Held at HCT-Dubai, Women's Campus
DUBAI - -The Higher Colleges of Technology-Dubai (HCT-Dubai) hosted recently a seminar entitled "HCT-Dubai and Closing the Digital Divide" by Ms. Hital Muraj, Corporate Affairs Manager, Cisco Systems - East Africa.
The seminar was about the "Digital Divide" which refers to the gap between those countries who can benefit from digital technology and those who cannot. Ms. Muraj covered the importance of "Closing the Digital Divide" which means more than just giving the poor the same technologies already received by the rich.
As examples of closing the digital divide, Ms. Muraj went over the 2 projects that the Computer and Information Science (CIS) students at HCT-Dubai- Women's Campus implemented in collaboration with CISCO Kenya to narrow the digital divide by identifying 2 schools in Nairobi and Mombasa in Kenya and built fully equipped Networking labs for the Kenyan students. The main goal of the projects were also to provide the students with an international work experience to practice the "Learning by doing" approach, to enhance their technical and professional skills, to interact with different people from different nationalities, and to build their confidence and their ability to work as a team.
Ms. Muraj is a highly recognized lady from Kenya who is committed to address the digital divide, and create opportunities to develop humans in underserved communities as equal partners in the development and usage of Information Technology.
Dr. Nasser Nassiri, Chair of Computer and Information Science program at HCT-Dubai, Women's Campus, said "The talk was highly interesting and the trips to Kenya provided the students with international work experiences in an authentic working environment where they practiced the Learning by Doing approach"
Zahoor Butt, IT Network Engineering Faculty, who accompanied the students on these international work experience trips, said " I am overwhelmed by the efforts of these young women. The project's impact on student learning was clear immediately. We've opened up the internet world to the underserved African students. We would like to continue to provide learning-by-doing related project opportunities for our students in near future."
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About HCT-Dubai, Women's Campus
The Higher Colleges of Technology - Dubai, Women's Campus, (HCT-Dubai), with more than 2,200 students, and over 4000 working graduates, is part of the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT). The HCT is one of the leading higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates with 17 campuses located throughout the country delivering a wide range of quality programs to over 18,000 students. HCT-Dubai, Women's Campus, was established in 1989 and offers Bachelor and Diploma degrees in Business, Information Technology, Education, Health Sciences, and Applied Communications. Today, DWC is the quality provider of top-quality National women graduates in Dubai. DWC's mission is to provide a learning environment for young women to "Practice the Future" by developing confidence, professional excellence and an ethical commitment to leadership roles in a rapidly developing local economy.
For more information, please contact
Abrar Mikkawi
Media and Marketing Coordinator
Dubai Women's College/Higher Colleges of Technology
Tel: 04-208-9269
Fax: 04-267-3939
Email:abrar.mikkawi@hct.ac.ae
© Press Release 2013
