Saudi Arabia's booming youth population and the country's Saudization program are propelling the demand for technology-based education methods, with industry reports projecting that 42 percent of the Kingdom's residents will be comprised of individuals belonging to up to 15-age segment by 2010. Furthermore, the changes brought about by the booming economic growth in the region has resulted in the growing need to right-skill and up-skill the future and current workforce in the Kingdom. In line with this, Edutech Middle East, a leading provider of technology-enabled learning solutions, aims to deliver outcome-based learning solutions to help the Saudi Government in its 10-year strategic plan to improve education quality amidst the rapid population expansion. According to recent statistics, analysts expect the Kingdom's population to hit 30 million by 2010, with a growth rate of over 3.5 percent a year. Amidst the aggressive population increase, the Saudi government has recognized its responsibility to ensure that its young citizens are fully equipped to create and achieve comprehensive social development by devising a modern education system. Given the country's growing IT industry, which has a significant effect on the adoption of technologies in educating the Saudi youth, Edutech is focused on highlighting the outstanding benefits of its portfolio of technology enabled learning solutions to various educational institutions. “The success of a nation's education system lies in its officials' dedicated efforts, and the Saudi Arabian Government's commitment to maximize the potential of technology-driven learning solutions present an excellent promise for the future,” said ASF Karim, CEO, Edutech Middle East. “As a leading name in learning and information solutions in the region, our goal is to contribute to the advancement of the Saudi education system and in the adoption of technology in the learning process of its young citizens. We are also looking forward to partnering with more KSA-based universities and learning institutions in providing leading-edge technologies, rich market knowledge, best-of-breed customized solutions backed by built-up expertise based on over 17 years of consultative experience with leading institutions of higher education in the region.” As a testament to the growing recognition of the effectiveness of technology enabled learning in Saudi Arabia, a number of prestigious universities have already successfully adopted Edutech's solutions, including Effat College (Jeddah), KFUPM Schools (Al-Khobar), Al-Andalus Schools (Jeddah), and Prince Mohammad Bin Fahd University, which has recently adopted the Blackboard Academic Suite, Smartboards in classrooms and English language lab solutions. In addition, the company has also organized events in partnership with leading KSA-based universities, including “The 6th Annual Learning Technology Symposium” and “The 1st Education Technology Symposium & Exhibition 2008,” which have successfully provided a platform to showcase and demonstrate state-of-the-art educational technologies by leading experts in the field. “By adopting our solutions, both educators and students are reaping the rewards of the effectiveness of learning technologies and tools with flexibility, scalability and customizability. We are continuously working towards the advancement of our offerings to meet the rapid development of the region's fastest growing economies, which face the task of producing highly competent professionals to support their countries' expansion in all fronts. Edutech is committed to ensuring that they are fully equipped with the right skill and competencies to help them reach their goals,” Karim stressed. Edutech's wide array of solutions include hands-on and technology-based solutions that encompass education, learning and development, and library and information solutions that span the entire spectrum of industries, enabling academic institutions to train their students in a simulated industry environment. It includes Computer Classroom Management System (SmartClass), Online Learning Delivery Platform, Integrated Content Capture & Delivery, Multimedia Content Storage & Retrieval, Campus Management System and Integrated Multilingual Library Management System. In addition, the company also provides solutions that allow students and faculty to communicate with each other via its Online Collaboration Tools, while aiding faculty members to test, administer and generate reports using PCs, local area networks, Internet and intranets through the Online Testing and Assessment Solutions. __
