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INVITED SPEAKERS

 


Title: Innovating and Elevating Education 4.0 Through Free and Open-Source Social Media Analytical Tools

Adil Al-Busaidi

Director of Innovation and Technology Transfer Center

Sultan Qaboos University

 



 
 

Abstract:

Digital technologies have created a societal structure that both enables and constrains educational practices and learners’ behaviors. These technologies shape and reshape how educational systems function. Rapid development in educational innovation necessitates educational systems to adapt to the rapid changes of cutting-edge technologies. In its report titled, “Innovating Education and Educating for Innovation: The power of digital technologies and skills,” OECD (2016) outlined the importance of educational innovation to optimize quality of education, improve learning outcomes, build positive impact, and stay updated with rapid technological and societal changes. Educational innovation is co-created through multifaceted opened systems that continuously interact with their environments. Similarly, educational systems cannot rely on technologies and schools’ actors alone but need to interact with other actors and foster community engagement to enhance learning and teaching quality.

To this end, this work demonstrates the idea of employing social media to engage students, policy makers, government officials, digital entrepreneurs, and the online community at large. A showcase of a semester-long project to engage and mobilize the community and public for the common good is presented. Students are given a semester-long assignment as change agents to engage the public for a public good cause. They are introduced to Industrial Revolution 4.0 skills to keep track of educational innovation, namely data literacy, data analytics, and data visualization, using free and open-source analytical tools. Through experiential learning, students are then asked to diffuse an awareness campaign that may benefit the community.

Participants of ISAFOSS-TIEDE2022 will be presented with examples of free and open-source tools that help to integrate big data, social media analytics, and social network analysis in teaching, learning, and assessment. Employing such tools could help build students’ future skills that enhance individual competency.

Bio:

Dr. Adil S. Al-Busaidi is an assistant professor at the College of Economics and Political Science, previous director of Research & Innovation at Smart City Platform, previous Head of Business Communication Unit, and the current Director of Innovation and Technology Transfer Center at Sultan Qaboos University. His interests revolve around research methodologies such as causal modeling, scale development, and psychometric testing. He developed R programming-based applications for social media opinion mining, sentiment analysis, social network analysis, and sample size calculation. Innovation and Technology Transfer Center, Sultan Qaboos University, Email: abusaid@squ.edu.om

 


Title: Upskilling students in AI and Robotics using FOSS: EIVS as a case study

Ahmed Al Maashri

Associate Professor at College of Engineering

Sultan Qaboos University

 

 

Abstract:

The talk shares the experience of the speaker and his colleagues in using Free Open-Source Software in upskilling students in the fields of Robotics, Unmanned Vehicle Systems, and Machine Vision. The speaker will present the Embedded & Interconnected Vision Systems laboratory, which is a teaching and research lab that was established to promote technologies such as AI and Robotics. More specifically, the speaker will talk about the services that the lab provides, the courses/experiments taught in the lab, and how FOSS is used to upskill the students in the technologies mentioned above. Furthermore, the speaker will highlight how FOSS can also be utilized in research projects.

Bio:

Ahmed Al Maashri holds a PhD in Computer Science and Engineering. He is currently an Associate Professor at Sultan Qaboos University. He has published journal and conference papers in the areas of Computer Architecture, Reconfigurable Computing, Embedded Systems, Digital Logic, and Wireless Networks. Ahmed’s recent focus is on Artificial Intelligence, embedded vision systems, and designing hardware accelerators to speed up the performance of such systems. He has co-founded the Embedded & Interconnected Vision Systems Laboratory. He is recipient of the National Research Award in the ICT sector. He has been recognized with Sultan Qaboos University’s Best Teacher and Best Researcher Awards. Ahmed is a senior IEEE member, and he is the founder IEEE Oman Computer Chapter, and the past Chair of IEEE Oman Section.

 


Title: FOSS Security Risk and their Mitigation to Boost World Digital Economy

Alauddin Al-Omary

College of IT

University of Bahrain

 

 

Abstract:

