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In a symposium organized by the College of Information Technology

UOB Presents the Criteria for Choosing Scientific Journals to Publish Research

As a part of a series of seminars organized by the College of Information Technology at the University of Bahrain (UOB) aimed at developing creative research skills among researchers at UOB, the College has recently organized the "How to Choose High-Quality Scientific Journals And Conferences For Your Research" symposium, in which participants discussed the importance of developing scientific research skills.

The virtual symposium began with a speech by the Dean of the College of Information Technology, Dr. Lamya Mohammed Al-Jasmi, during which she spoke about the importance of developing the skills and quality of scientific research at the University and confirmed that the College is focusing on influencing research in the industrial, commercial and government sectors of a multidisciplinary nature.

Also, Dr. Riyad Costantini from the Computer Science Department spoke about the criteria for selecting high-quality scientific journals suitable for the published research and stated that "Research and publications are conducted under the auspices of universities and with the efforts of research teams and local, national, regional and global partnerships. Therefore, the selection of the scientific journal for publication must be adequate with the quality of the publication, and with the value of the University to which the research team of publishers and partners belong."

Furthermore, Dr. Costantini confirmed that it is important for the researcher to take into account the real size of the journal's impact factor, and its impact on the quality of scientific research on the international scale, explaining that the decision to publish a research in a scientific journal or participate in a conference is based on several factors, the most important of which are: the search engine's specialization, specifications, the essential value of the research, the size of journal distribution, and the scholarly standing of research partners, in addition to publishers.

As Dr. Costantini reviewed the various search engines, journals, and related conferences in various disciplines, referring to websites that serve as references to classify scientific journals and conferences according to their quality, and he broke down the important metrics that help researchers in providing the best evaluations of these journals and conferences.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education.

16 Partnerships for the goals.

Key Words:

College of Information Technology, Developing Scientific Research Skills, University of Bahrain, Symposium, Search Engines, Scientific Journals, Journal's Impact Factor

In A Symposium Discussing "Technical Expertise in Using Learning Management Systems in Light of the Pandemic"

Information Technology Professors at UOB Discuss Distance Learning Strategies

A symposium entitled “Technical Expertise in Using Learning Management Systems in Light of the Covid-19 Pandemic” was organized by the College of Information Technology at the University of Bahrain (UOB) to discuss the best practices of learning and teaching information technology in light the covid-19 pandemic, in which information technology professors discussed effective teaching strategies and the technical factors for the success of distance teaching.

The IT professors discussed topics including effective class project teams using Microsoft Teams, as well as electronic support meetings and their impact on student achievement.

The assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Faisal Abdulhameed Al-Qaid, spoke in the symposium on "Effective Strategies for Teaching on Online Platforms" ??and stressed that "teaching via online platforms using learning management systems provides us with new opportunities to deal and interact with students, therefore we must use them well and in a correct manner for the education process to be done effectively."

In this context, Dr. Al-Qaid stated that “The Corona pandemic has changed traditional teaching methods and the way students are dealt with through learning management systems, calling for the investment of modern technical means in several areas.”

Also, the Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Engineering, Dr. Jalal Mohammed Khlaifat, spoke on "Giving Lectures Through Smart Devices." As Dr. Khlaifat believed that "the experience of distance teaching through smart devices was an effective experience, as all students were able to see watch live lectures while easily activating the feature of interaction between the professor and students. The study compared the distance education systems currently in use at UOB, and tried to identify the compatibility of many of their properties with smart devices to obtain the best practical experience for distance learning using smart devices, " in addition to reviewing a number of modern devices that are compatible with e-learning. 

Moreover, Assistant Professor in the Computer Engineering Department, Dr. Mohammed Abdulaziz Al-Mir, participated in the symposium and spoke about "Effective Class Project Teams: An Experiment with Microsoft Teams". Dr. Al-Mir stated that “These projects faced challenges after the transition to distance education, including forming teams, activating individuals in such teams, preparing electronic resources to facilitate the work of these teams, and the lack of experience of some students in using the educational platform and electronic resources,” explaining that these challenges formed an obstacle for students and a fear of remote interaction.

