e-TQM College, the pioneering Dubai-based e-learning institution specialising in offering Total Quality Management education and Visionaire, the global leader in providing collaborative convergent system solutions, have announced the successful implementation of the comprehensive E-Learning Suite of rich media streaming and archiving system at the college. The announcement followed the signing of a MoU between Dr. Mansour Al Awar, Vice-President of e-TQM College and Dr. Aseem Gupta, Chairman and Chief Technology Architect of The Visionaire Group, and focuses on continued advancement and support to e-learning initiatives.
The adoption of the new Visionaire system will thrust the college into a leadership position in the area of offering global e-Learning programs, as the technology will allow e-TQM College to conduct live virtual classes by streaming real-time lectures on the web to thousands of students from across the region with high quality full video, data and voice capability.
e-TQM College, which has recently announced it’s new logo and identity to the public, provides learning opportunities to all individuals aspiring to specialize in quality management and organizational excellence. The College adopted an educational approach which provides learning through a blended model that includes a combination of face-to-face classrooms, live e-leaning and self-paced learning. Academic Programs include Master of Science in Organisational Excellence and a Bachelor of Arts in Business and Quality Management, while Continuing Education Programs include the Centre for Excellence in Education, Centre for Excellence in Healthcare, Centre for Excellence in Government that provide academic programs to develop skills and performance for employees in private and government sectors. The Virtual Executive Club, another of the Continuing Education Programs, provides state of the art tools and techniques that enable Corporate Executives in the region.
“Our e-Learning suite use digital technologies and high performance environments to deliver, support and enhance teaching, learning, assessment and evaluation and e-TQM College is one of the first institutions to take advantage of creating an integrated delivery mechanism which can benefit thousands of students located anywhere on the globe using a uninterrupted and secure access to both the live (real-time) and previously archived lectures through a sophisticated rich media capture and archiving management system on the e-TQM College website,” said Dr. Aseem Gupta, Chief Visionary of Visionaire.
With the successful implementation of the IP network based technology, e-TQM College has built the advanced e-Learning delivery capability of simultaneously broadcasting and archiving video, voice and data streams to any number of connected students who will be able to experience the lecture in real-time as if there were physically present in the class-room. Connected students can raise on-line queries via a simultaneous Q&A session, which the teacher may choose to answer live, or may choose to keep this query to be answered later one-to-one. To create a one-to-one experience, Visionaire has implemented an integrated multi-point conferencing system for smaller groups for the delivery of intensive tutoring by e-TQM College.
The class-room environment at e-TQM college has been further enhanced to provide the teacher the capability to move around in the class room in a natural way with the camera system automatically tracking the movement to ensure that the teacher’s on screen image is always in full focus on the connected audience. A unique value-added proposition within the system is that it also enables video services to be accessed through 3rd generation (3G) Mobile devices via a 3G gateway opening the possibility for e-TQM College to use this as a medium of delivery in the near future.
“Owing to the growing popularity of the internet as a learning platform, e-TQM College has always been at the forefront in promoting e-learning across the Middle East. Visionaire’s impressive track record and ability to deliver technologically superior solutions that build on our existing IP and network platform were the main drivers for us to partner with them in this pioneering initiative. With the implementation of this cutting-edge solution, we are now prepared to address the existing challenges in e-learning as we further continue to raise the bar and pave the way for future institutions in the region,” said Dr. Mansour Al Awar, Vice-President of e-TQM College.
Visionaire has been responsible in implementing and supporting many of the leading educational technology initiatives in the region such as The College of Information Technology, UAE University, Al-Ain, Wharton & Kellogg Distance Learning Management School– the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, several technology initiatives at the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE, Al-Hosn University, Zayed University and K-12 private and public institutions such as Dubai College, School of Research and Science, British School, American School of Dubai, Jumeirah Primary School, Liwa Private School, Regent International Schools, Al-Mawakeb School to name a few initiatives in the UAE and Gulf region.
“Market reports predict that e-learning projects are expected to exceed a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 32 per cent by 2008. The project at e-TQM college reflects the successful integration of some of the world’s most advanced teaching methodologies supported by reputed providers such as SMART Technologies, Sonic Foundry, ClearOne, and Aethra, and we are upbeat about the prospects as technology continues to be the key driver in the region’s education initiatives,” concluded Gupta.
About Visionaire:
The Visionaire Group has an established track record of more than 12 years in the UAE and a reputation built on creating high performing technology environments. It is a global leader in providing collaborative communication environments catering to the Education, Enterprise, Healthcare, Retail, Hospitality and Smart Home market segments. It employs more than 500 people with operations in North America, Middle East, South-East Asia and China.
