Introduction
The Centre of Excellence (CoE) project in the Arab region has been operating since February 2002 in line with the objectives of the global CoE network. The main role of the Centre of Excellence (CoE) Network in the Arab States is to strengthen the capacity in the region in order to develop high-level know-how and expertise in telecommunication policy, regulatory issues, corporate management and advanced telecommunication technology.
Objective
The aim of this project is to build capacity in the Arab States region in various ICT related fields. The fields of focus are:
- Telecom polices and regulations
- Business management
- Rural ICT Development
- ICT New services and technologies
Further, the Arab States CoE Network aims to:
- Improve the CoE Network and continue participating as providers of knowledge, content and/or experience, in order to keep offering a variety of training programs.
- Ensure the provision of advanced on line training courses combined with face-to-face training programmes targeting high and mid-level governmental authorities, regulatory bodies and the senior executives and managers of operators and service providers.
- Develop training courses in line with the needs and expectations of the telecommunication sector in the Arab States Region in the areas of telecommunication policy, regulation, telecommunication management and new technologies and services
- Establish mechanisms that increase the participation of all regional countries in the activities of the CoE, from facilitating these regional countries acting as hosts to encouraging them to make the most of training interventions. There is a strong focus on building a synergistic team.
- Set up the mechanisms needed to achieve self-sufficiency for the Centre of Excellence for the Arab States Region through the application of the criteria of cost recovery, distribution of responsibilities among the Network participants, and the promotion and systematic marketing of the CoE’s various offerings.
The objective is actualized through the implementation of high–level training programs centred on the four aforementioned fields. These programs are designed to serve and facilitate the development of telecommunication and information technologies in the Arab region. All four programs are targeted at the previously mentioned stakeholder groups.
In order to meet with the needs of each programme four Nodes were established which along with the CoE Coordination Unit at the ITU Arab regional office in Cairo, Egypt, comprise the Centres of Excellence Network for the Arab States. Each node focuses exclusively on only one of the above programs and are as follows:
- Agence Nationale de Réglementation des Télécommunications /Morocco (Telecom policies and regulations)
- Gulf Academy/Bahrain (Business management).
- Syrian Telecommunication Establishment /Syria (Rural ICT Development)
National Telecommunications Institute /Egypt (ICT New services and technologies)
The Nodes lead the design and implementation of training workshops in consultation with the Arab States CoE Coordination unit and the ITU. Training interventions, events and courses are offered face-to-face as well as on-line. The ambitious action plan aims to implement a number of annual activities equitably distributed among the four training program areas.
