IT Center

After its Application on its Students

UOB Holds its Meetings Remotely

22 March 2020

The head of the Information Networks Division at the University of Bahrain (UOB), Suhaib Mohammed Al-Abdi, stated that “The University has recently adopted a mechanism for holding distance meetings and learning by using one of the Microsoft Office 365 applications, as one of the precautionary measures taken to prevent gatherings and mixing at the University to combat Corona virus (Covid-19).".

Al-Abdi explained that the applications used in learning or working remotely allow using the camera and microphone, as well as the exchange of live conversations, and sharing files and work in real time, not to mention the ability to teach on the electronic whiteboard. Indicating that training workshops will be held for the academic staff by a Microsoft representative on methods of using distance learning technology.

Moreover, he emphasized that this technology has several advantages, including that it has an open capacity, it is loaded on cloud computing, allows anyone to participate in it from any part of the world, and it always allows a real-time interaction.

On her part, Secretary of the Facilities Office at UOB, Zahra Issa Ali, confirmed the success, effectiveness and flexibility of the teleconferencing experience, stating that "We recently held a remote meeting for the Risk Management Committee, and the experience was successful by all standards, and we hope to continue this approach in the future because of its advantages."

She further added that "The remote meeting is more effective than face-to-face meetings, as it pushed those meeting to focus more, as there are no side discussions or interruptions. The microphone is opened to the speaker and closed for the rest of those meeting if someone speaks," noting that in line with directives to work remotely, holding remote meetings will increase in the next period, as only 50% of employees work on campus, while the rest are working from home.

Also, she indicated that holding meetings remotely contributed to easily setting the meeting date, especially since the people meeting are distributed in the campuses of the University in Sakhir and Isa Town, pointing out that the process of arranging the dates of the meetings often has conflicts, but with the remote meeting mechanism everyone can participate smoothly in the meeting, and it led to more interaction. Confirming the great benefit of the remote meeting mechanism, as meetings are recorded and documented in audio and video.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Key Words

Remote meetings, distance education, cloud computing, risk management committee, electronic whiteboard

UOB Employees Learn About Electronic Risks and How to Deal with Them

The employees of the University of Bahrain (UOB) learned about the most significant electronic risks and how to deal with them during a workshop entitled “Technical Information Security", which was organized by the Information Technology Center at UOB on Wednesday (19 February 2020) at the campus of Sakhir, in cooperation with the Administrative Training Office at the University and the Information and E-Government Authority.

The workshop was held for two consecutive days and in which about 120 administrators participated and discussed issues such as information security, types of electronic risks and how to deal with them, in addition to laws and regulations related to information security in the government sector.

Computer security official at the Information and E-Government Authority, Yousif Khaled Al-Maloud, stated: "Today, cyber-attacks have become more dangerous than ever and have introduced a new kind of wars known as electronic (cyber) wars, which may not require many weapons, but their destructive effects are enormous."

Also, he pointed out that hacking attempts can be caused by various motives such as blackmail, political goals, or destructive motives, which threat level can be determined by the type of hacking and the number of attempts, stressing that the awareness of employees would lead to the failure of 90% of electronic hacking attempts.

Moreover, Al-Maloud indicated that "the Information and E-Government Authority gives utmost importance to spreading awareness on the dangers of electronic threats and their preventions" noting that "the Authority has undertaken several initiatives to raise awareness of information security, one of which is "Trust "program, which has benefited more than four thousand government employees since its launch in 2016.”

Furthermore, Al-Maloud pointed out that information security is determined through setting policies and procedures, creating modern technologies, and raising awareness of the importance and methods of dealing with electronic threats, noting the elements of information security include confidentiality, integrity, and availability that is done through backup.

During his speech, the computer security administrator discussed types of risks, such as viruses, electronic worms, hacking methods by backdoors, trojans, spyware, adware, keyboard viruses, and hacking through the information available on social media.

Also, he talked about important measures to protect information security, and concluded his speech by reviewing regulations related to information technology crimes, such as illegal entry, data destruction, data interception, threats and extortion, forgery, and fraud, in addition to noting crimes related to the protection of the State’s information and documents.

In the Digital Transformation Conference for Digital Institutions

UOB Wins the Best Technology Project Award at the Gulf Level

09 October 2019

During the Digital Transformation Conference for Digital Institutions held in the Emirate of Dubai, the University of Bahrain (UOB) won and received the award for the best technology project at the level of the GCC countries, in the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solutions project that is currently applied in the University's libraries.

Head of the Information Networks Division at the University’s Information Technology Center and the person responsible for the project, Suhaib Al-Abdi, stated that “This technology is a modern virtual simulation that provides an advanced and safe interactive environment for university students, as it hosts a desktop operating system on central servers in the University’s main data center. Indicating that the smart desktop technology is one of the latest interactive technologies provided for users, as it offers many advantages, including increased productivity, reduced errors, ease of developing devices and providing them with the necessary updates automatically and quickly, easy remote access to the user's device to provide the necessary support in case this is needed, as well as centrally and automatically enhancing information security on the user's machine."

Also, UOB is making strenuous efforts in digital transformation, as it is in line with the seventh axis “creating a changing environment that meets the requirements and accommodates future variables” of its development plan (2016-2021), towards creating a modern campus by adopting modern technical concepts and the latest modern technologies that will contribute to changing how we work within the University and how students learn.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality Education

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

17 Partnerships for The Goals

Key Words

Best Technology Project, VDI, Digital Transformation Conference for Digital Institutions, Information Technology Center at the University of Bahrain, Digital Transformation, a modern campus