Furthermore, Dr. Al-Mir spoke on the experience of using Microsoft Teams and said: “We have taken measures to activate the teams, among which is the inclusion of student interaction in the team’s channel in the final evaluation of the student, which necessitated urging students to use a private channel for all their activities, including discussions, meetings, and exchange and storage of resources.

For his part, Assistant Professor in the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Qaddumi, reviewed the experience of "Electronic Support Meetings and Their Impact on Students' Achievement in Distance Learning." In this regard, Al-Qaddumi said, "I worked on scheduling daily meetings with students in the evening, through advance appointments and e-mails to help them and provide them with the necessary support through the Microsoft Teams platform." Dr. Al-Qaddumi indicated that he experienced a positive interaction among the students, which appeared in the attendance, as well as in asking questions and discussions, stressing that the virtual communication platforms provided the appropriate environment for discussion among members, making virtual support sessions simulate the experience of real classes.

On her part, Assistant Professor at the Department of Information Systems, Dr. Jihene Bint Al-Shathaly Kaabi, spoke about the technical aspects that helped her succeed in teaching online, as she stated that "There are several technical aspects that professors should take into account in distance education, which are, considering the target group of students when preparing the content of the live session, as it is necessary to ensure students' ability to understand the content of the lesson, and to ensure that the session is presented clearly." Pointing out that providing an outline of the lesson at the start of the session is essential.

Also, Kaabi called on the professors to "Encourage students to participate during the session through the chat activation feature available in all e-learning platforms, so that the professor can discuss students’ answers and give practical advice to each student on his answer. "

Moreover, Dr. Kaabi stressed the need to respect the meeting dates, timely answer students' questions outside lecture times, and to provide assistance to every student who needs support.

It’s worth mentioning that the Symposium was moderated by Assistant Professor at the Department of Computer Science, Dr. Abdulfattah Mahmood Salman, which was the second in a series of virtual symposiums organized by the College of Information Technology in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, to discuss best practices for remote learning and teaching of information technology.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

The College of Information Technology at the University of Bahrain, University of Bahrain, Technical Expertise in Using Learning Management Systems in Light of The Pandemic, effective strategies for teaching through online platforms, the traditional methods of teaching,

A Technical Study at UOB Suggests

A Framework to Reduce the Issues of Renting Surplus Resources

19 November 2020

A technical study at the University of Bahrain (UOB) proposed a framework to reduce the issued associated with the process of renting surplus resources and exploiting the reduced prices provided by cloud computing services by monitoring the changing prices in a lot of the markets of service providers.

Student Ali Jassim Sanad presented his study as a requirement to obtain a master’s degree in the Information Technology Master’s Program at the College of Information Technology, entitled “Reducing the costs of providing cloud services by using redundant resources and moving between them.”

The results of the study showed a reduction in the cost of rent at a rate ranging between 64% to 74% in comparison with the resources rental prices from currently used methods.

The study was discussed on Wednesday (11 November 2020) and it tested a number of artificial intelligence algorithms to verify the predictability of prices subject to change based on the supply and demand process. The results showed that the predicted prices were close to real prices, which indicates the possibility of using such algorithms for this type of price prediction process and contributes to taking proactive measures to reduce the risks associated with the process of renting surplus resources.

Also, the study showed that cloud computing offers a set of benefits, including reducing usage costs, which is one of the most important benefits that encourage users to take advantage of cloud computing. The reduction in the usage cost comes from the process of renting the necessary resources instead of buying them, and in return, companies providing cloud services to configure and maintain multiple service centers that contain the resources that are leased to users. In order to reduce the operational cost of these centers, the companies providing cloud services rent unused resources at reduced costs, with the ability to retrieve these resources from users when they are needed. This type of leasing is called the leasing spot and it’s one of the methods that provides an additional reduction for users, however, it has several issues that reduce its availability and dependence, including the issue of continuous change in resource prices depending on the supply and demand processes.

