How the UAE’s robust ICT infrastructure brought over 1 million students online amid COVID-19

It was ‘learning as usual’ until the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed 27 active cases of COVID-19 on 3 March 2020. To curb the spread of the virus amongst children and young people, the Ministry of Education (MoE) took immediate action by bringing forward the spring break and by closing educational institutes for two weeks, starting from 8 March. The MoE also decided to provide education remotely for the following two weeks, with the intention to resume regular learning in schools and colleges thereafter. Fast forward to the start of the 2020-21 academic year in August 2020 and most students are still learning from home. Government schools are running a home-teaching program called ‘Learn from Afar’ while private schools are using digital platforms such as Google Classroom, ClassDojo, Seesaw, Teams and Zoom. The Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi and Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai launched specialized portals, Activity Platform and In This Together Dubai, to support remote learning. Almost overnight, the UAE successfully moved 1.2 million students online. The vital role of ICT infrastructure How the UAE managed this is no mean feat. A raft of supporting initiatives was launched with the aim to maintain the availability, affordability and accessibility of ICT infrastructure and digital services, thereby supporting the continuity of learning from home. Free internet data via mobile phone to enable distance learning. The UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) informed the telecom service providers to provide free data package to families without home internet, so that children could access distance learning. Enabling applications to support distance learning. In coordination with the telecom service providers, the TRA enabled several applications that were previously unavailable in the UAE. Network capacity enhancement and re-engineering. The TRA urged telecom service providers to enhance their network capacity, perform network re-engineering when required, and to implement any necessary changes as soon as practicable in order to facilitate the success of distance learning. Enhancing digital skills through free online training. In order to help people to make the best use of their time at home, the TRA provides online training through its virtual academy called TRA Academy. The platform offers interactive, online training courses on trending topics of business, technology and soft skills around-the-clock for free.

Suspending the deactivation of mobile services. The TRA instructed telecom licensees to suspend the deactivation of mobile services for those who could not provide renewed documents to ensure service continuity. This, in turn, helped students learning from home. Promoting security awareness through digital campaigns. The TRA led the efforts of raising public awareness on the implications of COVID-19 on cybersecurity and the safe ways of learning from home through online sessions and videos presented to students in schools and to their families. Increasing fixed broadband speed to 100 Mbit/s. The TRA increased the speed of fixed broadband to 100 Mbit/s (megabits per second) to facilitate high internet speeds and to ensure the best quality of video and voice calls and sharing files online for a smooth distance learning experience. Activating a satellite operations centre. The UAE government developed a satellite operations centre that provided free satellite services to ensure students in remote areas of the UAE had access to internet at all times and could thereby continue their education. Building on 20 years of ICT investments The foundation of these overnight successes was laid down about two decades ago. At the turn of the century, the UAE launched Dubai Internet City followed by Dubai Media City to support technology companies in the country as well as boost technological advancements and economic growth throughout the region. Later, in 2005, Dubai Silicon Oasis was established. Today, there are several free zones in the UAE that promote ICTs, stretching from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Sharjah and Fujairah. The UAE Government further invested in ICT through the TRA’s ICT Fund, Centre of Digital Innovation (CoDI) and various eLearning and mLearning programs. Launched in 2007, the primary role of the ICT Fund is to allocate financial resources to projects that develop the UAE’s capabilities in the field of ICT. By 2014, the ICT Fund invested more than AED 1.6 billion in various ICT projects including in education and space technologies. CoDI also was launched by TRA in 2013 to make the UAE a smarter and digitally transformed nation. It currently facilitates various capacity building and research and development activities resulting in knowledge-generating products and services, primarily in ICTs. Pre-pandemic online education in the UAE Several eLearning, mLearning and distance learning programs were in force in the UAE long before the emergence of COVID-19. For instance, the Madrasa eLearning platform offers 5000 videos in general science, math, biology, chemistry and physics for students from kindergarten to grade 12. Launched in 2018, the free online platform is accessible for over 50 million Arab students around the world through the Madrasa app. Another example is Duroosi , which means ‘my studies’ in Arabic. Duroosi is a YouTube channel launched by the UAE Ministry of Education in partnership with Etisalat and Google. The channel provides hundreds of tutorials on a variety of subjects based on the national curriculum for Grade 11 and 12 students with an aim to help families cut the high cost of private tuition. Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University is the first MoE-accredited eLearning academic institution in the UAE. Launched in 2002, it offers online studies through state-of-the-art innovative technologies such as the Virtual Learning Environment, Smart Campus and mobile learning. The university has designed, developed and implemented flexible and responsive platforms to facilitate learners’ access, interactivity and learning as well as the ability to track their progress throughout their studies. A bright spot in the future of digital education in the UAE is the upcoming opening of 42 Abu Dhabi, a coding school that claims to have “no classes, no teachers and no fees.” Students will learn in a self-directed manner and mentor one another through projects and internships. 42 Abu Dhabi is one of the 20 international campuses of the 42 programme, first launched in Paris in 2013. The Abu Dhabi campus plans to welcome students in February 2021.

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