Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 48 | Page 7

NEWS Dubai Police to advance drone technology with DJI access to new drone technologies, training and support to promote safety and security in the country’s largest city. Under the agreement, Dubai Police will have custom access to DJI’s line-up of hardware and software solutions including DJI drones, the DJI Flight Simulator for pilot training, DJI FlightHub for drone fleet management and mission planning, as well as DJI AeroScope to help aid in the identification and remediation of unauthorised drone activity. D JI, a leader in civilian drones and aerial imaging technology, has announced a solution development partnership with Dubai Police to test and deploy DJI drone technology as a tool to aid its public safety professionals. The agreement marks DJI’s first partnership with a police agency in the UAE and will provide the Dubai Police with “This partnership is set to boost co- operation, exchange experiences, share information and knowledge between both sides in the field of unmanned aerial systems,” said Major General Abdullah Khalifa Al Marri, Commander in Chief of Dubai Police. “It reflects the keenness of Dubai Police to bring drones into the different police sectors, which helps promote safety and security in the city by utilising the latest tools and systems.” ///////////////// Sorbonne Abu Dhabi becomes first UAE university to transition to Blackboard Learn SaaS B lackboard Inc, a leading education technology company for teaching, learning and student engagement, has announced that Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, established in association with Sorbonne University in Paris, has become the first university in the UAE to transition its virtual learning environment to the Software-as-a- Service (SaaS) delivery model of Blackboard Learn. The transition to the cloud will allow over 800 students and 100 educators to experience anywhere–anytime learning with zero downtime updates. The institution will leverage Blackboard Learn SaaS to enhance its digital infrastructure. “Moving to a cloud-based delivery model is an important first step for us,” said Hamdan Alkalbani, Head of the Digital Transformation and Innovation Department at Sorbonne Abu Dhabi, which specialises in arts, law, humanities, business and science degrees. “It sets in motion our strategic plan to become the first fully digital campus in the UAE, and zero downtime is critical to achieving this objective. Our students can now benefit from improved stability as well as experience increased mobility and interactive learning.” Sorbonne Abu Dhabi will further leverage the SaaS deployment to introduce blended learning, scale up its online courses, and better evaluate its students, educators and programmes. Learn SaaS will www.intelligentcio.com also be instrumental to the university’s plans to set up a mobile application for its users with a 360-degree view and single sign-on. This will be one of many steps in the university’s shift to a cloud- based infrastructure over the next two years. INTELLIGENTCIO 7