Free Open Source software (FOSS) is being used by many businesses and products. Some estimate the use of FOSS by 90%. FOSS is software whose code is available for public inspection, modification, and enhancement. Typically, this software is created through community collaboration and is maintained and updated on a volunteer basis. Open-source software can be used according to a variety of licenses, depending on what the creators have implemented. Linux OS, Apache Web Server, WordPress, and Mozilla Firefox are just a few of the most commonly used software available. The reason behind using FOSS it’s cost effective, it offers quick feature integration, ease of access and is often maintained by others. Besides that, it is used to speed product time to market (TTM) and developers can reuse these high-quality functionalities to better concentrate on their products’ core functionalities. Due to its community construction and largely unregulated distribution, a variety of risks— including some cybersecurity risks—come with the use of open-source software. FOSS is rarely well documented or tested. Moreover, with the transparency of open code comes the risk of many eyes looking for vulnerabilities to exploit. Companies need a reliable way to identify FOSS components that are in use. There are four ways a FOSS component can be used in a company’s codebase: (1) A whole FOSS component in use within the codebase, (2) Certain files of the FOSS component in use within the codebase, (3) Code snippets from the FOSS component in use, (4) A mix of method (1),(2), and (3). In this talk we will introduce the risks encountered with FOSS, the causes of open-source risk, mitigation methods, top open source code security tools than can help in FOSS security risk remedy. The talk also will address how free error and secure FOSS can help in boosting business and contribute to achieve intelligent education and efficient and secure digital economy.

Bio:

Alauddin Al-Omary got his Ph.D. from Toyohasi University in Japan in 1994 in Computer Engineering. Since 2005, Dr. Al-Omary is at the department of Computer Engineering at University of Bahrain (UoB) in kingdom of Bahrain. On June 2005, he became Associate professor. He is the founder and the Managing Editor of the International Journal of Computing and Network Technology (IJCNT).

His main topics of interests are Computer Architecture, Computer Networks, and Artificial Intelligence Dr. Al-Omary obtained the Japanese Monbusho research scholarship awards in years 1989-1994. He is a member of IEEE, International Association of Computer Science and Information Technology (IACSIT), Excellence and Academic Research Society (SEAR).

He got the best paper prize at the 2015 International conference of Biomedical Engineering and Environmental Engineering held in London between 20-21 March 2015. He also got Author Excellence Recognition, Emerald Publishing in 2017 and Excellent tutor - Huawei middle east ICT competition in 2018 and 2020.

 


Title: Artificial intelligence in education: The urgent need to prepare future instructors today for the school of tomorrow?

Prof. Naoufel Kraiem

University of El Manar

Tunis

 

 

Abstract:

Artificial intelligence has invaded our daily lives and it is impossible to ignore its place in all sectors of society. It is emerging in the field of education with applications aimed at both learners and teachers with the objective of improving the quality, efficiency and equity of education. In our previous research, we defined AI, analyzed the place of AI in the service of student learning and its impact on teaching. We have tried to see to what extent the teacher sees his place and his role modified. However, the purpose of our presentation is not to paint a picture of artificial intelligence in education. It is too large a site impossible to cover in a few pages. It is rather a question of showing that it is important to train future teachers in the rudiments of artificial intelligence in education, not so that they are experts in this field, but rather to prepare them for the school of tomorrow.  It will also be a question of preparing them to train the young people of today to participate in the building of the future society using new approaches such as AI and machine learning. Recently, some very interesting algorithmic applications have been described which aim to improve the quality of learning and thus make a smart learner.

Bio:

Prof Naoufel Kraiem is a professor in Computer Science. He received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Paris 6 in 1994.  He has more than 32 years of experience in teaching and researching in Computer Science. His research interests are Software Engineering, Requirement Engineering and Data Science. Overall, he has worked with a range of government, intelligence and business organizations in a number of research groups and laboratories, including in the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Indonesia. He was designated “expert” of Smart City and IoT". He currently chairs the Research and Knowledge Exchange Committee at University of El Manar and he is the coordinator of University El Manar PhD program.

He has participated in several projects related to Future foresight, Emerging technologies & innovations, Industrial Revolution 4.0, Future cities (Smart, Sustainable and innovative Cities), Education 4.0, Artificial Intelligence (AI). He has been publishing and serving in reputable international journals' editorial boards.

 


Title: Education on Innovation

Noura Merhabi

EdTech Curriculum Advisor

ACT College Lebanon

 


 

Abstract:

As the world is becoming competitive day by day, people are losing their creativity. Everyone is in the race to achieve the same standard. However, there are people who stand about from the crowd with their creative ideas. It is necessary to cultivate innovative thinking for everyone, otherwise the world will be a dull boring place. We believe that every learner is creative and innovative in a way, for this reason we should apply STEAM in our educational program to enhance their knowledge and skills especially the critical thinking and creativity skills.

Despite the challenges and concerns, it's important to note the benefits of technology in education, including increased collaboration and communication, improved quality of education by using free and open source software.

In this presentation, there will be explanation how to apply STEAM ++(+productivity, + humanity) and FOSS in education in order to apply the concept of Education on Innovation for all.

