Khalifa University kicks off Major International Education Conference in Abu Dhabi

Khalifa University International Education Conference

Under the patronage of H.E. Eng. Hussain I. Al Hammadi, Minister of Education for the UAE, and organized by Khalifa University and the Etisalat BT Innovation Center (EBTIC), IEEE EDUCON 2016 began today at the Dusit Thani hotel, Abu Dhabi. This innovative conference explores issues and ideas associated with teaching engineering at both the post-secondary level and for K-12.

The first day of the conference was attended by H.E. the Minister of Education, Dr. Tod Laursen, Khalifa University’s President and members of Khalifa University’s senior management.

The conference began with a welcome from Dr. Mohammed Ebrahim Al Mualla, Senior Vice President of Research and Graduate Studies at Khalifa University and Co-Chair for the conference, followed by a keynote address given by Dr. Vincent P. Manno, Provost and Dean of Faculty for F.W. Olin College of Engineering in Boston, USA on “Rethinking Foundational Engineering Education – It Is More Than the Curriculum”, Dr. Tod Laursen, President of Khalifa University, and Dr. Christian M. Stracke, Associate Professor at the Open University of The Netherlands, who will speak about “Open Learning for Smart Education: Open educational policies, strategies and access for all."

There was also a panel discussion on the use of software for mathematical computation featuring panelists from the United States, Italy, India and Spain.

“This international conference will certainly get to the heart of current issues and innovations surrounding engineering education,” said Dr. Arif Sultan Al Hammadi, Khalifa University’s Executive Vice President. “Khalifa University is proud to be involved, as we believe that this conference will have a direct effect on the way science, technology, engineering and mathematics is taught in the UAE.

Science, technology and mathematics is at the heart of all of the goals set by our wise leadership, as innovation and practical know how is how we will build our economy and continue to create a sustainable job market and future for our people. Conferences like this one are vital to the future of our students as UAE industry leaders as they allow us to pioneer creative educational programs that will capture the imagination and talent of the youth.”

He also said: “Khalifa University is committed to education excellence when teaching engineering, and attracting these types of prestigious international conferences and quality speakers in the field of engineering education is how we support the government’s vision to excel in the STEM fields as well as Abu Dhabi and the UAE’s vision for the future.”

The first day of the conference also consisted of paper presentations by academics from around the world. Paper topics included an exploration on overcoming the challenges in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education for grades K-12 by Khalifa University researchers, Sohailah Alyammahi, Rachad Zaki, Hassan Barada, and Yousof Al Hammadi. Other papers focused on designing virtual world educational applications and software aided robotics education.

In addition to the paper presentations, students from Khalifa University’s Entrepreneurship class were on hand to showcase their recent projects. As part of the innovative course, which is designed to teach engineering students about marketing, business, and how to create start-ups, the students were required to come up with an idea for a product, and develop a well-rounded presentation in order to sell their ideas to potential investors.