Tag: Dubai

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Information and Communication Technology Research Conference 2015

ICTRF3I am pleased to announce the 9th UAE Forum on Information and Communication Technology Research 2015 (ICTRF2015) will be held on May 17 at the Dusit Thani Hotel in Abu Dhabi. It is under the Patronage of His Excellency Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, UAE.

It’s organized by Khalifa University (KU), and co-organized by the ETISALAT-BT Innovation Centre (EBTIC) and the United Arab Emirates Advanced Network for Research and Education (ANKABUT).  This conference is near and dear to my heart and I serve on the Steering and Organizing Committee.

The main theme of this year’s forum will be focused on “Towards a Smarter City” which includes sessions on: Smarter City, the goals and targets; Smarter City, the technology challenges and solutions; as well as Smarter City, sustainable impact on citizens lives and culture. The main topics in these sessions will be presented and discussed by prominent invited international speakers followed by a panel discussion. The free forum will be open to academics, researchers, and industry professionals from the fast growing ICT sectors in the UAE and the region.

Speakers include:

  • Mr. Roberto Saracco Director of EIT ICT Labs, Chair of the IEEE Future Direction Committee, Italy
  • Mr. Michael Dixon IBM General Manager, Smarter Cities, USA
  • Dr. Glenn Ricart President, US-Ignite, USA
  • Professor Mischa Dohler Head of the Centre for Telecommunications Research King’s College, University of London, UK
  • Dr. Ng See Kiong SERC Programme Director, Urban Systems Initiative, A*STAR, Singapore
  • Professor Dimitra Simeonidou University of Bristol, UK

The event will begin at 9AM and conclude at 4PM.  I would encourage you to attend so you may hear these outstanding speakers discuss the topic “Towards a Smarter City”. In order to register just click here. I will be attending so if you see me stop and say hello.

In addition, you are invited on May 18-19 The International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Research (ICTRC2015) will be held in conjunction with the forum in Abu Dhabi. It aims to be the forum for scientists, academics, engineers, and industry professionals throughout the World to present their latest research results, ideas, developments, and applications in all areas of Information and Communication Technology.

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A Degree of Illegitimacy

999 article 1 reduced with talk

Edu Alliance in January 2015 began working with media publications to make the public aware of bogus online universities. Many of these groups who are based throughout the world are using social media such as Facebook and Twitter to advertise their “degree programs” The ads are designed to deceive people who want to complete their education quickly.

Stories of these illegal practices have been written about by a leading UAE newspaper The National, Al Fanar, an English/Arabic higher education publication and reprinted in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

We are delighted and honored that in April, 999 published by the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Interior (Editor-in Chief Lt. Colonel Awadh Al Kindi) published a major story called A Degree of Illegitimacy written by Paige Aarhus. We have made this available on a PDF format (click on title of story). We encourage you to read and let us know your reactions and your thoughts on how to shut these groups down. We also ask your assistance by sharing this article on the various social media outlets.