Bio:

A prompt, professional dedicated person with 9 years of experience in the Educational field with solid Foundation in curriculum instruction, developing model lessons using structured pedagogy that fit within the scope and sequence based on international and Lebanese context throughout my experience in IB.

In addition to her latest position as an EdTech Curriculum Advisor at ACT and SANAD Lebanon Association.

PR and Events coordinator at several associations such as PCA (Professional Computer Association) Lebanese Innovators Association ARISPA (Arab Union for Internet and Telecommunications) and Digital Transformation Network in Lebanon Member et ''Global Institute for Arabic Renewal".

Assisted the leader of the Edtech and Innovation Committee and Digital Transformation Network in partnership with the Westminster for democracy to write the strategic plan and studies for the Lebanese Parliament education and technology committee.

Jury for the EdTech Startups in the "National Association for Science and Research".

Certified trainer for educational institutions and companies such as Microsoft and Edmodo.

Edmodo Certified Trainer, she gave training for DOP's in Edmodo.

Trained the trainers at the Ministry of Education and USAID.

www.linkedin.com/in/noura-merhabi-75722b1a1

 


Title: Adoption of FOSS in Intelligent Education

Oualid Ali

Director of Quality and Accreditation Department

University of Buraimi

 


 

Abstract:

In his speech, Dr. Oualid will first present the history of the previous industrial revolutions. Then he will show the main features of the current fourth industrial revolution or IR 4.0. He will also present how we should disrupt the higher education system to fit the fourth industrial revolution: Higher education 4.0. Then, he will show in details how the next years of exponential technological advancement might look like for the higher education. More focus will be on the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) and how they are used in higher education 4.0. Finally, he will conclude the speech by presenting a roadmap of higher education 4.0 for Oman.

Bio:

Dr. Oualid Ali is considered as one of the international well-recognized experts in the fields of Future foresight, Trends watching, Emerging technologies & innovations, Industrial Revolution 4.0, Future cities (Smart, Sustainable and innovative Cities), Education 4.0, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), etc. He has participated in several projects related to these fields as a speaker, expert, researcher, advisor, or trainer. Specifically, within the field of Smart cities, he has been involved in the planning and implementation of several future cities projects in various verticals such as “Smart mobility, Smart Education, Smart tourism, Smart energy, Smart health, Smart logistics, Smart waste management, Smart water management, Smart security, Smart policing, Smart buildings & Infrastructure, etc.” to mention few. He has given several training and seminars related to these fields. Dr. Oualid is a member of several organizations related to the area of Future foresight, Future and Smart Cities or Urban technologies. As a global speaker and world traveler, he has been invited, as keynote or guest speaker, to several local, regional and international events (more than 40 events each year). Dr. Oualid is the Founder and President of the ecosystem platform FutureCitiesCouncil.org (http://www.FutureCitiesCouncil.org/) with members from the quadruple helix: government (cities), industry, academia and civic society and The Founder and CEO of the Future foresight platform Future-is-here.co (http://www.Future-is-here.co) and The University of the Future (http://www.Future-is-here.co/FutureUniversity/) for Education 4.0. Recently, he founded a startup related to the Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) which is called www.The-Mind.ai. For more information about Dr. Oualid please visit his website www.dr-oualid-ali.com.

 


Title: Is SMART education really SMART?

Professor Dr. Zuhoor Abdullah Al-Khanjari

Computer Science, College of Science

Sultan Qaboos University

 


 

Abstract:

Is SMART education really referring to being intelligent as itself? The answer is NO. So, why they use the term SMART along with education. As all know that education represents an important pillar in any SMART city. All citizens are learners in the SMART city. Therefore, technology used in SMART cities could boost learning environments and make them smart. Due to the incorporation of rising Information and Communication Technology (ICT) needed for SMART cities and to answer the learners’ desire for the best education, learning conditions have changed fundamentally in the past couple of decades from the introduction of hardware and software in the education process to a diversity of virtual tools in classrooms. It should be obvious that SMART education refers to the usage of effective SMART technology and tools. The acronym SMART identifies the areas of focus in goal-setting and outlines strategy for reaching any objective. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Results-oriented or Relevant, and Time-bound. Other terms have been associated with these letters, but the Ohio Department of Education uses these. Students and strategies represent the center point while adopting the online learning environment. The idea is to know: 1. how to enhance the existing Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and 2. how to support the LMSs with smart facilities. Obviously, this could be done through reusing the theoretical/practical features of SMART educational atmosphere. This would be a good improvement for the existing LMS to become smarter for a long period of time and cover wider space.

