COMDEX Saudi Arabia closed in Jeddah last night and the 30 students from King Abdul Aziz University working at the exhibition’s registration area received a well-deserved round of applause from Dabbagh Information Technology, the show’s organizers. Over the four days of COMDEX, the students registered thousands of visitors. It was the first job experience for many of the young men and they admitted it had been a lot more challenging than they had ever imagined.

Raed Tashkandi, a KAAU senior majoring in Industrial Engineering, was one of the managers for the registration area. He had to coach the other students in everything from arriving on time, to the registration methodology, to maintaining a professional manner — especially when under stress.

"This is my third year working at COMDEX," said Tashkandi. "Every year I’ve learned something new. This year our process was better. I have developed good interpersonal skills over my years of working at the show and this helped me a lot. I had to stay calm and deal with any problem quickly and efficiently. But even with the problems I really enjoyed the experience."

This year the students used IBM ThinkPads in the registration process. All the students found the machines to be very user-friendly. Tashkandi stated that they all wanted to purchase a ThinkPad and a request had been put through to SBM/IBM, the sponsors of the registration section, to possibly allow the students to purchase the used show machines.

Tashkandi found that this year the number of women attending the exhibition had greatly increased. He thought that perhaps the separate registration area for women and the courteous treatment they received from the registration staff had encouraged them to come out to COMDEX. He also wished that the show wasn’t ending so soon.

"Attendance at COMDEX really picked up in the last two days and I know that not only women but visitors from other towns like Tabuk or Yanbu, have found it very convenient to come on the weekend. So it would have been great if the show had stayed open through Friday."

Yaser Derar was another student who thought that working at the COMDEX registration area had been a very rewarding experience. "It is really hard for students to find part-time employment so we don’t get many chances to work," explained Derar. "I wish we would have more opportunities because nothing is like a real world situation when it comes to learning."

A senior in business administration, Derar discovered the value of teamwork over the last week as he processed thousands of visitors daily into the show. He also found that working with the public, even when they are businessmen and other professionals, is not as easy as it looks.

"Being courteous all the time took a lot of patience, especially when some of the visitors were rude or uncooperative," said Derar. "I am sure this experience will help me in future job situations."

Abdul Aziz Banawi, a KAAU junior majoring in architecture, agreed that learning how to serve people in a proper manner had been difficult.

"People from all levels in Saudi society came through our registration area," commented Banawi. "Some of them had never been through such a registration process before and they didn’t understand the need for it. We had to gently convince them to give us their information and be very patient. When there was a big crowd wanting to register and we were trying to work fast, a lack of cooperation from a visitor could be annoying, but I had to stay calm."

There was one especially compelling reason to work at the COMDEX registration area in a very professional manner, which Banawi pointed out: "Lots of businessmen come in to register so you get the chance to meet people who might be willing to offer you a job. I got some really good leads that I hope will help me in the future."

Some members of the registration team were computer science majors and these students made the most of their breaks to go and have a look around the exhibition.

"COMDEX has been really great," said Ahmad Al-Montshiri, a KAAU graduating senior. "I love digital anything. Seeing technology, especially very new things, is like getting a glimpse of the future. I would like to work in software development and I’m really interested in robotics too. Every time I had a few minutes, I’d go take a look at a different COMDEX stand and ask the exhibitors to explain their products. I hope that someday I can be a part of a team creating new technologies."