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Ammar Enaya, GM of Aruba Networks Middle East

19pc students spend five hours online daily

DUBAI, October 23, 2014

Many students would prefer to give up coffee, TV and eating out before their precious smartphones, according to a recent Aruba Networks report.

The ‘Building the #GenMobile Campus’ report found that nearly a fifth of these students (19 per cent) spend more than five hours online daily, preferring WiFi connections over any other such as 3G or 4G.

The study questioned nearly 1,500 students across the globe including UAE and Saudi Arabia, the two biggest IT markets in the Middle East.

Nearly 65 per cent of today’s students own three or more connected devices, often use more than five apps at any one time and regularly reject traditional lecture-hall based learning for digital working across campus - whenever it works for them, it said.

About half even said they preferred to work ‘outside of normal school hours’, stating they worked more efficiently.

The lecture hall is currently going digital with 44 per cent using mobile devices to take notes in lectures, while seven in ten (71 per cent) are using these devices to access college emails.

Aruba Networks said universities today are realising the advantages of using mobile technologies, for both students and lecturers, understanding that they allow for a diversification and evolvement in - often historic - teaching methods, which in turn offers flexibility to accommodate different styles of student learning.

Ammar Enaya, general manager of Aruba Networks Middle East, said: “In any university or college, being connected and mobile is now an essential part of life - both for work and play. It’s a central behaviour of the generation we’re calling #GenMobile.

“However, all this new tech does have a knock on effect on the IT department and it’s really time for universities to prepare themselves for the #GenMobile Campus. The reality is IT pros in universities are under more pressure than ever to determine the best way to manage the security and reliability of all these devices entering the network and ensure that the bandwidth they’re enabling is up to speed, all while keeping costs down.”

To help IT pros in the education sector, Aruba has developed some advice to universities on how to deal with this new generation of digitally native, super-connected student, said the report.

It includes a network that says yes to any device, any app, anytime, anywhere on campus; space for work and play - from streaming lectures online to multiplayer gaming; a campus built around individual requirements by listening to feedback on how experiences could be improved and accommodate them; and tailored content and services based on who the student is, where they are and what applications they are using.

Meanwhile, to prepare students for the latest mobility requirements, Aruba has launched the first mobility-specific higher education programme, providing future IT leaders with the tools to support #GenMobile.

The new Aruba Mobility Academy will provide students with the fundamentals required to build, maintain and advance wireless LAN networks, in unique, for credit semester-long courses that can be directly integrated into higher education programmes.

The programme will cover how to set up and configure a wireless LAN; the basics of wireless LAN solutions, including 802.11 WiFi standards, network mobility architecture, and wireless LAN configuration; and common bring ur own device (BYOD) networking challenges.

 In the Middle East, it is currently available at Princess Sumaya University in Jordan and Aruba is in collaboration discussions with several other prestigious regional universities. - TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Students | Aruba | Smartphone | Campus | Genmobile |

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