HBMSU hosts international jury that will select winners of ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award’

Awards being held on the sidelines of first-ever ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Forum 2014’ that aims to advance growth of smart learning in the region

[UAE, October 11, 2014] – Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU) is set to host an international jury who will be tasked with selecting winners for the ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award,’ an awards program that will honor and recognize best practices followed in today’s academic and training institutions across the world. The event is being held along the sidelines of the ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Forum 2014,’ a first-of-its-kind event aimed at encouraging the exchange of best practices and the development of new online learning standards to encourage the continual growth and development of smart learning.

The international jury is composed of acadmic professionals and leading experts in developing and transferring best practices and smart learning systems including Dr. Julia Little (USA), Prof. Tian Belawati (Indonesia), Dr. Alan Bruce from the European Network for European Distance and E-Learning Network (EDEN) and Dr. Charles Aubrey from the International Academy for Quality (IAQ). The high-level international participation represents the key importance placed in the ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award”. The award is being positioned as a quality initiative designed to honor the best practices applied in academic and training institutions around the world and thereby ensuring the quality of smart learning, which has become one of the most distinctive features of the modern era based on the latest technical developments.

The evaluation of entries to be conducted by the international jury is organized by HBMSU and will fall in accordance with key standards such as Novelty & Innovativeness; Compatibility; Implementability; Transferability; Maturity and Sustainability. The inaugural awards will have seven categories—Smart Learning, Smart Partnership, Technology Exploitation, Resource Utilization, Excellence Orientation, Process Innovation and Learner Centricity.

Tian Belawati, Rector, Universitas Terbuka (Indonesia Open University), said, "The ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award’ is an excellent initiative that acts as the driving force for the advancement of modernization and entrepreneurship, enhancing the knowledge base and spreading the values of education, which is considered an important element for achieving a competitive advantage. I salute HBMSU for launching and organizing ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award,’ which is intended to recognize the best practices in smart learning done by either educational institutions or corporations across the world, especially in the Middle East region. Such an initiative can only encourage the further development of innovations in the field of education to enhance the quality of education provisions. Smart learning can also help widen access of education to the masses. I am honoured to be part of the process.”

Dr. Julie K. Little, Vice President, Teaching, Learning & Professional Development, EDUCAUSE said, “I would like to commend the participants in ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award 2014,’ which is being organized by HBMSU for their contribution to set a solid foundation in establishing best practices in education within training, educational and academic institutions. HBMSU has taken a huge step forward in hosting the “Smart Learning Best Practice Forum 2014”, an event that looks towards promoting innovation and creativity in smart learning which became an essential component for the application of the plans in shifting towards ‘Smart City’. I am most honored to serve as a reviewer for this inaugural year and found the strength of the nominations to reflect the type of leadership necessary to sustain innovation and access for educational and corporate learning programs.”

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor, HBMSU, said, “We are proud to organize the first-of-its-kind ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Forum,’ which we have created to support the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice president and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai to establish Dubai as one of the world’s premier smart cities.

“We praise the high-level international jury members for their prominent role in developing and transferring best practices and smart learning systems around the world. We expect that this event will bolster more awareness on the significant role that smart learning plays in the move to transform the emirate as a smart city, while also facilitating information exchange with leading experts in smart learning and IT,” Dr. Al Awar concluded.

The “Smart Learning Best Practice Forum 2014” will be held on October 20 and October 21, 2104 at HBMSU campus. Aside from the ‘Smart Learning Best Practice Award,’ the exciting two-day event will also include a series of interactive workshops, networking breaks, and presentations. The first-of-its-kind forum will also see virtual presentations from participants via internet from all around the world.