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Abstract
The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) offer developing
countries the chance to leapfrog into the knowledge-based economy.
However, the pressure of catching up with the ICT fast track is
confusing the decision making in the Arab countries and blurring
priorities crucial for the suitable deployment of ICT in meeting
the socio-economic development and integration needs of the region.
This presentation reports the findings of a team activity that
attempted to utilize information and analytical models to suggest
the suitable ICT solutions for the Arab countries. The team process
is overviewed and findings are presented:
- the ranked derived characteristics of adequate ICT solutions
for the region,
- the assessment and ranking of proposed ICT solution models,
- and the suitability evaluation of proposed ICT solutions for
the various countries benchmarked against international country
reference models.
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Speaker Bio
Fouad Mrad is a Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering
Department at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon (1993-Present).
He received his Ph. D. and M. S. in Electrical Engineering from
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He earned his B.S. in
Electrical & Computer Engineering from the State University
of New York at Buffalo. Prior to the university career, he worked
for IBM – Magnetic Storage Division in Rochester, Minnesota
(1990-1993).
He published papers in international refereed journals (14) and
conferences (19) in the areas of Manufacturing, Industrial Automation
& Instrumentation, Adaptive & Intelligent Control, and Robotics.
He is coauthoring a book “Applied Mechatronics,” with
Oxford University Press.
He has been a consultant with Industrial Development Corp (Indevco),
Minister of Industry, Modern Electronics Industries Co. MEICO, Lebanese
National Council for Scientific Research, UN-ESCWA Information and
Communication Technologies Division, USAID - Amideast Lebanon, Public
Housing Institute, Ministry of Technical and Vocational Education,
and Team International. |
