AGU lecturer gets PhD from UK university

Manama: Dr. Afaf Buqawa, a lecturer in Technology Management and Innovation Programme of Arabian Gulf University’s (AGU) College of Graduate Studies, has received a PhD in Information Technology from Brunel University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Buqawa studied the impact of the interactivity of Web 2.0 technologies on the learning experience of students in Higher Education. She conducted four studies, two involving Web Polls and two involving Twitter. 

She collected data from student participants at Brunel Univesity via questionnaires and interviews, and employed qualitative and quantitative approaches in the studies in order to triangulate the data. 

The primary purpose of employing triangulation technique is to have more explanation and understanding of the student behaviour from different points of view. The thesis was supervised by Dr. Chris Evans and Prof. Ray Hackney, chairperson of Business School at Brunel University. 

Dr. Buqawa was the first lecturer, who got a scholarship from AGU to pursue her PhD after she finished her MSc. in Technology Management from the varsity, scoring distinction with first class honours. 

Moreover, she had an extensive experience of 19 years in the field of education, where she worked as a lecturer at the University of Bahrain and in the College of Health Sciences for 11 years before joining AGU in 2008. Additionally, she also holds an accredited degree in Teaching and Learning from Brunel Centre for Academic Excellence. 

Dr. Buqawa participated in local, regional and international conferences besides attending several specialised workshops on leadership skills, RefWork, Nvivo programme, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). 

She has organised a series of workshops and seminars on topics related to methods of scientific research, quantitative and qualitative analysis, as well as Science, Technology and Innovation. She has also organised a number of events including the ‘e-Learning 2.0’ conference at Brunel University.

Dr. Buqawa has different research interests in Information and Technology areas including Web 2.0 Technologies and Learning, Social Media, Web 3.0, Cloud Computing, e commerce, e government, Innovation, e Learning 2.0.