On 31 May and 1 June 2016, Amman hosted “The 3rd International Workshop on Applications of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education, Healthcare and Agriculture”, which was held at the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), the largest applied research institution Jordan. The Workshop was jointly organized by ESCWA, the Commission on Science and Technology for Sustainable Development in the South (COMSATS), the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Inter-Islamic Network on Information Technology (INIT), in cooperation with RSS. ESCWA Technology Centre National Officer Nael Elmulki participated in the event alongside concerned figures and around 60 specialists and experts from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine and Tanzania also participated in the event.
This event was preceded by similar workshops in Islamabad (December 2014), and in Rabat (November 2015).This series of workshops aim at strengthening the capacity of software and application developers, researchers and students from the Member States of the partner organizations involved in designing practical applications addressing development problems in the areas of education, health and agriculture. The objective is to help develop ICT applications and policies conducive for improving governance structures in these areas.
The Workshop comprised talks, case studies, and keynote lectures that introduced innovative applications being developed by students, researchers and government institutions for improving governance related problems in the areas of Health, Education and Agriculture. It was said during the discussions that a favorable regulatory environment and patronage of public institutions is vital to the adoption of many existing applications and for encouraging the continuous development of these applications upon use.
The institutions and organizations represented during the workshop included among others: RSS, Jordan; Al-Quds University, Palestine; COMSATS Secretariat, Pakistan; ISESCO, Morocco; COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), Pakistan; INIT, Pakistan; Mohammadia School of Engineering (EMI), Rabat, Morocco; Pay Attention Programme, Jordan; Alhodhud, Jordan; Princess Sumaya University of Technology, Jordan; Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences; Tanzanian Industrial Research Development Organization; Agricultural Research Centre, Egypt; Yarmouk University, Jordan; Electronic Health Solutions, Jordan; Seneca Associates and NatHealth, Jordan.