Successful edition features 319 research papers and 23 presentations from 49 countries
Mansoor Al Awar: “Innovation Arabia 10 has succeeded in laying the foundation for developing sustainable economies in the Arab World”
UAE, March 8, 2017 – Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) has concluded the 10th edition of the Innovation Arabia congress under the theme ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Engines of Sustainability’ which was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of the university. The event made significant progress in developing a clear roadmap for taking advantage of the previous successes of the Arab World. It harnessed existing potentials and paved the way for unleashing and accelerating knowledge transformation, strengthening the culture of entrepreneurship, upholding environmental protection, and advancing education and health in line with the requirements of the digital age. The conference was attended by high-level international decision-makers, policy-makers, senior government officials, experts and leaders from the educational, environmental, health and economic fields.
The final day saw the University’s women leaders been honored by Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Dr. Awar emphasized the significant and effective roles that women play in achieving continuous success at the local, regional and international levels. He expressed appreciation for the efforts and contributions made by women leaders in HBMSU which he said have been integral to the University’s ongoing path to excellence as the University of Choice in the whole Arab World and its string of international achievements in the fields of smart and distance learning.
Innovation Arabia 10 provided a strategic platform for establishing strong foundations for stimulating creative energies and optimally employing research potentials to facilitate the transformation of Arab economies to rely heavily on knowledge and innovation. It also supported the achievement of the region’s sustainable economic and social development goals. Research papers met expectations, with the unique conference witnessing the broad participation of masters and doctoral learners from 49 countries to find out the results of 319 research papers and 23 poster presentations.
The 142 research papers presented during the Quality and Business Management Conference themed ‘Unleashing Innovation, Empowering Entrepreneurship’ focused on procedures for developing corporate governance policies and frameworks designed to empower entrepreneurship and nurture innovation according to four main themes: ‘Business, Management and Entrepreneurship,’ ‘Quality Management and Sustainability,’ ‘Islamic Banking, Finance,’ and ‘Public Management and Government Service Excellence.’
The Smart Learning Conference held under the theme ‘Build Knowledge Based Communities’ successfully drew the support of prominent researchers in spurring change, innovation and excellence in smart education through 79 research papers that dealt with modern concepts on ‘Unleashing Leaders through the Creation of Knowledge Communities,’ ‘A New Wave of Schools as Knowledge-Building Communities,’ and ‘Smart Learning through Sustaining Knowledge Building.’
The Health and Environment Conference centering on ‘Changing Minds, Protecting the Environment,’ on the other hand, gathered high-level participants involved in health and the environment who reviewed leading experiments and new knowledge for addressing health and environmental challenges to achieve a better quality of life in the Arab World through 98 research papers.
The annual congress also honored winning research papers during the simultaneous conferences. Dr. David Cropley from the University of South Australia won for Best Research Paper on the sidelines of the Quality and Business Management Conference for his work on ‘Individual Creativity: Four Building Blocks of Innovation & Entrepreneurship. Amal Hussein from HBMSU received the same award during the Health and Environment Conference for her distinguished research paper on ‘Impact of Traffic Congestion on Drivers Commuting Between Sharjah and Dubai Emirates.’ The paper entitled ‘The Impact of Interface Characteristics on the Intention to Use Mobile Digital Library Technology’ co-prepared by Sumayyah Al Faresi from the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait and Kate Hone from Brunel University in the UK was chosen as the Best Research Paper during the Smart Learning Conference.
Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, said: “Once again, Innovation Arabia has succeeded in laying the foundation for developing innovative solutions for driving the development of sustainable economies in the Arab World. It provided an appropriate environment for stimulating innovation and directing creativity to facilitate the transformation to knowledge-based economies capable of keeping pace with the rapid changes characterizing the 21st century.”
“The success of the Congress is in line with the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of HBMSU. We are proud of the achievements of Innovation Arabia, particularly in terms of developing creative ideas for supporting the overall goal of education in the post-2015 development plan, namely ‘Ensure equitable and inclusive quality education and lifelong learning for all by 2030.’ This objective complements the global educational targets set by the UNESCO and intersects with our aspirations to bring about a knowledge revolution via the region’s improved ability to bring about sustainable development,” he added.
