His Excellency the UQU President, Prof. Abdullah bin Omar Bafail, launched the 'Taalum' platform and the 'Fundamentals of Digital Skills' program, whose implementation is supervised by the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education. The inauguration took place during the reception of His Excellency the Dean of the Deanship, Dr. Khalid Al-Mutairi, and his teamwork, when the dean submitted the report on the deanship's achievements during the suspension period.

His Excellency the President of the University listened to the presentation made by Dr. Al-Mutairi on the efforts of the deanship and its role in transforming 283 majors at the university to remote education through 300 programs and online applications implemented by the deanship. A total of 41,000 final digital exams were recorded during the study suspension period due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the second semester of the academic year 1441 A.H.

His Excellency the President of the University appreciated the efforts of the deanship and its leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, praising the role played by the deanship in organizing the digital transformation and in managing the educational process. His Excellency stressed the importance of e-learning in achieving the university's strategic goals and developing its cognitive methods, as well as raising the quality of its educational outcomes.

In addition, the Dean of the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education at the university affirmed that His Excellency the President of the University launched the 'Taalum' platform and the 'Fundamentals of Digital Skills' program due to his constant keenness to provide all means that enable university students to complete their educational progress, achieve the university's strategic goals, and employ its technical capabilities in the service of its affiliates: students, professors, and employees.

He said that the 'Taalum' platform aims to provide comprehensive and renewable training content, which supports the process of distance education, providing the possibility to make the most of digital services in addition to offering many development courses in various fields.

He added that the 'Fundamentals of Digital Skills' program aims to develop the academic staff at Umm Al-Qura University and other Saudi universities. It also activates digital systems in order to enhance the role of academic staff members in the scientific and educational process in universities, and employs modern technologies and programs in order to serve science and its students.

The programs provided by the university through the Deanship of Information Technology and the Deanship of E-learning and Distance Education represent the goals aiming at the digital transformation of distance education. As a result of this, the UQU benefits from the infrastructure of these programs and the technical support necessary for them around the clock to answer inquiries. In addition, the qualitative initiatives reflect the pioneering role of Umm Al-Qura University in activating digital systems and employing them in an optimal manner to serve the educational process.

**To view the report of the deanship's achievements, click here.