JEDDAH, 19 March 2006 — Effat College, which is one of the leading institutions of higher learning for women in Saudi Arabia, is seeking to become a full-fledged university in the near future.
According to its dean, Haifa Jamal Al-Lail, the college is currently completing the requirements set by the Higher Education Ministry to achieve university status.
The first nonprofit private organization licensed by the ministry, Effat College intends to establish four more specialized colleges for computer science engineering; electrical engineering; bio-medical engineering; and architectural designs and engineering as part of its efforts to become a university.
“The Higher Education Ministry does not put any restrictions on the curricula of private colleges. However, we should seek its permission before staring any new program,” said Jamal Al-Lail.
The dean said she is happy with the quality of education provided by the Kingdom’s private colleges. However, she said it would take time for these colleges to have an impact on the country’s development. “The effect will not appear now because of the small number of their graduates,” she said.
The dean described the annual Learning and Technology Symposium organized by the college as one of its major achievements. “This year we’ll hold the fourth symposium under the theme ‘Bridging the Divide’. This is an international event as experts from different parts of the world attend it. Students from our college also participate in its discussions,” she said.
The college is now preparing for the fourth symposium, which will be held on March 29-30 at the Jeddah Hilton. “This year’s sessions will focus on understanding technology, its challenges and solutions since technology facilitates the development of nations to address complex educational, social and economic problems,” organizers said.
Education experts from Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, India, the UK, Germany, France, and the US will participate in the symposium.
“What is special about this year’s symposium is that there will be an independent learning lab staffed by the symposium’s technical support team. In these labs, technology beginners can experiment software and applications,” said Akila Sarirete, a lecturer in computer science and information system at the college and coordinator for Effat’s Cisco Networking Academy program.
The labs will be stocked with tutorials that can be completed independently or with the assistance of technical support staff. “Our aim is to provide opportunities for development of individuals at all levels of the skills spectrum,” Sarirete told Arab News.
The first day of the symposium will start with the registration at 8 a.m. The evening part of the day will begin with the opening ceremony at 7 p.m. Princess Loulwah Al-Faisal, general supervisor and vice chair of Effat College Board of Trustees, will give the keynote address.
The second day will start at 8 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m.
“Significant increases in IT investments in general, and in networking technologies in particular, are creating an unprecedented demand for IT professionals in the Kingdom and across the Arab countries generally,” said Shahab Meshki, manager of Cisco’s Networking Academy Program.