Al Awar concluded: “At Innovation Arabia, we focused on the theme of ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Engines of Sustainability’ in order to highlight the increasing need to achieve sustainability via global models that combine innovation, entrepreneurship and economic sectors affecting the present and future of the Arab World – particularly education, health, the environment, and entrepreneurship. We are confident that Innovation Arabia will continue to make us proud and cement its pivotal role as the first and leading platform in the Middle East that anticipates the future of education, business, the environment, healthcare and Islamic banking and finance, in line with the objectives of UAE Vision 2021 and the targets of Dubai Plan 2021.”
The second and third days of the Quality and Business Management Conference included extensive discussions headed by Dr. Tarek Abdel Fattah, Assistant Professor of HBMSU’s School of Business and Quality Management. Among the senior speakers were by Dr. Timothy Mascon, Senior Vice President and Chief Officer for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) of AACSB International, who discussed ‘United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): The Critical Interface between Business Schools and Business,’ and Dr. Ahmed Al-Nuseirat, who provided a comprehensive vision of ‘The Fourth Generation of Government Excellence in Dubai – A New Approach.’
The conference agenda concluded with a discussion of the main components for achieving success and excellence in the business community, highlighting the ability to anticipate the future based on economic, technological, social, demographic and environmental factors. Training workshops were conducted over the course of three days under the theme ‘Planning by Scenarios – Shaping the Future.’
The outstandingly organized Smart Learning Conference was moderated by Dr. Khadeegha Al Zouebi, Assistant Professor of HBMSU’s School of e-Education. It featured two keynote speakers: Gard Titlestad, Secretary-General of the International Council for Distance Education, who spoke about ‘Learning – Now is the Future,’ and Steven Duggan, Board Member of the UNESCO Institute for Education Information Technology, who presented innovative strategies for ‘Bridging the Next Digital Divide’. The training workshop on ‘Empowering Technology Tools for Education’ was commended for providing an important opportunity to learn more about advanced technologies for improving the learning process by focusing on the skills required for achieving success in the Age of Knowledge.
Dr. Moetaz El Sergany, Environmental Studies Department Chair of HBMSU’s School of Health and Environmental Studies, led the second and third days of the Health and Environment Conference. Professor Hillary Godwin discussed the topic of ‘How can we design and effectively implement programs and policies that benefit both people and the environment?.’ Eng. Aisha Al Abdooli, on the other hand, talked about ‘Glimpse at the Innovation Journey in Ministry of Climate Change and Environment’.
The Congress included a program for improving corporate performance through innovation in designing corporate social responsibility and sustainability programs. It was presented via a workshop on ‘Innovation in Social Responsibility and Sustainability’ which highlighted distinctive corporate experiments in the application of social responsibility and innovation.
]]>
Gamers in India can win exciting prizes such as Honda City car, Harley Davidson motorcycle, international holiday packages, MacBooks and laptops, mobile phones, online deal vouchers and other goodies by solving a new quiz every 15 minutes
Mobile phone gaming is set to transform your experience like never before. TicTok Games has launched India’s first trivia gaming app that gives users a chance to win big-ticket prizes beyond imagination, including Honda City car, Harley Davidson motorcycle, iPhone 7 and many more exciting goodies. Users living anywhere in India (except Assam and Orissa[1]) can download the TicTok App on Android or iOS platform and register using their email id, Google Plus or Facebook account. They can play the quizzes and win as many prizes as possible by paying a nominal subscription fee of Rs.500 (about $7) per month. The platform also allows a three-day trial period initially where the users can familiarize themselves with the intuitive interface and make the most of every minute of their paid monthly subscription.
Each quiz offers a particular prize displayed on the screen, lasts for 15 minutes and includes five-six trivia questions. Right after the quiz period expires, the gamer giving all correct answers in the minimum possible time is declared as the winner. Users get to reach higher levels and play for bigger and bigger rewards by continuing to give correct answers for various quizzes at each level. These ‘Levels’ can be redeemed anytime by paying a nominal price, typically 3% of the MRP of any product, to claim the reward.
