Mr. Waleed Alankar, Training Delivery Manager at Oracle University – Oracle Middle East, gave a presentation, titled 21st Century Skills, at the American University in Dubai (AUD) focusing on training programs and employment opportunities available to students. The presentation, organized by Dr. Basel Dayyani, Associate Professor of Information Technology at AUD and Dr. Mulhim Al Doori, Associate Professor of Information Technology at AUD, highlighted the new career roles available in the market due to changes in technology and business requirements. Students and employers alike are known to benefit from these events.

Among the attendees were students from AUD, Dubai Women's College, Dubai Men's College, Abu Dhabi Women's College, Abu Dhabi Men's College, Emirates College for Management and Technology ad Ajman University, all which are Oracle Academy members.

Mr. Alankar's presentation addressed the job roles the market needs, the relation between the Oracle technology architecture and various job roles and the Oracle products that support the technology architecture. The presentation also highlighted new job opportunities different from the classic developer/programmer jobs and the Oracle Certification program and its value.

During his visit, Mr. Alankar commented, “It is a pleasure for me to be a guest speaker at The American University in Dubai. There is a gap between what the person studies in the university and market needs which focuses on product knowledge and readiness to deliver business objectives in a short period. Oracle helps fill this gap by providing education enabling students to have better readiness for their future careers.”

Dr. Basel Dayyani commented, "The American University in Dubai philosophy and practice is to actively engage with the industry to help students bridge this knowledge and experience gap by means of curriculum design, course offerings, and industry based projects. The job market is becoming increasingly competitive and the industry demands superior talent from professionals and university graduates. Oracle Academy is among the pioneer industry organizations that help connect the academic knowledge base and the industry knowledge and experience requirements."

The presentation was followed by a Question and Answer session.