Under the auspices of the President of Umm Al-Qura University, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, the Vice Presidency for Educational Affairs, represented by the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, organized the ceremony of the Umm Al-Qura University Award for E-Learning on Tuesday, 8 Rabi` Al-Awwal, 1441 A.H., corresponding to 5 November, 2019 A.C. The ceremony was attended by His Excellency the Vice President for Educational Affairs, His Excellency the Vice President of the University, deans of the colleges and institutes, support deans, and faculty members.

The College of Computing won the second place for implementing the E-Learning System. The Dean of the College, His Excellency Dr. Jabir Saeed Al-Zahrani, received the award.

The audience saw a presentation on the award with its three categories. The first category was the excellence award for the "Use of E-Learning Systems". This award aims to encourage faculty members to use the e-learning system tools to facilitate their daily tasks, and to encourage students to make the best use of modern technology in the learning process.

The second category was the award for the "Development of E-Courses". It aims to encourage faculty members to participate with an electronic course, uploading it on the university e-learning portal.

The third category was the award for "Enriching Content through the SHMS Platform". It is designed to encourage faculty members to participate in diversifying open content through the Saudi Resources Network (SHMS), which is one of the initiatives of the National Center. This is in order to create a sustainable path of partnership in design and improvement, and enhance the quality of the digital educational content.

Twenty-three male and female faculty members were awarded prizes across the three categories of the competition, receiving cash, certificates, and honorary shields.

The Dean of the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, Dr. Khalid Al-Mutairi, stated that e-learning is one of the key strategies of the Saudi Vision 2030 in the move towards e-governance. He also indicated that the deanship seeks to launch the second version of the award. It will maintain its three current categories, and add a special category for students with the aim of motivating them to use the e-learning system.

The president praised the role of the Deanship of E-Learning in facilitating and simplifying the educational material, and its persistent efforts in promoting e-learning and enriching knowledge content in its various fields and sciences. Hopefully, students will enjoy these services in the light of the modern era, which is witnessing great advancements in electronic services and systems.