This unique platform is the brainchild of Chanchal Kurele, Paavan Nanda and Saumya Singh. Chanchal Kurele has been a Director of V3S Infratech Ltd since 2007 and has launched numerous projects of multi-specialty hospitals, commercial offices, hotels, and residential housing complexes. Paavan Nanda is an alumni of IIM Calcutta known for having co-founded Zostel and Zo Rooms. Saumya Singh had been a core team member of Zo Rooms and earlier spearheaded the launch of multiple channels including Romedy Now, Movies Now and ET Now while working for Bennett Coleman & Co.
Paavan Nanda, Founding Partner of TicTok Games, says, “We are excited to launch TicTok as India’s first mobile gaming app that gives users a chance to win unimaginable prizes from the real world just by playing games in the virtual world. India is poised to become one of the leading markets in the gaming sector. Our main idea behind launching TicTok Games is to provide a platform that offers a combination of entertainment and knowledge while helping them realize their dreams. It will appeal to the youth as well as the rest of the population alike. We are targeting to achieve 150,000-200,000 app installs in the first month.”
In addition to Honda City, iPhone 7 etc., some of the other prizes that users will stand to win include Bose Speakers, Philips headsets and speaker systems, Bluetooth speakers, Fitbit, Amazon Kindle Reader, iPad, PlayStation, Xbox, power banks, mobile phones from Samsung, Motorola, Micromax and other brands, as well as deal vouchers for Beer Café, Big Bazaar, Myntra, Shoppers Stop, UCB, MakeMyTrip etc. TicTok will also offer surprise prizes from time to time.
About TicTok Games
Tictok is a trivia gaming platform which helps gamers win goodies and deals every few minutes of the day. Users need to answer simple interest based questions to win exciting prizes with the help of their knowledge. In each challenge, the fastest to finish wins, but even if certain users are not the fastest, they can earn levels and redeem their levels for exciting prizes.
[1] Unlike other states, Assam and Orissa prohibit even games of skill where money stakes are involved.
]]>
The British Council digital library has included a range of new online products like e-learning modules for self-development, comics for all ages and audiobooks for listening enthusiasts.
The online learning modules Atomic training provide opportunity to train on Microsoft skills, soft skills, programming aspects on certain software’s like Photoshop, Adobe etc.
OneClick digital has more than 1000 unabridged audiobooks including Dr Who, Classics, Plays & Poetry and even Self Help.
Comic Plus – 7,000 graphic novels, comics and manga for kids from over 80 publishers catering to every age group and interest
The enhanced offer comes with 13 month validity on the membership if registered on or before 30 June.
The online library features also include:
- IndieFlix – Thousands of award-winning independent movies, short feature films and documentaries from all over the world are available. Members have unlimited access to thousands of free streaming film-festival hits.
- Zinio – A collection of international digital magazines with the same great articles, photos, and ads as the print version, but packed with the power and convenience of the digital form. Each issue is delivered to the desktop, for the reader to enjoy anytime, anywhere.
- Ebrary – More than 120,000 full text downloadable books for academic and research purposes from more than 450+ publishers. The complete database covers areas like Arts, Humanities, Engineering, IT & Computers, Management, Medical Sciences, English Language, Business Communication, Literature, Law, History, Social Sciences, and many more.
- Journals – 7000 full text e-journals for academic and research purposes across subjects including Engineering, IT & Computers, Management, Medical Sciences, English Language, Business Communication, Literature, Law, History, Social Sciences, and many more.
- Literature Online – Literature Online is a fully searchable library of over 350,000 full-text works of English literature including several literary databases of poetry, plays and fiction as well as general reference works and links to other Internet sites.
- Press Reader – over 4000 full text newspapers and periodicals from across the globe. It provides access to 580 UK newspaper and periodicals
Registrations can be done by logging on to www.library.britishcouncil.org.in. The username and password will be sent within 48 hours of registration.
The above services are available on any computer with Internet access. It also works on handheld devices through the web browser.
For more details on online membership and registration procedures visit www.library.britishcouncil.org.in or mail to indiacustomercare@britishcouncil.org.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We create international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build trust between them worldwide.