The researcher verified the validity of the proposed framework by performing a simulation using real information from the Amazon Internet Services Company.

It’s worth mentioning that the discussion was held over the Microsoft Teams platform and the discussion committee consisted of the Associate Professor Dr. Mohammed Al-Nabhan from the University of Mu'tah in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as an external examiner, Associate Professor Dr. Alauddin Yousef Al-Omari at UOB as an internal examiner, and Associate Professor Dr. Mustafa Muhammad Hammad at UOB as a supervisor.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality education.

7 Affordable and clean energy

9 Industry, innovation and infrastructure

Key Words:

Cloud Computing, Master’s in Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence Algorithms, Risk Reduction

The University of Bahrain (UoB), the Kingdom’s largest university with over 28,000 students, announced today that it is in the final phase of migrating its entire IT infrastructure to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Once finalized by end of year, UoB becomes the largest university in the Middle East to migrate its core applications—Student Information System (SIS), Correspondence Management System (CMS), homepage portal and subdomain, and all backend systems—to AWS. 

The migration to AWS brings various benefits to UoB including cost savings, increased security, and the agility to launch new projects and bring new ideas to life at speed. On AWS, core applications have been optimized, resulting in performance improvement of more than 40%. The migration has also resulted in over 50% performance improvement to the university homepage, which is the landing page that links to all of its subdomains and student services. 

Another key benefit from migrating to AWS is the ability to accelerate research timelines for the university’s Masters and PhD students by giving them access to high performance computing to quickly analyze massive data sets and to leverage advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). With the cloud, the researchers can also easily share their results with collaborators in universities from around the world. 

For a seamless migration, UoB invested in workforce development through extensive training for its IT team, who attained higher-level AWS official certifications that helped give them the necessary skills to deliver the project. The on-demand cloud services enable the university’s IT teams today to build secure environments while freeing up their resources to focus on student success.

The migration to AWS comes as a continuation to UoB’s comprehensive cloud computing strategy that it has been implementing over the last few years, which includes strong focus on cloud learning for its students. In 2017, joined AWS Academy, a program that provides higher education institutions around the world with a cloud computing curriculum. UoB’s AWS Academy accredited educators have delivered the AWS Academy Cloud Foundations and AWS Academy Cloud Architecting courses to their students. In 2019, UoB became the first university in the Middle East to introduce the Cloud Computing Degree Program in collaboration with AWS Educate, which saw the first batch of enrollment in the first semester of the 2020/2021 academic year. In 2020, UoB launched a Cloud innovation center (CIC) in partnership with Tamkeen and AWS that focuses on accelerating the digital transformation of the public sector by leveraging cloud technologies to solve real life challenges. 

President Prof. Riyad Hamzah, said, “It is vital that higher education responds quickly to a rapidly changing world. By migrating to AWS, UOB optimized core educational applications to better service our students and educators, and opened up a world of opportunities to deliver innovative learning solutions. We are especially proud of our IT Center team that delivered a seamless migration with zero downtime, empowered by their new knowledge and skills. We look forward to continuing to deliver on our cloud strategy by bringing the latest in cloud education to students and building new services and solutions on the world’s leading cloud.”    

Dr. Azza El-Shinnawy, Head of Education, AWS, Middle East and North Africa, “Cloud computing today is providing incredible benefits to the education sector including cost savings and increased security. Importantly, it is enabling universities to give greater focus to teaching and learning by allowing for better management of operations. UoB has been at the forefront of realizing the importance of cloud adoption, both on the learning and operational fronts. We are excited to continue to work with them and look forward to seeing them innovate on the AWS cloud.” 

Founded in 1986, the University of Bahrain (UOB) is the Kingdom’s largest university with over 28,000 students. The university is dedicated to contributing to the economic growth and human capital development of Bahrain, supported by leading edge teaching technology empowered by Industry 4.0. UOB is committed to meeting market needs by producing next generation of leading talent who aspire to thrive and contribute to an increasing competitive, disruptive and interconnected world.  

