Press partnership establishes a learning portal for the Arab world
- Release Date: 01/10/2008
- Country of Issue: United Kingdom
- Category: Digital and innovations
Obeikan Research and Development announces that it has reached an agreement with Cambridge University Press, the world’s oldest publisher, and two leading universities, Arizona State University (ASU) and Dublin City University (DCU), to establish the Arab Grid for Learning, a learning portal for the Arab world.
Obeikan Research and Development, a leading education publisher in the Arab world, will work with Cambridge University Press, ASU’s Applied Learning Technologies Institute and DCU on the Arab Grid for Learning to extend the reach of online education to all educators and learners in the Arab world. The Arab Grid for Learning will be piloted in Saudi Arabia from October 2008.
The Arab Grid for Learning provides a network of national portals with a common learning platform, online content and support communities for all educators and learners across the Arab World.
The mission of the Arab Grid for Learning is to bring together, for mutual benefit, the full community of learners and their educators from across the Arab World. Individual educators and learners will be able to register for free and access online applications such as email, blogs, and word processing, as well as a host of free and pay-for content and courses covering a wide range of topics for all ages and audiences.
The Arab Grid for Learning will provide learners with a secure, safe and culturally sensitive social operating system. Although the Arab Grid for Learning will feature an unsurpassed library of content resources and services, it will be different from previous online learning initiatives in that it will be based around Arabic people, rather than purely around content.
Educational institutions and individual educators will be able to use the learning management system in the Arab Grid for Learning to manage classes and courses and will be able to customise the look and feel to meet their institutional identity. Similarly, educational institutions can integrate the Arab Grid for Learning and some or all of its resources in to existing software systems so that learners access the resources through their school or university’s portal or using their existing usernames and passwords.
Dr Ali Alhakami, General Manager of Obeikan Research and Development said "We have planned for The Arab Grid for Learning to become the main gateway to knowledge in the Arab World in the digital age. It would facilitate teaching and improve learning across all grade levels from kindergarten to graduate levels. The Arab Grid for Learning shall have a large amount of educational materials in Arabic including supplementary materials and academic research databases that would help researchers from higher education institutions.
"Obeikan is pleased to be working with reputable and world renowned institutions such as Cambridge University, Arizona State University and Dublin City University. Their state of the art knowledge and technology, coupled with Obeikans expertise in the Arab education will definitely bring about distinguished products that would respond to the needs and fit the culture of the Arab World."
“Cambridge University Press is committed to advancing learning and knowledge,” says John Tuttle, Managing Director, New Directions Group. “We are delighted to be working with Obeikan Research and Development, Arizona State University and Dublin City University on this unique project, providing access to high-quality online content for educators and learners in the Arab world.”
“In the world today, it is increasingly important to make available the broadest possible access to educational opportunities for all,” noted Anthony Rock, Vice President of Global Engagement at Arizona State University.
“Arizona State University is delighted to join in this agreement to provide the platform and distribution mechanisms to reach communities of educators and learners throughout the Arab world. We are particularly pleased that this initiative will offer flexibility and creativity with respect to the specific needs and capabilities of individual institutions, while at the same time, providing a means by which to share educational strengths across all institutions.
"This Obeikan agreement marks a major milestone for Dublin City University in terms of our internationalisation strategy" said Professor Ferdinand von Prondzynski, President of Dublin City University. "It highlights our strong strategic relationship with international partners such Arizona State University and Cambridge University Press, and will produce an exciting new learning portal for the Arab world."
ENDS
Notes for Editors:
About Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the publishing business of the University of Cambridge, one of the world’s leading research institutions. It is the oldest publisher and printer in the world, having been operating continuously since 1584.
Throughout its history, the Press has maintained a reputation for innovation and enterprise, through its use of printing technologies, through publishing the latest research, and through supporting the latest methodologies for teaching and learning. Its purpose is to advance learning, knowledge and research worldwide. It publishes 240 journals and over 2,500 books annually for distribution in nearly every country in the world.
For further information about Cambridge University Press, go to www.cambridge.org
About Obeikan Research and Development
Obeikan Research and Development (a subsidiary of Obeikan Investment Group) is a Saudi company whose purpose is to support learners and educational systems in the Arab World with quality educational materials and services with the aim of improving educational outcomes. ORD publishes more than 500 titles every year, carries out educational development programs, professional development and training, school development, educational research, translation and localization, English Language Training, educational consultation as well as e-Learning projects. ORD has been providing its educational products and services to several Ministries of Education and Higher Education in the region as well as to private schools and international organizations.
About ASU
Arizona State University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application, blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 64,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nations fifth largest city. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity, and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe.
About DCU
Dublin City University is one of Ireland’s youngest universities. Since its foundation, it has been at the forefront of academic innovation, research and student-centred learning. The university has developed internationally recognised centres of excellence in a number of key research areas, and has also developed collaborative links with leading universities and industrial partners. DCU’s Link (Learning, Innovation and Knowledge) research centre engages in a variety of cross-disciplinary and international research projects that explore the creation and dissemination of knowledge and innovation, both within and outside organisations.
If you would like more information, contact the Press Office:
- Telephone: +44 (0)1223 325544
- Fax: +44 (0)1223 325062
- Email: press@cambridge.org
- Post: The Press Office, University Printing House, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 8BS, United Kingdom