Winning students' hearts through innovation

Ajman University is the only university in the Middle East awarded with the Ellucian Impact Award 2021 for supporting its students through the pandemic

Ellucian, the leading higher education technology solutions provider, recently announced that Ajman University (AU) has won a 2021 Ellucian Impact Award.  The university was honoured for its innovative efforts to support students during the pandemic. 

The annual Ellucian Impact Awards celebrate visionaries who are inspiring others to push the boundaries of higher education technology and innoavation. The announcement was made during Ellucian Live, the industry's top global technology conference. This year, Ellucian recognised six institutions that represent excellence across the categories of student well-being, innovation and digital transformation. AU won in the innovation category.  

The other winners include Community College of Baltimore County, University of Southampton (United Kingdom), University of Hartford, University of the West Indies-Cave Hill and New Jersey Institute of Technology. 

"It has been inspiring to see how these Ellucian customers are using technology to operate more efficiently, overcome challenges and offer a unique student experience. This year's Impact Award Winners truly exemplify what it means to be a transformational, digitally focused and student-centred institution. I'm honoured to recognise them for their remarkable efforts and look forward to a continued partnership in navigating the future together," said Laura Ipsen, President and CEO, Ellucian.

Dr Karim Seghir 

Chancellor of Ajman University 

"At a time when we face a devastating global pandemic, being chosen as the only higher education institution that has won the Ellucian Impact Award in the Middle East for the innovation category, has never felt more important or had more to contribute to UAE higher education and innovation," said  

Dr Karim Seghir, Chancellor of Ajman University. "We are truly honoured and thrilled to win this award, which is a result of the collective efforts of students, staff and faculty within AU. I would like to take this occasion to thank and congratulate the AU Family on their well-earned achievement."

AU's submission noted that 2018 was a year of transformation and innovation. Since then, the university has been focused on developing strategies for improving work cycles, adopting smart solutions that focus on both digital and 'green', and automating manual processes.  Some of the key improvement initiatives the university has undertaken include:  

- Digitisation of 86 per cent of its processes  

- Conversion of 100 per cent of its documents to electronic archived format, including more than 75,000 student records 

- Adoption of digital signatures for contracts and official documents  

- Integration of the online request system with the digital government application program, UAE Pass  

These initiatives helped the university improve its student satisfaction score to an impressive 91 per cent.

In view of the Covid-19 pandemic, the office of IT at AU successfully developed an innovative campus accessibility management system to ensure the safety of students, staff and faculty members. The accessibility solution, which is integrated with the existing SIS Banner system uses unique QR codes to validate the Covid-19 test status of individuals and determines their eligibility for access to the campus. This has proven highly effective in ensuring a safe environment within the campus for students and staff members during the pandemic. 

AU continues to take innovation to new heights, where a culture of innovation is embedded among students, faculty and staff members, as well as all stakeholders and partners.  The university is ranked among the top 2.5 per cent universities worldwide, #35 in the Arab region as per the 2021 QS Arab Rankings and one of the top 150 young institutions worldwide.  

For more details about Ajman University, visit https://www.ajman.ac.ae/.

"I define the Indian Club at AU as one of the most tight-knit clubs where I made a lot of friends and memories in the last three years. Being the president of such a club has given me immense pleasure.  One of our biggest achievements was winning the UAE National Day's best video, which made the whole club really happy, although that was our one and only achievement, it felt like we have achieved so much more. I see the Indian Club living in the story of success and together we can achieve everything."

Fathima Zufra Dhinda from India - Business Administration

"Choosing AU to further my education was one of the most rewarding decisions. It has an incredible variety of cultures and personalities, which I believe is an important aspect of education - the ability to learn from others who bring their own personal experiences. I achieved the CAAD award for Best Interior Design Project 2020. I was truly humbled and elated with this honour. AU has helped me achieve my passion for designing by also giving me amazing exposure to the designing world. I have also engaged and helped organise AU events as a peer leader with the aim of introducing new students to the AU family. It was a joy ride and I'm looking forward to creating many more such memories with AU."

Zulaikha Thasnim Abdul Majeed from India - Architecture and Design  

• Supplements