GUST concludes 17th IFIP Conference
Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) concluded the 17th annual International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) Conference. The event brought together approximately 75 scholars from around the globe to present research findings conducted on the subject of this year’s conference: Challenges and Opportunities in the Digital Era. Among these, 11 are from GUST. The event was held over a period of four days on GUST’s campus, and it is the first time that this symposium was held in Kuwait.
With the exponential growth of digital forums across the world on a multitude of platforms, it is imperative the academic community explore different ways of adapting to new realities to conduct business. This is especially true today as opportunities afforded to consumers - due to the sheer volume of information accessible to them - presents challenges to companies that need to constantly create innovative strategies to remain relevant. Similarly, consumers are also challenged as they seek optimal ways of sifting through information which inundates them, and makes the process of selecting the best product or service provider increasingly difficult. Prior to the conference, a doctoral colloquium was held to give Ph.D. candidates and research students an opportunity to present their work to a panel of experts to get feedback and gain further insight in their area of study.
Conference Co-Chair and GUST Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr Salah AlSharhan, said, “As the world around us changes, so must we. As academics, we must consistently strive to find ways to relate to and connect with the wider world. This conference was a prime opportunity to learn from other scholars and academics, learn how their findings can be applied locally, and also cement GUST’s place as a veritable regional knowledge hub.”
Presenting findings on behalf of GUST will be Nabae Asfar, Dr Saeed Askary, Dr Ahmed El Morshidy, Dr Ahmed Hassanein, Dr Khalid Kisswani, and Professor Taher Ali, who explored the topics of e-Business, e-Services, and e-Society. Also in attendance, were prominent scholars such as Professor Yogesh Dwivedi from Swansea University in Wales, Professor George Balabanis from City University in London, Dr Winfried Lamersdorf from the University of Hamburg, and Professor Matti Mantymaki, from University of Turku, Finland.
Conference Co-Chair and Dean of College of Business Administration, Prof Antonis Simintiras, said, “This conference yielded some interesting results, and I was excited to hear the different perspectives scholars from around the world presented to us. I’d also like to thank Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences and That Al Salasil for their support in helping put together such a high profile and prestigious conference. The IFIP conference has taken place annually for the last 16 years, however, this is the first time that it has taken place in Kuwait. The previous conference was held in The Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, and explored the topics of Smart Cities, Innovation, and Sustainability.