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Empowerment 'is key for excellence'

Manama, February 24, 2009

Empowerment of students is the key for excellence in performance in higher education, according to a leading Bahrain educationist.

The process of empowering students involves everything in the university – teachers, students, administration and staff-managers, said Professor Abdulla Al-Hawaj, president, Ahlia University.

“All of them must perform qualitatively and aim to achieve excellence which is everyone’s responsibility.”

Prof Al-Hawaj was speaking at an executive meeting organized by Ahlia University in collaboration with SunGard Higher Education, a global provider of IT solutions for colleges and universities.

The event, ‘Performance Matters in Higher Education,’ was convened yesterday (February 23) under the patronage of Dr Majid Al-Nuaimi, Minister of Higher Education in Bahrain. More than 100 educationists attended the conference.

Creating a dynamic environment for students to excel should be the objective of education institutions, continued Prof Al-Hawaj.

“Students must be able to think without fear; create without constraint; laugh without admonition; care deeply about their values; contribute to their community and be highly respected future citizens of their country,” said Prof Al-Hawaj.

Later addressing a press conference, Prof Al-Hawaj said Bahrain aims to become a centre of excellence in education. And to achieve this, it’s important that we provide added value and create institutions of repute, he said.

Mathew Boice, general manager, Middle East, SunGard Higher Education said: “High expectations for performance and productivity are transforming how colleges and universities define and measure success. While there are common themes in the mission of many institutions about quality and student success, how institutions pursue and support their own mission has become increasingly complex. To meet the benchmarks for quality assurance assessment, decision makers in universities and colleges require timely and accurate information to identify trends, forecast outcomes, evaluate options, and take the actions necessary to achieve their objectives.”

Boice said SunGard’s solutions are being used by more than 1,600 institutions all over the world and about 50 of them are in the Gulf region. More regional institutions, including some in Bahrain, are showing interest in SunGard’s products, he said.

“Our solutions help to organize processes and use of resources,” said Boice. Institutions in the region can also learn from experiences of others in various parts of the world who have used SunGard’s solutions, he added.  – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: empowerment | Ahlia university | SunGard |

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