A team comprising three students from Ajman University (AU) won the second place in the University Challenge organized by the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) on the theme of government communications. The initiative from the AU team was adjudged as the “Best University Initiative to Qualify Future Employees in Government Communication”, at the competition which was) organized in cooperation with the Sharjah Government Communication Award (SGCA) and the International Forum for Government Communication 2022.
The two-day challenge witnessed the participation of 14 teams from across 9 universities and higher education institutes across the UAE. It aimed to attract innovators and creators to develop an actionable plan that will improve students’ social and emotional intelligence abilities and give them the resources they need to succeed in the workplace by creating initiatives that provide efficient channels of communication between individuals and institutions.
The judgement parameters were based on four categories: Methodology- clarity of the objectives of the idea and the steps for its implementation; Innovation-presenting a new idea that supports creativity of individual and collective professional skills, that builds a future vision for government communication; Sustainability-future visions of mechanisms to ensure the continuity of the idea and its further development; and Tools-Employing modern technology and applications to support government communication mechanisms.
Coordinated by Mr. Saleem Derbas, Student Activities Supervisor, Office of Student Life at AU, the participating team members Sief Zakaria Alramahi and Mousa Wael Abujudeh, both representing the College of Engineering & IT along with Ali Mohammad Taifour, student in the College of Mass Communication, introduced the “Thaber” platform.
Thaber is a platform designed for future employees, located in the UAE to compete in the workplace with the aim of improving their skills and qualifications. It focuses on motivating individuals by recognizing their efforts on their official government-related and verified work profile.
Speaking at the event, Sief Al Ramahi said: “We were able to demonstrate our skills that we have developed in the past few years as students at Ajman University. Furthermore, we got the opportunity to expand our connections with students from different universities as well as the United Arab Emirates University staff.”
The objective of the Award is to support excellence in university education and build a future vision for government communication by using modern means of communications and smart applications in implementing the idea and building initiatives that contribute to achieving sustainable development goals that are socially effective.
The SGCA is a global platform that invites participation from government communication entities in the United Arab Emirates and the Arab region across a variety of categories. It was established with the goal of highlighting outstanding achievements in the field of government communication.