Leading the digital drive

The University of Bahrain (UoB), one of the Middle East’s largest educational institutions in co-operation with Google Developers Group Manama is conducting free training programmes for all Bahraini students with an aim on expanding their horizons by learning new skills.

The premium university entered a partnership with the Google Developers Group (GDG) Manama and Start-Up Bahrain to roll out a range of free training programmes for students across the country. The UoB code academy is providing free skills training to any student from any university in Bahrain.

These courses, to be offered via UoB’s newly launched coding academy, are available for students from any university in the Kingdom and any study background, sources said. Speaking to Tribune, UoB president Prof Riyad Hamzah said: “We are extremely proud of this initiative. The three-week programme, which is from basic to intermediate and then to advanced levels has seen the participation of around 2,000 students.”

“The primary objective of this initiative is to help students familiarise themselves with emerging disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), machine learning, Data Science, and Web Technologies. This is in line with the Kingdom’s growing emphasis on raising a future generation of a skilled workforce that can take the homegrown digital economy and technology sectors to new highs.

“Students who enrol in these programmes will receive certificates upon successfully completing the curriculum. Interestingly, UoB has decided to issue these certificates using its proprietary blockchain technology, becoming one of the first universities globally to issue digital diplomas anchored in the blockchain.