Under the patronage of His Excellency King Khalid University President Prof. Falleh bin Rajaa Allah Al-Solamy, the university, represented by the Deanship of E-Services, held its annual forum featuring the title: SWITCH 2024, Paving the Path to Tomorrow. In this year’s event the ES Deanship chose the university sports hall as its venue, introducing the community to the multifaceted facilities offered in the university. Showcasing cutting edge technologies and AI features, the forum aimed to demonstrate the latest innovation and digital transformation techniques adopted by the ES Deanship.

In a crowd of tech experts, academics and enthusiasts, the forum highlighted the deanships most prominent achievements. Furthermore, the forum included the launch of several innovative initiatives, platforms and projects designed to enhance and align with the university’s strategic goals and our national vision 2030.

In the speech delivered by his excellency the university president in the event, he commended the university's recent digital achievements, which he stressed are the culmination of sustained efforts and fruitful collaboration across sectors. He emphasized that these accomplishments reflect the university’s ambitious vision and its determination to turn challenges into opportunities and aspirations into reality. He highlighted the critical role of digital transformation and technical innovation in achieving operational excellence, reiterating the university's commitment to exploring new horizons of technological advancement. He further noted that “Paving the Path to Tomorrow” forum symbolizes a strong will to translate technical potential into tangible realities that boost efficiency and drive transformation, aligning with the aspirations of Saudi Vision 2030. Al-Solamy extended his thanks to the Deanship of E-Services, experts, and strategic partners for their contributions to these successes.

On this occasion, Dean of the Deanship of E-Services, Dr. Hamid bin Saleh Al-Qahtani, emphasized the pivotal role of technology in enhancing institutional performance and achieving the university’s strategic goals. He explained that the forum marks a milestone in the digital transformation journey, establishing the university as a beacon among Saudi universities.

Dr. Al-Qahtani reaffirmed the deanship’s commitment to providing innovative technical solutions to meet the university’s aspirations, commending the direct support dedicated to the ES Deanship by the university president, vice presidents, and strategic partners.

Highlights of the Forum

The forum featured the launch of several groundbreaking digital platforms:

• "Fatheen" Platform: A cutting-edge tool leveraging AI to simplify understanding policies and enhance compliance. The platform offers multi-level digital support, improving administrative efficiency and communication among staff.
• "Wasl" Platform: A comprehensive digital workspace fostering a collaborative environment for employees, enhancing internal communication with innovative solutions to meet organizational needs.
• "Qiyas" Platform: Designed to simplify monitoring national indicators and enhance continuous performance improvement through data-driven decision-making, supporting institutional excellence.
• "Kafa’a" Platform: Developed to create question banks for readiness assessments, contributing to advancing the educational process and preparing students for examinations.

The university also unveiled the updated Smart Communication System, aimed at enhancing internal and external communication channels, thereby boosting administrative and communication efficiency.

Additionally, the "EStronaut Virtual Hackathon" was launched, a competitive platform encouraging university employees to showcase technical skills and innovate in programming and AI, providing creative digital solutions that serve the university community.

The event also included a documentary titled "Our Present: The Extension of Our Future", highlighting the university's digital infrastructure development and future readiness.

Recognitions and Collaborations

A documentary "Journey of Achievement" showcased milestones in the university's digital transformation, including accolades such as:

• First place in the 2024 Digital Transformation Assessment for education and training entities in Saudi Arabia.
• Ninth place in the 2024 Website Efficiency and Digital Content Quality Index.
• International certifications such as Uptime Tier III accreditation for the campus data center and the OLC Global Award for E-Learning Data Analysis.

A panel discussion titled "Leadership Insights for a Digital Future" featured vice deans discussing future directions for the Deanship of E-Services. A keynote by Ms. Rasha Al-Thaqafi, Higher Education Accounts Manager at Microsoft Arabia, highlighted Microsoft’s role in supporting digital transformation in education with global and local success stories.

The forum also introduced the Cisco Virtual Academy, in collaboration with Cisco, offering training and certifications in networking, cybersecurity, and IoT. Regional Director at Cisco, Eng. Raed Hamad Al-Jarboua, emphasized the academy’s role in equipping individuals with essential technical skills for the job market.

The event concluded with a review of strategic partnerships with global tech entities, strengthening collaboration in the digital domain to achieve Saudi Vision 2030. Sponsors and participants were honored for their invaluable contributions to the university’s efforts.