His Excellency the President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, inaugurated the activities of the first forum of the UQU Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs entitled, "Vision and Transformation", on Wednesday morning. This forum was held under the umbrella of the university's Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs at King Abdulaziz Historical Hall, in the University City at Al-Abdiyyah. It was attended by vice presidents, deans of colleges, and a large number of students.

His Excellency Prof. Bafail stressed that Umm Al-Qura University is keen to produce an educational environment that attracts and motivates students according to the highest standards of international quality, and qualifies them according to outstanding methodologies in order to develop their skills and promote their abilities.

He added, "The first forum of UQU Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs gives all affiliates of the university a chance to show their research abilities and specific experiences. This is to upgrade the educational process in their colleges and the university leadership in order to produce an educational environment based on skills."

His Excellency Prof. Bafail praised the support that education in general and Umm Al-Qura University in particular enjoy from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, and the follow-up of His Royal Highness Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the Advisor of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah Region, and the Deputy Emir of Makkah Region, His Royal Highness Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz (may Allah protect them). His Excellency also praised the continuous support and follow up of His Excellency Dr. Hamad Al Al-Sheikh, the Minister of Education, aiding the educational process.

Moreover, His Excellency the Vice President of the University for Educational Affairs, Dr. Abdulaziz Suruji, pointed out that the forum will contribute to enriching the development and modernization processes aimed at providing excellent educational solutions. This will make university life attractive and easy for the students during their educational journey. Enriching these processes also constitutes a main component in the fulfillment of the Saudi Vision 2030. He added that the forum included a galaxy of researchers, who presented successful experiences, in-depth studies, as well as work papers.

Dr. Al-Suruji pointed out that the most important roles of the Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs include its preparation of an educational environment that attracts students and contributes in pushing forward the wheel of development in the university. Such an environment also helps all the academic and administrative staff and students to be innovative and perform their duties professionally. Thus, the idea of this forum centered on the learners and forming their characters in an integral way to enable them to keep pace with the accelerating changes in the world.

The forum started with a seminar on the 'Vision and Transformation', in which the vice presidents of the university participated. Dr. Yasser Shosho, the Vice President of the University, presented a work paper entitled, "The Expenditures in the Methodology of the Kingdom 2030 and its Application in Higher Education". Dr. Adnan Qutb, on behalf of the Vice President for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research, Dr. Thamir Al-Harbi, tackled, "The Importance of the Role of Scientific Research in Promoting the Educational Process".

The UQU Vice President for Development and Entrepreneurship, Dr. Hani bin Othman Ghazi, asserted in his paper entitled, "Development, Quality, and Entrepreneurship: Towards the Achievement of the Vision", that they targeted 500 from the affiliates of the university to qualify them to be strategic planners.

He added that the university possesses performance indicators for creative aspects in training programs in modeling sciences and artificial intelligence. He declared that Umm Al-Qura University will work to establish, during the coming two years, 100 startups that sprang from its creative projects.

The University Vice President for Branches, Dr. Abdul-Majeed bin Sa`id Al-Ghamdi, indicated in his paper, "New Academic Education and Its Role in Developing Future Skills", that the vision of 2030 encouraged the automation of professions and specializations, asserting that Umm Al-Qura University is heading forward towards complete automation. On her part, Dr. Sarah Al-Khuli, UQU Vice President for Female Student Affairs, pointed out that the vice presidency aims at developing the abilities and skills of academic and administrative female cadres, equally. She offered this idea on her paper entitled, "The Role of the University Vice Presidency for Female Student Affairs in Supporting the Educational Process."

Dr. Muhammad Al-Hazimi, the General Supervisor of Project Management, stressed in his paper entitled, "Projects in Support of Effective Learning: A Material Environment Conducive to Integrated Learning", the importance of distributing schedules throughout all the days of the week in order to achieve equilibrium in the educational process.

It is worth mentioning that the first forum of UQU Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs,. "Vision and Transformation", included four main themes: improving equal access to education, aligning university outcomes with labor market requirements, the role of universities in the activation of volunteer work, and community partnerships. The forum was organized by the University Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs, represented by its executive partners: the Deanship of Student Affairs, the Joint First Year Deanship, the Deanship of Admissions and Registration, the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, and the English Language Center.