Aiming to Reduce the Time Required to Detect Malicious Cyber Activities

A Study at UOB Examines the Development of Network Security Selection Criteria in the Kingdom of Bahrain

7 August 2020

A technical study at the University of Bahrain (UOB) examined ways to develop a set of criteria to choose network security aiming to reduce the time required to detect and contain malicious cyber activities and increase the effectiveness of security measures used to detect and respond to attacks and threats to network security in real time.

The study examines "The Role of Using Technologies Based on User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA), Analyzing User Behavior and Communications Network Entities in Detecting Security Attacks During Real Time: A Study based on the Kingdom of Bahrain."

In her study for a master's degree in information technology, the researcher Mania Ali Sulaitin presented a tested set of criteria necessary to evaluate and choose the best solution to ensure network security that depends on UEBA.

The researcher believes that network security solutions based on UEbA are effective network security measures to protect computer systems and networks, and UEBA's capabilities have proven to address network security challenges through its ability to detect intruders and security breaches that infiltrates network security system technologies and its traditional preventative services.

Sulaitin defined the current network security challenges facing the business sector and their implications and worked on analyzing the traditional solutions used in the field of network security today, and their shortcomings in addressing current challenges.

The discussion was done through a video call, and the discussion committee consisted of Prof. Faraj Ahmed Ez Al-Deen from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals as an external examiner, Professor Ahmed Shaher Mashour from UOB as an internal examiner, and Prof. Dr. Ali Hussain Zalait from UOB as a supervisor.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

17 Partnerships for the goals

Key Words

Network Security, Detection and Containment of Malicious Cyber Activities, Masters in Information Technology, User and Entity Behavior Analytics

A Symposium at UOB Presents Technology for Early Detection Of "Covid-19"

Organized by CIC and Supported By "Amazon"

8 July 2020

Under the sponsorship of the President of the University of Bahrain (UOB), Dr. Riyad Yousif Hamzah and with the participation of professors and specialists in the field of information technology, he Cloud Innovation Center (CIC) of UOB organized a symposium entitled “Utilization of Technology to Fight Covid-19”.

During which participants were introduced to a model based on computed tomography scans for Covid-19 patients, which is a model provided by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver to the world on how to use artificial intelligence to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, and that is through an X-ray technology provided by the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Innovation Center that carry out tomography scans of the lungs of COVID-19 patients from several countries.

Also, this technique enables medical personnel to diagnose infection with the Covid-19 virus before it spreads in the bodies of those infected. This technology was provided by the Canadian University and is based on understanding and identifying the virus and providing data on the size of its spread inside the patient's lung.

Participants in the Symposium included the head of the Media Center at UOB, Dr. Mazen Ali, the head of the Digital Innovation Department at the Amazon Center, Nidal Oday Al-Basha, and the expert in the field of information technology at the AWS Center Bahrain Nicholas David, as well as the following people from UBC: Senior Solutions Engineer Artur Rodrigues, Head of Digital Innovation at the Amazon Innovation Cloud Center, Coral Kennet, and Head of Amazon Cloud Innovation Center EMEA Jude Sheeran.

Sustainable Development Goals:

3 Good Health and Well-Being

4 Quality Education

17 Partnerships for the Goals

Key Words

Cloud Innovation Center at the University of Bahrain, Amazon Cloud Innovation Center, Utilization of Technology to Fight the Pandemic, computed tomography, understanding the virus

As A Result of The University’s Cooperation with “Search” Center and The European Organization for Nuclear Research

UOB Discusses A Master's Degree to Improve Measuring Tools For "Large Muon Detector"

30 June 2020

The College of Information Technology at the University of Bahrain (UOB) recently discussed a master's thesis in software engineering titled “Improving the Performance of Data Acquisition Systems in the Large Muon Detector Experiment Using Parallel Programming Performance Measurement Tools When Using Multipurpose Graphic Processors”, which was done by the student Abdullah Ebrahim Sabah.

