GITEX eLearning workshop showcases regional best practices

Cairo, 14 October 2008: An eLearning workshop being hosted by Egypt's Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) in conjunction with ITWorx at GITEX will call for a change in mindset of school administrators to give greater impetus to the adoption of eLearning techniques.

According to ITIDA, strengthening the eLearning bond between teachers and parents is a pre-condition to the successful implementation and faster rollout of eLearning for students.

"eLearning is not just for students," says Dr. Hazem Abdelazim, CEO ITIDA. "School administrators have to embrace e-processes in the 'back office' of schools and engage parents in the eLearning experience for it to be really effective.

"Many teachers and pupils across the Middle East realize the benefits of eLearning across all curriculum subjects through collaborative resource sharing and adopting pedagogical practices to prepare students for the new knowledge based economy. 

"Now is the time to engage parents as part of the eLearning process and that requires a change of mindset among school administrators and guardians."

ITIDA has assembled an impressive panel of experienced eLearning practitioners, including Dr. John Zook who is a special advisor to the UAE Ministry of Education, and Wael Amin, CEO of ITWorx, the Egyptian professional IT services firm that is a global training centre for the Microsoft Learning Gateway (MLG) solution.

Dr. Hazem Abdelazim continued:  "This workshop will show that it's not a case of 'whether' but 'when' to introduce eLearning solutions to better prepare students for the future and involve parents in the learning process, too.  This workshop will be highly topical and relevant."

Identified by the Yankee Group as a global outsourcing hotspot because of its abundance of multilingual and technical graduates, Egypt's software development sector is helping to set international standards in eLearning.         

The ITIDA eLearning workshop will take place at 10am on Wednesday 22nd October at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Center (DICEC)

GITEX TECHNOLOGY WEEK, Hall 3, Stand 310.

To secure a place, please register on the 'Egypt-On' ITIDA stand in Hall 2, Stand F2-20.

-Ends-

About ITIDA
The Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) is a governmental entity affiliated to Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. It is responsible for growing and developing Egypt's position as a leading global outsourcing location by attracting foreign direct investment to the industry and maximizing the exports of IT services and applications.

Located in the heart of the modern business environment at Smart Village, the six hundred acre business park on the outskirts of Cairo, ITIDA is a self sustainable entity that drives the IT industry in Egypt and raises awareness among the Egyptian people of the benefits and use of ICT to advance socio-economic welfare of the whole community.

About ITWorx
ITWorx is a global software professional services organization. Headquartered in Egypt, the company offers portals, business intelligence, SOA, and application development outsourcing services to Global 2000 companies. With +700 professionals, ITWorx serves governments, financial services firms, educational institutions, telecommunication operators, and media companies in North America and EMEA. ITWorx is ISO 9001:2000 and CMMI Level 3 certified and a partner with world-leading technology vendors: Oracle (BEA Systems), Vignette, IBM, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, and Informatica.

ITWorx references include ictQatar, UAE Ministry of Education, Saudi Ministry of Labor, Saudi Ministry of Health, Egyptian Ministry of Investment, Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Arab National Bank, Standish Mellon, du, Vodafone Egypt, MBC, and Rotana. With offices in KSA, UAE, Qatar, and USA, ITWorx employs its onsite and offshore development models to deliver world-class services and solutions augmented with industry best practices in application security, support and maintenance, and testing.

Contact details
Ahmed Reda
Media & Communication Manager
Information Technology Industry Development Agency
T: +202 534 51 85
E: areda@itida.gov.eg

Riham El Adl
Account Manager
Hill & Knowlton
T: +20227365571
M: +20123102388
E: riham.eladl@hillandknowlton.com

© Press Release 2008