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pathways, and allows for a flexible pace of learning. One of its
important design elements is to promote life-long learning skills
such as teamwork, project management, problem solving, and
conflict resolution.
IT Labs: ITEP has 41 labs with over 1 600 PCs and 80 servers
connected to the largest virtual private network (VPN) in the UAE.
Each school has a purpose-built IT lab whose unique design is
one of the ‘pull’ factors instrumental in getting students inter-
ested in IT. The lab is equipped with lab management hardware
and software that incorporates the latest ICT, leading to a richer
interaction between the teacher and students.
Trainers: Recognizing the issues involved in the learner-centred
paradigm, ITEP’s ongoing Train the Trainer initiative provides
trainers with technical, educational (pedagogy), systems, and soft
skills training amounting to 20 days of training per trainer per
year. Additionally, to capture the knowledge and experience of
experienced trainers, ITEP has an online Knowledge Management
System that allows trainers to share knowledge, and simultane-
ously records the same for future reference and use.
Portal
(www.itep.ae): Available in English and Arabic, the portal
is an extremely important tool in ITEP’s strategy and has over
60,000 registered users. It not only offers personalized e-commu-
nity services to the general public but is also used to supplement
the learning experience with online resources, e-mail facilities
and discussion groups. It hosts a Learning Management System
that allows school students access to the online curriculum, whilst
also allowing trainers and administrators access to the Student
Management System, Knowledge Management System, and
Teacher Management System, all of which are complete purpose-
built solutions.
The programme for school students has been instrumental in
raising their IT skills. Awards won by some UAE students in inter-
national and regional IT competitions are a testimony to this; in
April 2002 a website designed by four ITEP students won first
prize in a pan-Arabian website design contest organized by the
Jubilee e-Learning and Training Centre based in Jordan. Similarly,
in the 2004 UAE Educational IT Challenge, ITEP students secured
the first and second place in the Best Secondary Student Project
category.
ITEP’s programme is not limited only to school students. It
has been actively involved in providing customized IT training
within the higher education sector as well, training over 3,700
students of the Islamic & Arabic Studies College as well as over
700 officers and cadets of the Dubai Police Academy.
Teachers
Working with the student community had the added benefit of
identifying a critical segment that apparently needed concomi-
tant development: the teaching community. Acknowledging the
important role of teachers in laying the foundations for the future,
H.H. Sheikh Mohammed launched an initiative under which
around 6 000 Dubai Education Zone teachers and administra-
tors must attain the International Computer Driving License
(ICDL) certification, a globally recognized credential that certi-
fies an individual as competent in using computers, by 2006.
ITEP has been entrusted with the responsibility of training and
facilitating their certification. Towards this objective, it not only
conducts training using ICDL approved courseware developed
in-house, but has also built the largest ICDL accredited testing
centre in Dubai.
However, ITEP’s offering for teachers goes beyond basic IT liter-
acy. In recognition of the fact that the utilization of ICT in
education and training enhances the effectiveness and efficiency
of teaching, ITEP has recently launched the i-Teach program for
Teachers, to promote the usage of ICT in educational establish-
ments by providing teachers with a professional development
programme that leads to the Cambridge International Diploma in
teaching with ICT.
Government employees
While the student and teaching communities do have critical
focus, ITEP has also been active within sectors that require train-
ing on an immediate basis to reduce their existing levels of IT
illiteracy, for example, the government employees sector.
Acknowledging that the IT training provided to government
employees enhances their productivity, leading to higher effi-
ciency in day-to-day work processes, ITEP has been providing
customized IT literacy training to government departments since
2002, and has successfully trained over 4 200 Dubai Police
personnel. To accelerate the progress made in this sector, a direc-
tive issued in April 2005 requires 12 000 UAE nationals working
in Dubai government departments to achieve the ICDL certifica-
tion by 2007, with ITEP being assigned to train and facilitate their
certification.
Women
ITEP recently initiated another milestone IT literacy programme
especially for women, not only to promote personal growth, but
also to enhance the special role of women in social development.
Based on a strategic partnership established with the Dubai
Ladies Club, ITEP has set up an IT lab at the club, and is in the
process of implementing the different phases which will see
women being empowered with various IT skills and certifica-
tions. Such alliances with various entities are valuable in
broadening the reach of IT literacy programmes to ensure that
they cover as wide a populace as possible, as is also evident in
the special needs community.
Special needs individuals
Believing that IT literacy within the special needs community is
an important step towards their inclusion and integration with
the rest of society, in its first initiative ITEP partnered with
Tamkeen (Arabic for ‘enabling’), a non-profit organization that
empowers vision-impaired individuals in the UAE, providing
them training in touch-typing, business applications and the
Internet in a purpose-built IT lab. This partnership reached new
levels when ITEP in conjunction with Tamkeen unveiled the
world’s first ICDL Arabic coursebook in Braille. Based on, and
encouraged by the positive results at Tamkeen, ITEP forged a
partnership with Al Thiqah (Arabic for ‘confidence’) Projects for
Employment and Rehabilitation, extending its efforts to cover
hearing-impaired students. The programme proved highly
successful, with some trainees attaining employment immedi-
ately upon its completion.
ITEP has trained over 76 000 people since its inception. Being the
largest IT training provider not only in Dubai but the entire UAE, it
commands the confidence to not only target new sectors but is also
well positioned to take its programmes beyond Dubai and the UAE.
Today, Dubai as a digital city is no longer just a vision, but an unfold-
ing reality, and ITEP is ensuring that it encompasses as wide a
populace as possible including students, teachers, employees, women,
and special needs individuals, in its role of preparing this generation
for the digital future.
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