The American University of Bahrain has signed a cooperation agreement with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ‘ICANN’, the global organization responsible for coordinating the Internet’s unique identifiers worldwide.

The agreement aims to introduce specialized programs for faculty members in the College of Engineering and Computing, focusing on the Universal Acceptance (UA) Academic Curriculum. This addresses system compatibility with domain names and email addresses across different languages. As part of the agreement, ICANN will provide supporting educational and technical materials that enhance faculty members’ skills and deepen their understanding of the curriculum.

The Universal Acceptance curriculum seeks to equip students with diverse knowledge and skill sets that enable them to develop high quality software systems and web applications that support the use of Unicode encoding and the technologies it enables, including internationalized domain names and email addresses in all languages.

The agreement also provides opportunities for final year students to undertake graduation projects, with ICANN supervising and evaluating these projects. This is expected to enhance the quality of academic outcomes and strengthen their connection to real world applications within the global Internet ecosystem. In addition, ICANN will facilitate the participation of students in various conferences, competitions, training programs, and workshops.

It is worth noting that a recent AUBH graduate, Yousif Alatawi, has completed a 6-month internship with ICANN, where he was involved in creating materials and tools related to the UA curriculum. This reflects the depth and quality of the practical learning experiences gained by students through training at ICANN.

Commenting on the partnership, Dr. Marwan Hameed, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computing at the American University of Bahrain, said: “We are proud to sign this agreement with ICANN, which represents a significant milestone in the University’s journey towards strengthening its position as a leading academic institution in the fields of computing and advanced digital technologies. This collaboration reflects our ongoing approach to delivering high quality education based on the latest global standards and linking theoretical knowledge with practical application. Integrating the Universal Acceptance curriculum into our programs enhances the readiness of our graduates to keep pace with the rapid transformations in the Internet and technology landscape, while opening wider opportunities for them to contribute to the development of innovative digital solutions that serve communities at the local and regional levels.”

“The American University of Bahrain’s decision to offer the Universal Acceptance curriculum underscores their commitment to empowering students with the knowledge and practical skills that are aligned with fast-paced and globally relevant multilingual technology advancements,” said Dr. Sarmad Hussain, senior director of Universal Acceptance and Internationalized Domain Name programs for ICANN. “It is a pleasure to collaborate with the motivated staff and enthusiastic students of the university.”

Notably, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in Bahrain facilitated this collaboration with ICANN as the registry operator for the .bh ccTLD and the IDN “Bahrain.” TRA Bahrain has consistently demonstrated a strong commitment in supporting digital development, promoting a multilingual internet and supporting youth development by enhancing the skills needed for the future digital market.