News

A team of students from ACK won third place in the “Universities Entrepreneur Battle” organized by the Minister of Youth Affairs for their project idea, which sought to help ease the daily lives of the blind.

The Universities Entrepreneur Battle was organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs for university students in Kuwait in order to support and develop youth skills in various fields and highlight their creative abilities in creating ideas for projects that can benefit society. The competition consisted of 18 teams from seven different universities who put forth their ideas for projects that can have a positive societal impact.

The ACK team united two students, Nujoud Al Azmi and Nour Al Mutairi and presented their project entitled “Speaking Map for the Blind”. The objective of the project sought to ease burdens of the blind by giving them greater accessibility to public areas with a map that speaks directions to them. The project also included a small wireless earphone that accepts voice commands so it can be activate and useful by voice alone. A further benefit is that the program can be used in government sector buildings in order to give users greater accessibility when conducting their necessary transactions.

CWorth mentioning that the project could be executed internationally and according to the estimation of the students it would take 17 months to create and implement, and would cost roughly 50,000 Kuwaiti Dinars to produce.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs announced the winners on Instagram during a live session. Where Mr. Hussain Al Haddad, Manager of Student Affairs at ACK, attended representing the College. Mr. Al Haddad congratulated the participants for their efforts and thanked the Ministry of Youth Affairs for giving students across Kuwait such a great opportunity to improve their skills and benefit their community.

Further elaborating on the benefits of competition to students, Mr. Al Haddad said “The spirit of competition is effective in fostering students’ characters, and the constructive use of their abilities works excellently to benefit them personally while also benefiting society as a whole.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the School of Aviation (SOA) at ACK is determined to provide aviation students the best teaching methods and ultimate expansion opportunities. Hence, the SOA in line with the current situations adopted the (E-learning) and started its academic 2019/2020 year through Microsoft Teams platform, after receiving the needed approvals from all aviation authorities such as Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

It is worth mentioning that it was a common argument of all relevant people that Aviation students would still have to attend their practical sessions in person and the EASA license examinations should be conducted in person too. In this sense, the SOA in collaboration with the Health and Safety Department of ACK has created covid-19 safe campus protocols after receiving the necessary approvals from the local authorities. Thus, aviation students and instructors were able to resume the required practical sessions from campus. The aforementioned achievements reinforced the determination of the aviation team and management and made them work hard to develop and introduce new courses despite the challenging situation.

Also, one of the greatest achievements during this time was that the SOA had successfully introduced the B1.1+B2 combined course providing its B1.1 graduates additional progressive path, which also allows them to pursue their education and earn recognition locally, regionally and internationally. Upon course completion, students may then apply for B1.1 and B2 AME licenses. This combined course will grant ACK’s students an advantage and priority in the job market.

Commenting on the continuous achievements, the Senior Director of the SOA at ACK, Captain Abdul Hameed Al Refai said: “We are constantly monitoring the market trends in the aviation industry to ensure our response to the market needs and equip our students with the latest industry knowledge and technologies. These achievements will definitely provide our students with the ability to develop their skills and to succeed in this field.”

The Maritime Department at ACK announced that it has signed an agreement with the City of Glasgow College in the United Kingdom to offer a Higher National Diploma (HND) in Nautical Science.

The HND in Nautical Science is a two-year program conducted over a period of four semesters. It was primarily designed for those intending to become licensed deck officers on merchant ships, but it also has a secondary role which is providing education for those wishing to enter a wide range of activities within the maritime field. Furthermore, the program provides a solid background for graduates who wish to further their education within a specialized maritime field.

It is worth mentioning that the City of Glasgow College is the premier maritime college in the United Kingdom, having been engaged in maritime education and training for over 50 years. This collaborative agreement allowed ACK to become the first institution in Kuwait to offer similar type and level of training and education.

“The signing of this agreement marks the beginning of higher level maritime education and training in Kuwait. Our partner, the City of Glasgow College is considered one of the premier establishments of its kind in the world with over 50 years of experience in maritime education and training, and ACK is delighted to be able to partner with such an institution,” said Captain Liam Toner, Senior Manager of Maritime Operations & Quality at ACK.

The Human Resources Department at ACK organized its Annual New Staff Induction Program to welcome new joiners onboard. The induction program hosted a combination of overseas staff members who attended virtually through the “M.S. Teams” platform. As well, local new staff members were welcomed personally at ACK premises; whereas the health and safety precautions were applied to the highest standards to ensure the safety and wellbeing of local attendees.

The meeting started with a welcome note by the President of the College, Prof. Isam Zabalawi, who praised the efforts made by all departments to face the current circumstances, and the efforts made by all Academic Departments in developing the College’s e-learning platform.

Prof. Zabalawi added, “I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that the only constant in our lives is change. Things around us are changing at a very fast pace. In recent times, we are experiencing a vivid example of this, which is that we have moved from face-to-face learning to e-learning within a very short period of time. Our main role is to develop an appropriate and beneficial environment to enable you to adhere to the vision, mission, goals, objectives and core values of the College.”

The Vice President for Academic Affairs, Prof. Hussein Abdullah, welcomed the attendees and said that organizing this program is a joint effort by the academic administration and the Human Resources Department to qualify the academic cadres and ensure their readiness through the various workshops that will take place during this program.

The induction program unfolded and focused on the fundamentals of e-learning, philosophy of teaching and learning, academic advising, and academic policies and procedures, in addition to the rules and regulations of scientific research.

The attendees praised this meeting in terms of organization and the availability of information that provided the employees with a comprehensive overview of the different processes and operations in the various departments at the College.