Umm Al-Qura University, represented by the Deanship of E-Learning and Distance Education, took part in the Distance Education Forum organized by the Ministry of Education. The Vice Dean for Academic Development and Quality, Dr. Hanaa bint Abdul-Rahim Yamani, participated in the forum with a paper on the Electronic Maqraah of Umm Al-Qura University.

The Distance Education Forum held by the University Education Agency for two days reviewed the various education patterns in the world to check on the transformations in the education process. Moreover, it tackled how to maximize the benefit of the distance education model in the Saudi universities through discussion panels involving a number of local and international education experts. The sessions also included the implementation of a series of training programs in the field of distance education for the benefit of about three thousand male and female trainees, including academic staff members and university students.

The forum sessions covered several themes, most notably: the international transformations in education and the future patterns of distance education, the reality of distance education in the universities and technical and vocational education (success stories and the most prominent challenges), in addition to the available opportunities to take advantage of the transformation to distance education and to explore the future in this field.

The discussions witnessed significant interaction by the officials of the governmental bodies and participating universities besides a number of the officials of the international organizations and world experts in the field of distance education.