Secretary of the Gulf Committee for E-Learning in Universities emphasizes importance of measuring the impact of modern technologies on education quality

Muscat, Oct 5 (KUNA) -- Dr. Abdullah Al-Mutawa, Kuwaiti Secretary of the Committee of E-Learning Officials at Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) universities and higher education institutions, emphasized the importance of transitioning from the phase of adopting modern technologies to the phase of measuring their actual impact on the quality of education, student experience, and the efficiency of educational institutions.

This statement was made by Al-Mutawa, who also serves as Deputy Director General of Academic Support Services at Kuwait University, in an interview with the Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) following his chairing of the 25th meeting of the committee. The meeting was hosted by Sultan Qaboos University in Muscat on Monday, with participation from representatives of universities and higher education institutions across the GCC states to discuss the future of digital education and artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives.

Al-Mutawa stressed the necessity of transforming GCC cooperation into joint initiatives and projects with clear, measurable outcomes, moving from the stage of technology usage to proving its impact on all aspects of educational quality. He highlighted the importance of achieving competency-based e-learning and micro-credentialing, automating educational and student information systems, developing digital programs, and leveraging AI for proactive identification of academic struggles, as well as professional development and instructional design in the AI era.

He also affirmed the committee’s commitment to guiding GCC educational institutions from the experimentation phase to institutional integration, noting the importance of converting the numerous successful internal initiatives and experiences within GCC universities into shared GCC knowledge that can be utilized, developed, and built upon.

Regarding the meeting’s key recommendations, Al-Mutawa stated that the GCC Repository of Practices in Higher Education AI was adopted to make available related policies, guidelines, experiences, initiatives, and training programs concerning e-learning and AI. He added that a GCC working group was established to study “the impact of AI agents on automating higher education on educational quality and to provide a framework for enhancing the efficiency of actual educational processes,” comprising members from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman.

In his address to the meeting, Al-Mutawa emphasized building on the outcomes of the previous meeting held in Riyadh, which discussed ways to manage rapid AI transformations and how to solidify its use in educational institutions through dimensions related to strategy, governance, cybersecurity, data protection and privacy, ethical use, and the idea of developing a unified GCC language model that serves education and reflects our cultural and linguistic specificity. He also stressed the importance of moving from using isolated tools to building interconnected educational systems, and from asking about the use of technology itself to asking about its impact on humans, education, and society.

He expressed hope that the Muscat meeting would yield good recommendations and several initiatives framed by practical and time-bound schedules, equipped with indicators to measure achievements and realized impact, so that the committee becomes a “GCC platform for producing joint initiatives.” He thanked and appreciated the officials at Sultan Qaboos University for hosting the meeting, particularly the university president, Dr. Fahd Al-Saaid, and expressed his expectation that the meeting’s outcomes would contribute to forming a shared GCC vision for the future of e-learning and digital education.

For his part, Salem Al-Waili, Director of the Educational Technology Center at Sultan Qaboos University, emphasized in his speech the importance of strengthening cooperation frameworks and joint coordination among higher education institutions in GCC states, and enhancing the exchange of expertise, experiences, and practices in e-learning. This, he noted, contributes to keeping pace with rapid developments in technology and digital transformation and supports efforts to build a more integrated and innovative educational system.

Al-Waili added that the world of knowledge is undergoing unprecedented and rapid transformation, clarifying that e-learning “is no longer merely a means of delivering educational content but has become an integrated system where digital technologies, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and adaptive learning intersect, opening new horizons toward more flexible, personalized, and responsive education that meets every student’s needs.”

He stressed the necessity of having a clear institutional vision and proactive plans that anticipate the future, define priorities, and build human and technical capacities. This requires clear governance of e-learning processes and AI use, ensuring the quality of outputs, data security, student privacy, integrity of the educational process, and responsible use of modern technologies.

Representatives from 32 universities and institutions from GCC higher education institutions participated in the meeting, aimed at enhancing cooperation and coordination among GCC higher education institutions in the field of e-learning, exchanging expertise, practices, and experiences in developing e-learning and teaching systems, and discussing joint topics and initiatives.

The meeting’s agenda included a follow-up on recommendations and decisions from the previous meeting, a review of updates and e-learning initiatives at participating universities and institutions, and the exchange of experiences and expertise through presentations of e-learning initiatives and the use of emerging technologies in education and learning, as well as exploring opportunities for joint cooperation.

(End) M.J.B / N.S.A