The researcher used(GPGPUs)  graphics processors in the experiment of the CMS large muon detector to analyze the data, with the aim of the research being in choosing one of the programs used in the experiment to be re-engineered to be compatible with the graphics processors to make it faster and increase its data production.

Also, the research touched on how to evaluate and measure the performance of parallel programs on graphic processors and how to improve their performance in order to achieve the maximum utilization of processor resources, and various improvement techniques have been studied that in their entirety increased the program’s productivity by 13 times over the core program.

The thesis was supervised by the Assistant Professor from the Department of Information Systems at UOB Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Zaki, Assistant Professor from the Department of Computer Science Dr. Abdullah Mohammad Alqaddoumi, and Dr. Adria from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). While the discussion committee consisted of each of the Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at the College Dr. Mustafa Mohamed Hammad as the internal examiner, and the Professor from Khalifa University in the United Arab Emirates Dr. Hassan Barada as the external examiner.

The researcher Sabah conducted this research as part of the requirements for obtaining a master’s degree. As he spent a year at CERN, which is based in Geneva at Switzerland, with comprehensive support for the implementation of the project from the “Search Center for Elementary Particle Physics”, branching off from the Shaikh Ebrahim Bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa Center for Culture and Research, as part of a joint research project between UOB, the "Search Center for Elementary Particle Physics" and the muon detector experiment group at CERN. As the implementation of this type of project comes within the framework of UOB being a participant member in the muon detector experiment of CERN.

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detects and measures elementary particles released during collisions of protons at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is located inside a giant solenoid magnet that can generate a magnetic field to nearly 100,000 times stronger than the Earth's magnetic field.

On this occasion, the President of UOB, Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, extended his thanks to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Shaikh Ebrahim bin Mohammad Al-Khalifa Center for Culture and Research, Her Excellency Sheikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa, for supporting the UOB in becoming an associate member of the Muon Detector Group in CERN, as well as for supporting the implementation of the research project of the student Abdullah Ibrahim Sabah at CERN.

Furthermore, he added that "The completion of this thesis was a fruitful collaborative effort that formed a strong starting point for the promotion of science and technology. And we hope that such scientific cooperation will continue between the three institutions, UOB and Search Center for Elementary Particle Physics on one hand, and with CERN on the other hand, in order to support the march of education and scientific research that will contribute to achieving the goals and vision of the Kingdom of Bahrain 2030.

Sustainable Development Goals:

4 Quality Education

9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

17 Partnerships for The Goals

Key Words

Master’s in software engineering, Large Muon Detector, European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, Search Center for Elementary Particle Physics, Bahrain Vision 2030

Dr. Fahad as the Head of the Computer Science Department at the College of Information Technology

17/5/2020

The President of the University of Bahrain (UOB), Prof. Riyad Yousif Hamzah, issued a resolution appointing the Assistant Professor in the Computer Science Department at the College of Information Technology, Dr. Ahmed Yousef Fahad, who joined the academic staff at UOB in 2000, as Head of the Computer Science Department in the College of Information Technology.

It is worth mentioning that Dr. Fahad obtained a PhD in Computer Science at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom in 2008, while he obtained his master's degree at the University of Colorado in the United States of America, and a bachelor's degree in Computer Science at UOB. Also, Dr. Fahad has conducted scientific research in machine learning, intelligent analysis of digital images and their visual flow, and participated in several academic committees.

Sustainable Development Goals

4 Quality education

Key Words

Department of Computer Science, College of Information Technology, machine learning, intelligent analysis of digital images and their visual flow

UOB Offers 41 Postgraduate Programs in 8 Colleges

The University of Bahrain (UOB) announced the opening of receiving applications for admission to postgraduate programs for the first semester of the academic year 2020/2021, indicating that the application process shall be through the University's website and shall continue until the end of next August.

