English Language Center

Sakhir - University of Bahrain (Khadijah Abdusalem) November 20, 2022 [...]

"Foundation Programs" Conference Calls for the Inclusion of Career Paths in Academic Content

Based on the recommendations of the recently concluded Third International Conference on Foundation Programs, the English Language Center (ELC) at the University of Bahrain (UOB) announced that it is going to establish an integrated program in order to support job and life skills of its students.

Where around 1,200 participants from 50 countries around the world participated in this scientific event under the title "Extending Higher Education Learning beyond the Classroom: Integrating Life and Employability Skills".

The recommendations in the seminar held by the Conference on Tuesday (24 November 2020) were based on the scientific studies that were discussed during the Conference that was held on the Zoom platform.

The director of ELC at the University, Dr. Ghada Ahmed Jassim, explained that Employability Skills mean the ability to think critically, deal with crises, the ability to analyze, manage and develop oneself, and the ability to communicate and plan properly, as well as being flexible and active.

On its second day, the Conference hosted the keynote speaker, Director of Recruitment at Nottingham Trent University, Dr. Doug Cole, who presented a paper entitled " Developing a Future Facing Approach to Support Scalable Change in Higher Education Learning."

In his speech, Dr. Cole stressed the importance of taking research results into consideration and changing the view that is limited to skills and knowledge only in the field of employment, pointing to the need to diversify employment requirements to include all aspects of life such as personalized learning, interpersonal skills, flexibility and self-efficacy, mental health, and others. Also, Dr. Cole called on institutions to focus on the quality of the staff rather than the number in order to help the largest possible segment of graduates.

While faculty member of the College of Engineering at UOB, Dr. Bassam Abdulla Alhamad, presented a scientific paper entitled " Enhancing Employability through Student Empowerment in the Light of Economical Challenges and Pandemic of Covid-19."

Dr. Alhamad presented the efforts of UOB in integrating Employability Skills and increasing students' capabilities, an effort that is built on scientific foundations based on research, stressing the importance of identifying general and basic skills, and using them to develop curricula.

Moreover, Dr. Alhamad agreed with Dr. Cole on the importance of including such values ??in the recruitment processes, explaining that the skills of the twenty-first century lack the integration of these values ??within its provisions. As the former director of the Quality and Academic Accreditation Office at UOB called on the Higher Education Council to consider including students' capabilities within employment requirements, which include academic life, professional services, certificates, student activities, and others.

The Conference was held over three days and it brought together prominent speakers from different all over the world who enriched its sessions with insights and knowledge related to the essential aspects of employment. As the Conference addresses a wide range of issues, the most important of which are: cognitive qualifications, which have become the focus of higher education institutions. Also, the Conference stressed the importance of this approach, not only in the professional life of students, but teachers as well, indicating the need to add career path management and practical application in academic content, especially in light of the current economy that was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the Conference, the future of jobs and adapting educational curricula and teaching methods to suit the current situation were discussed in several presentations.

And at the end of the event, the results of the "Best Picture" competition were announced, which was held in cooperation between ELC and the National Geographic Educational Foundation.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

8 Decent work and economic growth

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

The English Language Center at the University of Bahrain, supporting career and life skills, Third International Conference on Foundation Programs Integrating Life and Employability Skills, Extending Higher Education Learning beyond the Classroom, the ability to think critically, and deal with crises, the ability to analyze, self-management and development, ability to communicate, proper planning, flexibility and effectiveness, cognitive qualifications

Consensus on the Importance of Employability Skills and including them in courses...

Prof. Hamzah:

The Importance of Professional Certificates for University Students to Prepare them for the Labor Market

Refining Students' Skills and Enabling them to Adapt to Independent Learning Methods

The President of the University of Bahrain (UOB), Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, stressed the importance of professional certificates offered by the University to students to prepare them for the labor market and increase their employment opportunities, referring to the programs that shall refine students' skills and encourage entrepreneurship, as it is one of the most important tributaries of business now and in the future.

This came during the opening session of the International Conference on Foundation Programs organized by the English Language Center at the UOB through visual communication technology on Tuesday (10 November 2020) and for a period of three days.  

The opening session was moderated by Mr. Cameron Mirza and was attended by the President of UOB, along with: Managing Director and CEO of Kuwait Finance House Abdul Hakeem Al-Khayyat, Director of Education and Training Development at the Economic Development Board Jeff Hancock, Director of Business Development and the Middle East Program for Educational Services Simon Peters, Director of Human Resources at Zain Bahrain Dana Bukhamas, and Head of Corporate Communications at National Bank of Bahrain Hisham Abu Alfateh.

The conference discussed 42 research papers and reviewed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the higher education and employment sector and the promotion of higher education goals within the 2030 Economic Vision.