We work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000 teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing the arts and delivering education and society programmes. The British Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts, education, exams, English language and society to audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide access to English language training and learning for both students and teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to study in the UK.
We are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which last year was £781 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services which customers around the world pay for, through education and development contracts and from partnerships with public and private organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.in. You can also keep in touch with the British Council through https://twitter.com/inbritish and blog.britishcouncil.org.in
]]>
DMCA launches Dubai Maritime Intelligence at 2016 Dubai International Boat Show
Proactive initiative for Maritime Creativity Lab to promote competitiveness of local maritime sector
March 1, 2016
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
In response to the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership in advancing the deployment, transfer and share of knowledge around the world, Dubai Maritime City Authority (DMCA), has launched today March 1, 2016 the ‘Dubai Maritime Intelligence Platform’ as a decisive step to develop informative and cognitive electronic system that supports the process of enhancing the efficiency and competitiveness of the emirate’s maritime sector. The ‘Dubai Maritime Intelligence Platform’ was unveiled on the sidelines of DMCA’s participation in the Dubai International Boat Show 2016, the regional premier marine luxury, leisure and lifestyle industry event currently taking place at the Dubai International Marine Club in Mina Seyahi.
The Platform is a part of the initiatives launched by the Maritime Creativity Lab as an important qualitative leap on the path of excellence and innovation to consolidate Dubai’s leading position on the world’s maritime map. The new initiative is based on an innovative method that enriches and deepens the maritime knowledge by collecting, analyzing and presenting the local maritime sector’s data and information through the use of an interactive and connected series of patterns, graphic screens and statistical indicators of the components of maritime society.
H.E. Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and President of DMCA, said: “The Dubai Maritime Intelligence is a vital step forward in terms of creating an integrated system to enrich, transfer and share knowledge which is considered the real capital of mankind by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. This qualitative initiative is featured by creating smart, safe and interactive environment, characterized by easy access via sophisticated channels such as web portal, smart devices, and tablets to accelerate the pace of transforming Dubai into the world’s smartest city within the next few years”.
Adding further, H.E. stated: “The launch of Dubai Maritime Intelligence reflects the continual successes led by the Maritime Creativity Lab, making a positive impact in consolidating the culture of innovation and evoking innovative ideas. These will eventually develop integrated strategies to achieve the ambitious aspirations aimed at positioning Dubai among the world’s top leading maritime capitals by 2020. We are confident that this initiative will serve as a major push in employing knowledge for the comprehensive development and an important addition to the national efforts in embodying the goals of the National Innovation Strategy to make the UAE one of the world’s most innovative countries.”
“Through the innovative Maritime Knowledge Smart Platform, we seek to provide the decision-makers and the concerned maritime stakeholders with an interactive, connected and integrated set of patterns, graphic screens, cognitive and digital indicators related to all major and sub-sector maritime industries, including off-shore marine operations, maritime engineering, ports, shipping, local and entertainment services and maritime support. We look forward to continue working on improving the mechanism of this platform in line with the successive developments to enable maritime sector pioneers to follow the latest indicators through a graphical, interactive, smart and sophisticated interface and carry out benchmarking with global maritime sectors in order to enhance the competitive advantages of Dubai’s maritime sector,” concluded Amer Ali, Executive Director, Dubai Maritime City Authority.
The ‘Dubai Maritime Intelligence’ provides detailed information about the direct contribution of various components of the maritime sector to Dubai’s GDP, total value of trade through local ports, and the details of offshore operations, such as anchorage and bunkering operations. The platform also includes recent data on the number of marine lines agents, shipping brokers, and businesses, operating within the maritime sector, as well as the number of classification and survey companies, training and maritime education centers, and marine clubs and docks that are available to leisure yachts in the emirate.
The users of this platform can also access the details concerning the maintenance, conversion and construction of marine crafts in Dry docks along with the movement of commercial and leisure vessels and containers via local ports in addition to an overview of the global maritime sector. It also includes information on the numbers of marine transportation users, tourists and travelers by leisure ships in Dubai, and the number of licenses issued by DMCA as well as the numbers of marine crafts licensed and classified by type.
