Dear Colleagues,

Welcome to issue #31  of KICconnect.

It is with utmost delight and joy that I share with you the great news that KIC has been formally notified of successful relicensure by the office of the Undersecretary of Higher Education, UAE. This approval is the culmination of about two years of challenging and dedicated work by the whole KIC team. I would like to thank you all for your great effort and contribution in making this fantastic achievement possible.
 
We are celebrating another historic moment at KIC this week thanks to our digital transformation project that has been taking place over the last two years to improve the quality of our courses and services.  Student assessment results were published on our platform PeopleSoft for the first time.  In addition, around 1,000 students to date were able to use the platform to register for their online courses for the Spring semester that commences this week. A big thank you go to our KIC team from VPAA Office, Admissions and Registration Department, IT Services Department, Marketing and Communication Department, Finance Department, all our faculty and academic advisors and most importantly KIC students who participated in our training sessions and feedback sessions during development and going live preparation.
 
The first round of COVID-19 Vaccinations took place at the KIC Abu Dhabi Campus this week as a team from SEHA visited the campus to vaccinate staff and students.  More than 40 staff and faculty were vaccinated, with more vaccination drives to come.  We encourage all our students and staff to consider being vaccinated to protect themselves and the KIC community.

Stay safe, Stay well.

Dr Assem Al-Hajj

Khawarizmi International College has achieved a significant strategic milestone, as it received notification of the renewal of its Licensure by the UAE’s Ministry of Education.

Renewal of Licensure is the institutional level process by which an institution is authorized by the Ministry to continue providing educational programs.

KIC’s Licensure renewal comes after activity that has been going on in the College since the second quarter of 2019, starting with the development and submission to the Ministry’s Council for Academic Accreditation (CAA) of a Self-Study Report (SSR) with various supporting evidence items; the drawing up of a list of actions to improve College activities; and the holding of regular meetings by the KIC Relicensure Group.

The final stages of this process took place in 2020, with the provision of 82 items of additional evidence as well as a Standards Update Report of KIC developments since the SSR submission, all in the period leading up to a Virtual Visit by CAA’s External Review Team (ERT) in June 2020.

The Virtual Visit was conducted over six days between 14 and 21 June and involved a series of 32 meetings with KIC students, faculty, staff, senior management, heads of academic and administrative departments, members of Program Advisory Board and of the Board of Trustees, as well as review of all the materials provided by KIC.

The relicensure process is an evaluation of the extent to which an institution meets CAA’s Standards for Licensure, which all higher education providers in the UAE must meet.

For this evaluation, CAA appoints an ERT whose members are respected and experienced higher education practitioners from around the world. The ERT’s task is to consider all the materials provided to them, as well discussions in the meetings during their visit, and to triangulate between these various sources of information in order to form a view on the extent to which an institution meets the eight Standards.

The ERT members then draft a report, which may contain requirements for action by the institution, and make a recommendation to CAA as to whether the license to deliver programs can be renewed.

For KIC, all the required stages of the relicensure process were conducted in line with the CAA’s published standards and procedures; however, the context was entirely unusual as the onset of the global pandemic meant that KIC had been operating its Remote Working Policy since the end of March 2020.

As a result, all documentation was submitted through the cloud and all Visit meetings were conducted online, with ERT members having to participate from Egypt and the UK. This required significant additional practical measures, all of which were arranged successfully.

The ERT report was received on 24 June 2020, with 36 Requirements (ie mandatory actions) and 25 Suggestions (optional areas for consideration). KIC’s Response to the Report was submitted at the end of September, with 96 items of supporting evidence. Thereafter, CAA requested further action for 12 items and further information for 1 suggestion; for these, KIC submitted a Second Response with a further 18 supporting materials.

After a period of consideration, the ERT made a recommendation to CAA that KIC’s Licensure should be renewed and on 18 January 2021 the formal notification was received from the Office of the Undersecretary of Higher Education at the Ministry of Education. 

KIC’s President, Dr Assem Al-Hajj, stated that the ERT members had expressed their thanks to all those at KIC who participated in the preparations, submissions and conduct of the Virtual Visit and that one of the positive aspects noted by CAA is the clear commitment and support of KIC’s students, staff, Trustees and community contributors. He expressed his pleasure in the successful outcome, noting that KIC’s 36 Requirements compared extremely well with many other local institutions. He added his sincere thanks to all involved in the whole of the relicensure process for their continued commitment to the future success of KIC.
 

As a part of the national mission to fight against COVID-19, KIC initiated the COVID-19 vaccination campaign at Al Bahya campus, in coordination with governmental authorities.

'Following UAE's wise leadership, and the guidance of the Ministry of Health & Prevention and Ministry of Education, the first batch of KIC community got the COVID-19 vaccine. I would like to thank SEHA for conducting the vaccination, while contributing to the inoculation of 50% of the UAE population by the end of March 2021' noted Dr. Assem Al-Hajj, KIC President.

The initiative was conducted in line with the ministry's directives in supporting the safety of the individuals of the educational community in facing coronavirus.

Prof. Nabil El Kadhi, VP for Academic Affairs stated that this first vaccination session shows KIC's commitment to following the UAE's wise leadership. Quoting Prof. El Kadhi, 'Together, we beat the coronavirus.'

KIC leadership, represented by Dr. Al-Hajj and Prof. El Kadhi, in addition to the college's faculty and administration members, in addition to the students, queued to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Some members from Al Ain campus also joined the initiative.

According to the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, multiple vaccines have been developed and are currently available to protect against the novel coronavirus. Vaccination does not only protect the beneficiaries but also curbs the spread of COVID-19.

As of 12 January 2021, 1.27 million doses of the vaccine were administered in the UAE.
 

According to The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA), the app can trace people who come in close proximity to confirmed COVID-19 cases using Bluetooth technology. This enables the Health Authorities to contact people at risk and contain the situation accordingly.

As thus, Al Hosn app provides crucial pieces of information about your health via a color-coded system. Be aware of the Amber color!

Click here to read more.

Prior to the start of the Spring 2020/21 semester, KIC hosted prospective students in a series of virtual information sessions.

The virtual platform enabled the students to meet the faculty and learn more about the academic programs, where they learned about academic requirements, specializations, and career paths, associated with career and job market-oriented programs, that are aligned with Abu Dhabi Vision 2030.

Although Al-Khwarizmi is synonymous with Algebra, he was also a prominent astronomer.

To improve the understanding of the geography of the world, he worked on tools like the astrolabe and sundial. Reportedly, his sundial was used in Mosques to determine the right time for prayer, regardless of their geographical location.