Culture & Education | Friday 22 May, 2015 8:43 am |

The Preparatory Year Deanship at Um Al Qura University (PYP-UQU) has announced it is partnering with the world’s largest learning company, Pearson, to provide students with online learning and assessment technology.

Under the agreement, Pearson will provide the University with 13,000 licences for the digital products, MyMathLab, MyITLab and MasteringPhysics. This will provide PYD-UQU students with a user-friendly, single point of entry for all courses and ebooks.

The partnership will also see Pearson equip PYD-UQU with related software, services and hardcopy books. In order to gain maximum benefit from the new technology, staff at PYD-UQU will be provided with ongoing training from Pearson technical experts.

The agreement follows the emerging trend in Saudi Arabia of higher education institutions taking up learning technology at an institution-wide level. Since the launch of the Saudi Government’s National Plan for Information Technology, many universities in the Kingdom have been moving towards full digital adaption.

It is hoped the implementation of the new technology will drive learner results at PYD-UQU and give educators more time to concentrate on helping their students achieve. Mr. Paul Harte, Country Manager of Pearson, Saudi Arabia, says:

“Every educator will tell you that each and every student learns in a different way. Adaptive learning technology, like the technology being implemented at PYD-UQU allows educators to easily teach to the specific learning needs of individual student. Using data and analytics, learning content is personalised to reinforce concepts that cater to individual strengths and weaknesses. Evidence shows that adaptive learning technology helps to create greater engagement, improved knowledge retention and support subject matter mastery. Pearson is delighted to be bringing these results to PYD-UQU and we look forward to seeing the impact of this new e-learning technology on the University’s students”.

Dr Ghassan Nouman, Dean PYD-UQU, says staff and students are looking forward to the rollout of the new programmes.

“PYD-UQU is keen to embrace the latest and most effective learning technologies available and this agreement will ensure we are on track to achieving this goal. Our lecturers are excited by the benefits this new Pearson technology will bring, helping them effectively engage their learners, and minimise time spent on administrative tasks. Similarly, feedback from learners has been positive, as the new programmes will facilitate their learning anywhere, anytime, and put them at the centre of their learning experience”.

The new technology will be available to PYD-UQU staff and students from the start of the next academic year, beginning in August 2015.