]]>Dubai, October 14, 2014 – From October 12-16 Fujitsu document scanners are presented at the GITEX Technology Week in Dubai. The spotlight is on the new portable ScanSnap iX100 with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity and rechargeable battery for truly mobile scanning. On display at the “Imaging Village” are various imaging solutions for vertical markets developed with the following ISV partners: ABBYY, Document Logistix, Fujitsu, IBM, Indra, ISB (Integrated Solutions for Business), Meniko, Multipass Solutions, Open Bee, Silex Technology Europe and Spigraph Solutions.
The GITEX theme “Document & Digitise: Free Knowledge” encapsulates what the Fujitsu document scanning solutions do: They free up knowledge that is locked up on paper and make it accessible in a cost-efficient and time-saving way.
About PFU
Fujitsu brand scanners are designed, manufactured and marketed worldwide by PFU Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited (Japan). PFU is a globally active IT provider that designs, manufactures and markets computer hardware, peripheral products and enterprise software. PFU offers a broad portfolio of document scanners for professional personal, desktop, workgroup and high-volume production environments and is one of the world’s leading document scanner companies. PFU has been engaged in the document imaging scanner business for more than 25 years and generates an annual turnover of over $1 billion. www.pfu.fujitsu.com/en/
Operating in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), PFU Imaging Solutions Europe Limited is responsible for marketing and sales of Fujitsu document scanners. The European company was established in the United Kingdom in 1981 and has offices in Germany and Italy. www.fujitsu.com/emea/products/
]]>
Kolkata, April 5th, 2014: Franchise India Holdings Limited will be hosting the much awaited National Franchise,Retail & SME Show 2014 from 5th April 2014 to 6th April 2014 at Hotel The Lalit Great Eastern, Kolkata. The largest franchise solution firm will devise a thought provoking conference on retailing, licensing and franchising, along with the dynamics of the SME sector. This show has always been highly successful, in terms of footfall along with more than 70% unique footfall in each show done till date.Thousands of renowned exhibitors from various sectors like travel, food & beverage, education, lifestyle and many more will amalgamate in this exquisite show. This will be a perfect platform for networking; more than 4,000 entrepreneurs have been a part of this show and have not only got good business but also have been able to develop strong ties with peers from their respective industries.
A perfect podium for the companies in a phase of expansion, provide business solutions for Start Ups, SMEs, Licensees and are seeking partners, new clients for their business. Some of the major reasons why should an individual become a part of the National franchise & Retail Show are for franchise network expansion, to find partner or distributors for business, to find new clients and expansion of sales network by meeting potential, qualified franchisees.
The motto of OKNS (Opportunity, Knowledge, Networking and Success) has been the surge of change in the franchise industry as well helped in growing myriad business houses into market leaders through strategic alliances and comprehensive understanding of each other’s business requirements. Due to the strong belief in Opportunity, Knowledge, Networking and Success, Franchise India is known to be a pioneer firm in the franchising industry.
This show has completed 72 successful editions, with its 9th Edition in Kolkata wherein they will continue to energize the start-up businesses to grow into potential market leaders of the future. Through this exhibition, numerous franchisors will come into direct contact with potential franchise buyers from every phase of life.
Ms. Ashna, CEO, Franchise India Exhibitions said,” FRO 2014, ascertains the Business Visitors a realm of Business concepts showcasing Indian & International Franchising and Retail ideas. With increase in the number of visitors and exhibitor participation, this year is expected to be much bigger in all respects.
About Franchise India Exhibition:
Franchise India Exhibition is one of the key initiates by FIHL. Since its inception in 2003 FIE has benefitted over 3.5 lacs business investors with over 260 shows held both in India and overseas. In 2013 alone FIE has touched over 1,75,000 business buyers and assisted over 900 companies in their franchise journey with the help of our franchise & retail opportunity expo which is the ultimate opportunity for thousand of business oriented people to discover a plethora of opportunities from all across the country. If you are interested in franchising, whether that is from franchisor or franchise capacity, then one thing that you need to do before making any business decision is to visit a franchise expo.
]]>