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Afraa Al Shamsi:
“ Information is growing at an
exponential rate and in a variety of formats, espe-
cially the digital media. The present age is known
as “the era of Information & communication Tech-
nology�?. it is well recognized that Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) can play a
massive part in the structural growth of a country.
Whether you are a businessman, educator, em-
ployee, innovator, scientist or in any other field of
life, it has become impossible to maintain your
position without the use of ICT. These technolo-
gies have become commonplace entities in all as-
pects of life.
Until recently, this part of the world was seen as
no more than a stretch of sand but thanks to its
sharp vision, the UAE is now appreciated from a
different angle. It has witnessed tremendous
growth in all fields in such a short time span, and
one critical aspect of this change must be at-
tributed to ICT, which has flourished multiple
folds. Currently, the whole of UAE is digitally
connected with the rest of the world and its ICT
infrastructure is considered one of the most ad-
vanced in the Arab World.
The introduction of ICT at UAEU started back in
1976, and since then UAEU has never looked back.
It has achieved significant developments in the
areas of teaching and learning technologies, e-
services, mobile computing, collaboration and
sharing, research, professional development and
infrastructure. From day one, ICT infrastructure
development has been one of the strategic objec-
tives of UAEU management. Most of you will be
surprised to know that the first internet connec-
tivity within UAE and the Gulf region was imple-
mented in UAE University back in the 80s, and
then later on under a contractual agreement the
same line was leased to ISP.
At present, UAEU IT infrastructure covers 20 live
managed sites like Jimi, FMHS, Abu Dhabi, Fala-
jHaza, ISI and etc. We are also connected to the
UAE Research Network Ankabut which has enabled
us to be part of other research networks around
the globe. By the way, to date we are the only
institution that has IPv6 connectivity with Ankabut
and this will be further expanded internally in the
near future. Distance education, complex learning
-management systems and the opportunity to col-
laborate with research partners from around the
world are just some of the transformational bene-
fits that UAE University is reaping.
We are already planning and moving ahead with
the deployment of learning technologies that en-
courage and support interaction. We will continue
to be at the forefront of Information Technology
advancement to offer new solutions to the UAEU
community through process improvement, auto-
mation and effective decision making mecha-
nisms. “
IT Services
Growth at UAEU
Over the last ten years, UAE University (UAEU) has made huge strides, particularly in the ever evolving field
of IT infrastructure and services. To shed light on this journey of growth at UAE University, We asked Afraa
Al Shamsi (CIO), an important player who has been at the heart of it from the beginning, “As one of the few
people who have witnessed and experienced the advancement of IT Services at UAEU, tell us about
where we were, where we are today and where we are heading to?
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10 | Nov 2012 .
THINK IT . UITS NEWSLETTER