It’s worth mentioning that currently postgraduate studies include 41 programs in various disciplines, including 30 master's programs, 9 doctorate programs, and two higher diploma programs in eight Colleges of the National University.

The Dean of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at UOB, Dr. Mohamed Redha Qadir stated that “The University continues to fulfill its mission to advance graduate studies, spread the culture of scientific research, and encourage research and development, in order to create the appropriate conditions and atmosphere for the optimal investment of resources, in a way that helps in achieving Bahrain’s 2030 Economic Vision .

Also, the Dean called on people wishing to enroll in a graduate studies program to enter the page of the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research on the University's website, where they will find any information and explanation they need on the programs, and how to submit their applications, step by step.

The postgraduate programs included eight colleges at the University, as the College of Information Technology offers master’s in information technology, master’s in electronic security, master’s in software engineering, and doctorate in philosophy in computing and information sciences.

While the College of Engineering offers master’s in chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering management, electrical and electronic engineering, doctorate in philosophy in chemical engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, engineering management, and electrical and electronic engineering.

Also, the College of Science offers a master's degree in applied physics, mathematics, nutrition and food systems, environment and sustainable development, life sciences, and big data science and analysis, while offering doctorate in environment and sustainable development, and higher diploma in weather forecasting.

Furthermore, the College of Business Administration announced the launch of a master’s degree in business administration, human resource management, finance, accounting, finance and Islamic banking.

As for the College of Arts, it offers higher diplomas and master’s in Arabic language, master’s in media, higher diplomas and master’s in applied studies in English, and higher diplomas and masters in family counseling.

Moreover, the College of Law offers master’s in philosophy in public law and private law, doctorate in philosophy in public law, and doctorate in philosophy in private law.

Also, the College of Health and Sports Sciences offers master’s in physical therapy, adult health nursing, mental health, and nursing and midwifery.

Finally, Bahrain Teachers College offers a postgraduate diploma in education.

Dr. Mohammed Redha Qadir indicated that some of the master's programs offered don’t require the applicant to have a bachelor’s degree in a particular discipline. For example, a master’s in media can accommodate media graduates as well as graduates of languages ??and linguistics, legal sciences, economic sciences, sociology, and psychology. Also graduates of bachelor’s in nutrition and life sciences, chemistry, food science and technology, health sciences, and related life sciences can enroll in master’s in nutrition and dietetics, and master’s programs in the College of Business are available to graduates of all majors.

Offering Medical Benefits and Veterinary Care

Students at UOB Design a Smart Application for Pet Care

Computer Science Department Students of the College of Information Technology designed a smart application that helps pet owners in taking care of their pets and their health, named: "Pet Care Paws.docx".

The application created by the students Waheeda Abdulrahim, Zainab Abdulrasool Alawi, and Ahmed Luay Salman provides features for caring for pets, and the smartphones application can be a center for pet owners, by saving general, health and nutritional information about their pets.

Student Ahmed Salman stated that "The idea of ??the project aims to create an application on Android platforms to provide care and treatment services for pet owners and lovers."

Furthermore, Salman explained that the application "allows pet owners to create their own profiles and record the doses and timing of their medicines, as well as offering a feature to browse clinics, shops, and pharmacies and being able to ask veterinarians questions."

Also, Salman added that the "Pet Care - Paws.docx" application "offers animal adoption offers between subscribers, shows animals saving accounts and donates to them. Also, the application contains a section for offers from shops and clinics."

Salman indicated that the application provides a service to clinics and shops of displaying their products and services, in order to provide what pet owners need, adding that veterinarians can set appointments for clinic visits, and add notes to the animal’s “medical digital file”, as well as answering the questions of subscribers.

It’s worth mentioning that at the end of the first academic semester of the current academic year (2019/2020), the College of Information Technology held a graduation projects exhibition for students from the departments of Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Systems at the University's headquarters in Sakhir, which was attended by the President of UOB and CEO of the Information and eGovernment Authority, and included approximately 37 student projects.