The conference was held for the third time with the title of: “Expanding the Scope of Learning in Higher Education Outside Class: Integrating Life and Employability Skills” and was sponsored by the President of UOB, Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah.

Prof. Riyad Hamzah discussed the recent scientific and specialized trends, graduate and undergraduate programs related to artificial intelligence, big data, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, cloud computing, network security, and more. Also, he pointed out that UOB is in the final stage of moving its entire infrastructure and applications into Amazon’s cloud, which will help in accelerating the digital transformation process.

Furthermore, the President of the University praised the conference and its topics that support sustainable development goals of the United Nations Development Program in terms of quality of education, with a focus on providing technical and professional skills for employment and entrepreneurship, noting the importance of "working to refine students' skills and enabling them to adapt to independent learning methods to ensure their career success in the future. "

The International Conference on Foundation Programs is organized by the University's English Language Center and it examines the most vital issues affecting the future of higher education in the period from 10 to 12 of this November.

The conference was held for the third time with the title of: “Expanding the Scope of Learning in Higher Education Outside Class: Integrating Life and Employability Skills” (ILES) and was sponsored by the President of UOB, Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah.

The participants in the opening session unanimously agreed on the centrality of job skills and the need to include them in academic programs, noting, in this context, the need to strengthen teaching methods in crises in line with the sustainable development goals.

Also, they stressed the need to adapt legislation and review it to create inventive methods of higher education, and to launch initiatives to support university students, develop their skills, and teach them modern technology, which is now running many processes in various sectors.

Moreover, Dr. Ghada Ahmed Jassim, Director of the English Language Center at UOB stated: “Due to the distinguished response from participants in submitting research papers and presentations to this innovative electronic conference, it has been decided to extend the session from two days to three days, as one of the highlights of the conference will be its launch with four main speakers, in addition to the opening session accompanied by an interactive panel debate."

Also, she pointed out that "the electronic conference aims to review the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the higher education and employment sector, and to promote higher education goals within Bahrain's Economic Vision 2030," noting that the event "supports the sustainable development goals of the United Nations Development Program (Goal 4) on quality education, with a focus on providing technical and professional skills for employment and entrepreneurship, and contributing to refine students' skills and enabling them to adapt to independent learning methods to ensure their career success in the future, as the conference seeks to strengthen teaching methods in crises in line with the sustainable development goals.

Furthermore, the CEO Kuwait Finance House Abdul Hakeem Al-Khayyat recommended enhancing communication to bridge the gap between higher education and the labor market, noting the importance of developing a strategy to integrate organizational behavior and leadership skills in academic programs to enhance future job opportunities in line with Bahrain's 2030 Vision.

For her part, Dana Bukhamas emphasized the importance and necessity of investing in building the capabilities and energies of the youth, along with developing academic programs.

The Director of Language Research and Education at Cambridge University Press, Ben Knight, was the first speaker and he gave a presentation entitled “How can English language programs improve students’ employment skills?” followed by five scholarly papers on the originality of texts in the English learning classes and linking it to employability skills.

Also, Dr. Paul Robertson and Dr. Ramon Medriano gave a speech on behalf of the Asian EFL Journal Editorial, which will publish the research papers presented at the Conference. The conference concluded on its first day with a speech by Dr. Keith Fulse, who is an English Language Professor for non-English speakers at the University of Central Florida.

English Language Students at UOB Revitalize the Shakespearean Theater in a Modern Language

On Monday. 23^rd of December 2019, Students of the English Language Center at the University of Bahrain (UOB) revitalized the Shakespearean theater using simple language by performing his famous comedy play "Much Ado About Nothing".

As the students of the University's English Language Center were used to end each semester with a theatrical performance that attracted hundreds of students in the Shaikh Abdulaziz Hall on the University campus in Sakhir.

The theatrical performance was attended by the President of UOB Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, and several faculty members, along with a large number of male and female students.

The Director of the English Language Center, Dr. Ghada Ahmed Jassim, affirmed, "The Center is keen to continue to support student entertainment, educational, and theatrical projects, in order to provide an appropriate and creative environment, as activities are the only outlet through which students can show their potential away from the pressure of study."

Furthermore, she stated: "Student activities contribute to refining students' skills, and encourage them to work, produce, and to apply the theoretical materials they have studied on the ground."

Both students and professors of the English Language Center participated in the play, which is one of the most famous comedies by the English writer and poet William Shakespeare.

The play revolves around several themes, including lying, friendship, and justice. On stage, the actors showed the effect of lying on humans, even if it’s for good reasons.

Moreover, Dr. Jassem said: "The play was performed in simple and clear English, taking into account the levels of all students, in order to be able to communicate the objectives and significance of this play to them."