Ajman University holds the International Conference on Trends in Information Technology and Applications (ICTITA 2010)
Under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Ajman Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council, the College of Information Technology at Ajman University of Science and Technology (AUST), in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and the British Computer Society (BCS), has organized its first international conference themed “Trends in Information Technology and Applications 2010” on December 11th through 13th, 2010 at the AUST Sheikh Zayed Center for Conferences and Exhibitions.
The conference has been officially inaugurated on Sunday in the presence of H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Economic Department and Representative of the Ruler of Ajman for Financial and Administrative Affairs; H.H Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Chairman of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department and Chairman of the AUST Board of Directors; the conference guest of honor H.R.H Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Advisor to the Chairman of the Arab Open University Board of Trustees; Representatives of the Governmental Departments in Ajman; Mr. Thamer Saeed Salman, AUST Vice-President for Administrative and Financial Affairs; in addition to a number of directors and officials of governmental departments as well as the AUST College Deans, the conference guests and participants.
In his welcoming address to the participants and guests of the conference delivered on his behalf by Mr. Thamer Salman, H.E Dr. Saeed Abdullah Salman, AUST President, extended his appreciation to H.H Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Ajman for his generous patronage and unwavering support to AUST since its inception as a university college in 1988, then later as a university and now as a university network with three dimensions: education, information and investment.
The AUST President stated that “the United Arab Emirates has realized since its inception the importance of science and scientific research, and established the foundations for a scientific and knowledge advancement, which still continues under the wise leadership of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, his brother H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and their brethren members of the Supreme Council, Rulers of the Emirates.” In the same spirit, he added, “we were keen to lay down the bases of a renaissance project which rests on the standardized implementation of our three-dimensional comprehensive vision: education, information and investment.”
Dr. Saeed Salman underscored “the critical importance of promoting research, especially in the areas of science and technology as these are the key to achieving progress and catching up with globalization and modernization, without renouncing to the constituents of our Arab Islamic civilization and cultural identity.” Given the technological revolution and information boom the world has seen in the last few decades, Dr. Salman believe “we should admit that the implementation of information technology in all aspects of life within the Arab region is no longer a luxury or an option but a dire necessity imposed by the realities of the present era.”
Dr. Saeed Salman then praised the conference topic saying that “this event will foster research in information technology and its applications, enrich research output and combine research efforts being made in the field locally, regionally and internationally.” He went on to say that “the conference is intended to boost the new programs for which the College of IT at AUST has recently obtained accreditation from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, including the bachelor of IT in networking and information security and the bachelor of IT in databases and web systems”. The offering of these two specializations, he said, meets the increasing use of IT and its applications in the UAE, the GCC countries and the region at large.
In his address to the conference, H.R.H Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud praised the wise leadership of H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, his brother H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President of the UAE, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai and their brethren members of the Supreme Council, Rulers of the Emirates. He also extended his appreciation to H.H Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Member of the UAE Supreme Council and Ruler of Ajman for providing the opportunity to host this specialized international conference which is organized by Ajman University of Science and Technology. He also commended all those in charge of education in the UAE led by His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, for the remarkable achievements attained by UAE in the field of education thanks to the strategic vision of the late Sheikh Zayed nbin Sultan Al Nahyan.
H.R.H praised the topic of the conference saying that “the event raises the issue of backwardness and development at the same time. As is known, the third millennium is called the era of information technology and telecommunications par excellence. There is a clear, unquestionable link between the progress of any country or society and the degree of its access to this industry which has become an integral part of the concept of development in general.”
He underlined the necessity for investing in human capital by educating them to be active intellects capable of producing and making a change because “our main legacy is people and the extent to which we capitalize on their potentials. People are an incredible asset and undepleting resource, a capital for any real development in our societies.” He added that the countries of the region are putting huge efforts into building information technology infrastructure. However, these efforts will not be enough to face the challenges of this age and stay within history unless this is done in tune with two factors. The fist factor is the need for an intellectual development to withstand the era with its own means instead of relying on the past. The second factor is efficient education that derives form our great religion the positive values and tolerant teachings which incite mind use, coexistence with and tolerance to the other. He also emphasized the importance of “developing general basic education curricula so that the student arrives to the higher education level filled with the mentioned values and holding some keys of the era. Hence, our educational systems will produce leaders and pioneers in all areas.”
