Page 82 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

of business success: intelligent suite to help drive customers’ end-to-end visibility, increased
• SAP announced the Climate 21 core business in their industries; efficiency and collaboration across
programme to support customers • SAP brings significant innovations the entire supply chain processes,
in pursuing their climate-related across the supply chain from design to including design, planning, sourcing,
objectives; operations to deliver greater insights, procurement, manufacturing, logistics,
• SAP and its partners are offering automation and responsiveness with and asset operations.
industry cloud solutions that extend the Industry 4.Now initiative; and
the end-to-end processes of SAP’s • SAP announced a strategy to bring

Oman Technology Fund Invests in Sana e-Learning Platform

Oman Technology Fund announced class activities and electronic tests with Director of Wadi Program at the Oman
investment in the Distance Learning the most appropriate smart solutions in Technology Fund, explained: With regard
Centre smart educational platform called line with international academic quality to the mechanism for selecting these
"Sana Electronic Platform". This initiative standards. Almawaly indicated that the companies, the fund relied on two things,
harnesses scientific and technical platform is the result of a partnership the first is to accelerate the evaluation
capabilities in information technology between the Endowment Fund for Distance procedures so that we filter the ideas on
in the field of e-learning and distance Education of the Ministry of Endowments a weekly basis and present them to the
education and adapts it to serve higher and Religious Affairs and the Omani Investment Committee and then decide
education institutions inside and outside Fund for Technology. As this partnership on their matter whether it is worthwhile to
the Sultanate by providing the necessary sought to use education systems live invest in them or not. The other issue is to
and specialized expertise and skills. This in the distance education center of the consider the possibility of linking it with the
platform comes within the initiative of Endowment Fund for Education. It is institutions concerned with the product or
OMR1,000,000 from the Oman Technology worth noting that the center started its service provided by startups. This comes
Fund to overcome the challenges of the activity since 2013 as the first educational from the Fund’s belief in the importance
spread of coronavirus. In light of the institution in the Sultanate to operate the of complementarity and the conclusion
current conditions and the existing need e-learning system. Almawaly added to his of partnerships with the institutions
of higher education institutions in the words, saying that we can demonstrate concerned, which reflects positively on
Sultanate to activate modern education the popularity and acceptance of the emerging companies and the target sector
systems that can keep pace with modern idea of distance education initiated by of the product alike. On the level of startups,
technologies using e-learning and distance the center, where the capacity reached we look at several elements, on top of
education systems, so that they are nearly 5,000 students, and approximately which are project readiness, to what extent
scientifically and technically compatible 2,600 students graduated from them. The it serves the exceptional stage that we are
with global standards recognized in these systems applied in the center are a local going through, and the element of long-
areas. From this standpoint, the Sana product of Omani experts specializing in term sustainability and the possibility of
platform came as a specialized electronic this field who work inside the center, so that expansion in regional markets. Al Balushi
platform containing an integrated they develop it continuously to reach the added: The “Sana electronic platform”
system for managing e-learning and highest levels of scientific and educational provides the option of contracting with it in
distance education and producing digital quality. Through this partnership, the Sana several ways, whether it is a full purchase
courses. This platform aims to help platform seeks to take advantage of these of the educational system or a partial
various educational institutions, towards systems available at the Distance Learning contract, as the Sana platform seeks to
achieving an integrated interactive Center and make them available to become harness its energies and the scientific
education from recorded lectures, virtual an integrated electronic system that can and technical knowledge provided by its
meetings, class activities and electronic compete locally and globally as Omani staff in the field of information technology
tests compatible with academic quality technical production for higher educational to provide the education sector with
standards. Zeyad bin Talib Almawaly, the institutions. The platform provides the latest systems Our belief in the
general supervisor of the “Sana electronic space for managing these systems for importance of bringing modern technology
platform” said: “Sana electronic platform” all educational institutions that wish to into this sector to keep pace with global
came to be specialized to contain an apply distance education with the ability changes, and our endeavor to serve higher
integrated system for managing e-learning to add and change what is appropriate education institutions inside and outside
and distance education and producing for each institution. There are many the Sultanate in this regard, taking on our
digital courses, as it aims to help various services provided by the "Sana" platform, responsibility to specialize in this field and
educational institutions to achieve an as it mainly seeks to provide eight basic provide the necessary and specialized
integrated interactive education from elements under which a number of sub- expertise and skills to make the Sultanate
registered lectures, live virtual encounters, services fall. Maha Al Baloushi, Executive a leader in this aspect. "

82 JUNE-JULY 2020