New technologies have become of vital importance so institutions and universities are keen to invest in this important aspect, hence ITS is utilizing years of experience to meet customers’ requirements in the shortest period of time and with the highest international standard and specifications. ITS’s capacity to implement the “OneCampus” solution in a manner that is consistent with the requirements of our partners ensures the program’s success Al-Saed added.
On the other hand, Deputy General Manager of Academic Affairs at PAAET, Prof. Abdullah Al-Kandari, stated, “This project is only to serve the various educational and training activities of the Authority, in addition to providing all the necessary reports and statistics in a timely manner and to raise the performance of faculty members and training and management staff through the use of advanced technologies that reduce the workload. As explained by Al-Kandari, the project passes through three stages including the development of a unified portal for the Authority, automated registration for colleges, social reward systems, as well as systems for the Ibn al-Haytham in-service training center, student accommodation systems, and smart reports systems. According to Al-Kandari, this project serves a number of colleges, institutes and departments of the Authority and raises the level of performance through the use of the latest information technology and the internet.
The Deputy General Manager for Training Ms. Suad Al-Roomy explained, “It is a happy occasion for us to sign the contract for this project which we hope to gain a lot from in terms of achieving a distinct shift in all aspects of the academic, educational, training and administrative levels, something that we are sure will have a positive impact on the speed and efficiency of work. We hope that the project is implemented according to plan. I am thankful to all those who participated in the preparation of this project and its implementation, and I wish you all success.”
Dr. Ahmed Al Ansari, Dean of Admission and Registration also added that the Deanship of Admission and Registration is always seeking to update and develop its electronic services such as the system of admission, registration, and graduates follow-up. This new electronic management system is in line with our objectives, as it will complete the transition to a fully automated system for acceptance and registration systems in addition to statistics and information systems that will save time and effort and achieve the highest degree of efficiency and accuracy. This system will usher in more features and benefits that will directly affect students, faculty members, the administrative board, and all the beneficiaries of the services provided by the Deanship of Admission and Registration. The Deanship is included in the first operational steps of the first phase of implementation as it is of great importance and urgent need for the largest category of beneficiaries of the total project. “We are thrilled to implement this vital project which will develop electronic services and advance the PAAET to be among the renowned educational institutions and universities thus fulfilling our country’s development plans in the fields of quality education and training.”
Finally Mr. Salim Dallal, director of the Information Technology and Computer Center remarked that this project is one of the most important projects for the Authority and it is among the projects included in the authority’s work program within the government’s development plan. The project provides a qualitative leap in terms of benefiting from modern technology to raise educational standards.
** The student management system through “OneCampus”
Regional Director and Assistant General Manager of ITS, Mr. Khaled Jassem Al-Amiri, remarked that ITS as a national company with a regional presence and global experience is proud to join hands with the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training to implement this huge project in three phases. All the systems together will jointly achieve the objectives of this huge project.
When asked about the most important advantages of this project, Al-Amiri replied, “The systems can be used directly by students and faculty members through the unified portal round-the-clock and throughout the year. This is one of the most important characteristics of the project. The application of self-service systems will raise the competency of the authority’s staff.”
Al-Amiri also added that such systems are suited for integration with many educational systems as e-learning systems, distance learning systems and electronic libraries, integrated with a security system that provides protection and confidentiality of all data. They also allow faculty members and academic advisers to do administrative tasks for example, getting a list of registered students, introducing their grades, and querying for information from the database about each student- all with the possibility of communicating with students via email.