In conclusion, H.R.H Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud expressed his hope that the participants in the conference will come out with practical recommendations to help getting the best out of IT industry in the Arab countries and that these recommendations will be well implemented.
From his part, Dr. Ahmed Ankit stressed that “AUST believes in the effectiveness of such events, as they present cutting-edge developments and techniques in IT and lead the way to better management, education and practices.” The conference, he said, will provide a unique opportunity for the eminent speakers, as well as for academics and professionals, to exchange expertise and enrich their experience in IT and its applications by giving a showcase for their latest research.
Speaking on behalf of the conference’s scientific and organizing committees, Dr. Hakim Khali said that “as the United Arab Emirates has become an internationally recognized hub for providing IT services using the latest IT technologies, the College of IT at AUST has been very keen on organizing an event that is intended to provide an international forum for the discussion and presentation of original research works and recent advances in various IT key areas such as health, engineering, government, education, environment and transportation.” Furthermore, he stated, the conference organizers “wished to encourage local graduate students to participate with their research papers and meet with the IT community from all over the world to discuss emerging research trends and technological challenges.”
At the end of the opening ceremony, a commemorative shield was presented to H.R.H Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud by H.H Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi on behalf of H.H. Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Ajman Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council. H.R.H Prince Turki bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud also received the University shield from H.H. Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi in his capacity as Chairman of the AUST Board of Directors.
The three-day conference, which brought together IT experts, researchers, academics and professionals from all over the globe, presented a rich and diversified technical program covering various areas of information technology. The conference program consisted of three keynote addresses, fours sessions and one workshop, with a total number of twenty papers being presented.
The first keynote address was delivered by Dr. Eric Rouchka, Associate Professor of Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Louisville University, USA on the theme “Big Data: Bioinformatics Data and Related Computational Issues. Dr. Rouchka presented a number of the current technologies in place for generating bioinformatics data and the computational issues in terms of storing, archiving, and analyzing such data. In the second keynote address entitled “The Smart Grid: Integrating the 20th Century Power Grid With the 21st Century Computing, Telecommunications and Internet Technologies”, Prof. Abdurrahman Al-Ali, Professor of Computer Engineering at American University of Sharjah, UAE introduced the smart grid technology that integrates the traditional power grid, alternative energy resources, embedded systems, two-ways telecommunications and the internet technologies to better optimize the energy flow and consumption from generation resources to consumer premises. “E-Notary Services: A Case Study” was the topic of the keynote lecture given by Dr. Osman Zafar from Al-Taqnya (UAE) and Mr Abdulrahim AlMudhareb (IT Director Dubai Courts, UAE) in which they discussed an application developed in Dubai Courts using Adobe LC technology to allow citizens to apply for notary services and book appointments with Notary Public Personnel online.
As part of the conference program, Dr. Mounir Elkhatib, Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Systems in Ajman University of Science and Technology, conducted a workshop on “Business-IT alignment as a Governance Mechanism: Case Studies from UAE Government Authorities”, in which he touched upon the importance of building a Business-IT framework at strategic, technical, operational and organizational levels.
Moreover, the three days of the conference were marked by the conduct of four technical sessions. The first session was themed “Information Technology Applications - Part I” with five papers being presented. The second was under the title “Information Technology Applications - Part II” and comprised five lectures. In the third session which has the topic “Special Purpose Algorithms and Architectures” five papers were presented. As to the fourth and last session, five lectures were delivered on the topic “Web Services and Online Information Technology Resources”.
In parallel to the conference, an exhibition was held for the IT companies which sponsored the event. The conference was also marked by a competition for the participating students. The winners were awarded laptops form Intel IT company.