Bio:

Prof. Zuhoor Al-Khanjari is a Professor of Software Engineering at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU), Oman. Prof. Zuhoor started her career with BSc in Mathematics&Computing from the Department of Maths and Computer, College of Science, SQU, Muscat, Oman.

She did her master and doctorate in Software Engineering from the Liverpool University, UK. She started her teaching carrier at SQU in 1993. She handled several administration positions in Department of Computer Science, College of Science, SQU as HoD of the Department of Computer Science in 2010 to 2017 and Assistant Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Research of the college in 2003 until 2005 and Acting Head and Head of the Department of Computer Science in 2010 to 2017. She handled national administrative positions as Chairperson of the Trustee Council of Waljat College of Applied Sciences in collaboration with Birla Institute in India in 2014 to 2021, Member and Deputy Chairperson of Education and Learning Committee in the State Council of Oman in 2016 to 2019 and a member of Education Committee in Oman Chamber of Commerce&Industry in 2018 to 2021.

She received several awards. The best researcher award from SQU in 2019. In 2020, she was Selected in SQU for the International Day of Women and Girls in the Field of Science the Most Published Researchers at Scopus. Also, in 2020, she received an award on the Distinguished Women in Science (Major Area of Study - Computer Science) Award by the Venus International Foundation (VIWA 2020) in March 2020. In 2021, She received the International Best Researcher in Computer Science (Software Engineering) Award by the International Journal for Research Under Literal Access (IJRULA 2021) International Ratna Research Award.

Prof. Zuhoor received 4 awards in 2018 and 2021 on the postgraduate projects she supervised: 2 awards on the PhD projects (i.e. on the recognition of outstanding achievement in the young scholars’ competition at the 4th Science and Technology Exchange Program (STEP) in Islamic Countries) and 1 award on the MSc project (on the best postgraduate project in the College of Science for the MSc project) and in 2021, 1 award for the 5 Minutes PhD thesis Competition. The PhD project was on SMART learning.

She has been involved in software engineering for over 20 years. Her main research areas are software engineering, testing and quality, e-learning, m-learning and smart learning. She received national research grants in Oman. She published 169 publications: 66 journals papers, 75 conferences papers, 5 books chapters, 3 eBook papers, 1 book abstract and 19 articles in SQU newsletters. She is serving in editorial and technical boards of international journals and conferences.

 

mohamed


Title: What Impact Could AI and the Metaverse Have on the Education Industry?

Mohamed Mostafa Fouad

Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport

Egypt

 


 

Abstract:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has had a huge impact on a variety of industries, including education. Artificial intelligence is allowing teachers to have a better understanding of how their students acquire knowledge. Teachers can adapt the curriculum as a result of this insight, and even grading becomes a transparent and straightforward procedure. School administration is also being affected by the automation applied through the AI prediction and pattern learning capabilities. However, any new technology, particularly AI-based solutions, comes at a high price, making it difficult for many governments to afford. As a result, affordable, inexpensive, and reliable solutions are needed, which can be obtained through utilizing the free and open-source software (FOSS) models. Fortunately, there are a variety of open source AI technologies available for business and non- business use under a range of open source licenses. These sources include datasets, pre-trained algorithms, and ready-to-use interfaces for rapidly developing AI applications. The Metaverse is a promising new technology that could be used to augment traditional learning methods and give a unique learning experience. The valuable feature of such technology is that it allows students to have a far more immersive learning experience. The purpose of the talk is to demonstrate how AI and the Metaverse can affect the education in general, as well as to showcase cutting-edge FOSS models for creating a smart educational environment.

Bio:

Dr. Mohamed Mostafa received his M.Sc. and PhD in Computer Science from Helwan University in the Arab Republic of Egypt's Faculty of Computers and Information. He also did a post-doctoral scientific mission in the Czech Republic at the Technical University of Ostrava. He is currently employed as an Assistant Professor and Head of Educational Departments at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport's Smart Village Branch's Faculty of Computers and Information Technology. Dr. Mohammad also serves as the rapporteur for Egypt's National Committee for Communications and Information Technology. Palo Alto International has qualified Dr. Mohamed as a Cyber Security Trainer. He is also a certified artificial intelligence trainer from the French College of Engineering and Applications, as part of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications' drive to localize artificial intelligence technology. He is part of the team tasked with establishing a framework for a unified Arab artificial intelligence strategy under the League of Arab States' umbrella. In addition, Dr. Mohamed is a senior member of the IEEE.