The Gulf Research Center

in partnership with the

Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States

announces the

Social Sciences and Humanities Forum 2005

 addressing

 “E-Learning in Social Sciences and Humanities”

which will take place on

14-15 April 2005

in

 Grand Hyatt Hotel, Dubai – UAE

The fundamental objective of the "The Social Sciences and Humanities Forum 2005" to be held by the Gulf Research Center (GRC) in April 2005 is to create an academic platform for discussion and exchanging of views and expertise among scholars and university professors specialized in social sciences and humanities in the GCC States. The objective is to enhance academic research in these disciplines as well as strengthen the concept of specialized academic groups, that usually take upon themselves the mission of boosting the social sciences and humanities in their own countries, along with modernizing the concepts and approaches used in these fields, while striving to link them with the prevailing trends across the world. 

GRC, in coordination with the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States (ABEG), convened the first "Social Sciences and Humanities Forum" on March 9 and 10, 2004. The theme of the first Forum was "Future Prospects for Higher Education in the GCC States". The recommendations issued at the end of the first Forum pinpointed the importance of sustaining academic interest in the issue of higher education, in light of the key role it plays in building human capital and its ability to groom a labor force capable of dealing efficiently and effectively with current and future developments, particularly at a time the world is witnessing a sweeping revolution in the fields of communication, media and IT.

Given the fact that educational technologies and methods represent a vital component within the educational process, as they have a direct impact on the quality of university graduates, the GRC has decided to dedicate the second Social Sciences and Humanities Forum to discussing "E-Learning in Social Sciences and Humanities."

E-learning is based in large part on adopting the methods and technologies developed by the IT and communication revolution, especially the Internet, and employing them as part of the different components of the educational enterprise, including:

• Educational curricula;
• Teaching methods (interaction between teacher and students);
• Electronic libraries (e-libraries) and the services they provide for students
  and teaching faculties;
• Academic assessment of students’ performance;
• Academic research; and
• Administrative aspects of the educational enterprise.

In the GCC States, embracing modern technologies in higher education in general and in the area of social sciences and humanities in particular, means addressing the following core issues, which also form the

Objectives of the Social Sciences and Humanities Forum 2005:

1- Identifying and discussing the most outstanding modern technologies and
    methods that prevail in international higher educational institutions in the
    fields of the social sciences and humanities.

2- Understanding the current conditions in higher education in the fields of
    social sciences and humanities in the GCC States in connection with the
    educational technologies and methods used in public as well as in private
    universities, colleges and institutes.

3- Deliberating appropriate ways and means of expanding the use of modern
    technologies and methods in higher education, particularly in the fields of
    social sciences and humanities in the GCC States.