Saudi Telecom Company November 2019

STC Academy: the agile mindset

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Teaching emerging technology and adaptable mindsets at the STC Academy

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WRITTEN BY

HARRY MENEAR PRODUCED BY

JAMES PEPPER

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STC ACADEMY

Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager of the Digital School at STC Academy, talks innovation in education, and how she is helping to reinvent the culture of Saudi Arabia’s largest telco

T

he technology landscape is always changing. New technologies like quantum computing and 5G surge into the mar-

ketplace, while trends like cloud and IoT adoption 04

barely transition into the mainstream. As it was theorised by Charles Darwin, “it is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it is a time of upheaval and rapid advancement, as the nation continues its supercharged adoption of digital technologies and strategies in preparation for Vision 2030 - the central goal of which is to reduce the Kingdom’s dependence on oil and petrochemicals, diversify its economy and develop sectors like health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism. “This is an exciting time for us in Saudi Arabia. I think that, with the support of our company and our government, we will reach the goals we are aiming for,” enthuses Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General

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STC ACADEMY

“ Because I have this mixture of technical and academic backgrounds I found the idea of working in a corporate academy very interesting”

Manager of the Digital School at the STC Academy.

As General Manager of the Digital School in the STC Academy, Aljamea is at the centre of a digital operation that will have a perceptible effect on the Saudi telecommunications space for decades to come. We sat down with her to find out more about her role in reinventing the culture of the Kingdom’s largest telco.

“My father was an electrical engi-

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— Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy

neer, and my uncle was the person who introduced the Arabic language to computing, so I come from a very technologically-oriented family,” she

CLICK TO WATCH : ‘TC – GITEX 2019’ 07 recalls. After obtaining a bachelor’s in

I have this mixture of technical and

Computer and Information Systems

academic backgrounds, I found

from King Faisal University, and

the idea of working in a corporate

following a stint running her own

academy very interesting,” she

software business, Aljamea accepted

remembers. “I think it’s a known prob-

a government scholarship to travel

lem that there’s this gap between

to London where, after completing

academia and industry. Working at

a Masters and obtained her PhD

the Academy presents the opportu-

in Computer Security from King’s

nity to do both at the same time and

College in 2016. Specialising in algo-

help fill this gap, which is exciting.”

rithm design for cyber security, she is

The role of the STC Academy as an

a certified Ethical Hacker, a veteran

education provider to the company’s

of working in academia, and became

executive staff presents Aljamea and

the first woman to join STC’s execu-

her team with an interesting set of chal-

tive team in February 2019. “Because

lenges. “They are almost all experts w w w.s tc. com

STC ACADEMY

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in their own field,” she explains. “It’s

with STC’s partner companies. “We

not like working with a student, or in a

don’t use off the shelf programs from

university, or running a training course.

third party vendors; we always cus-

They’re executives that are taking time

tomise our programs. The customer

out of their busy days, so in order to

experience of our clients within the

engage them, they need to see some-

program is paramount, so the STC

thing worth leaving work for.”

Academy makes sure that what we

In order to create educational

are delivering is custom tailored to our

courses that engage STC execu-

executives,” Aljamea explains. “We try

tives, the STC Academy’s curriculum

to avoid traditional methods of deliv-

is focused around introducing them

ering courses, instead focusing on

to new technologies through highly

interactivity. We’re designing cyberse-

customised and immersive training

curity labs, for example, in order to run

courses developed in conjunction

simulations that allow our executives to

2018

Year founded

10.8mn+

Revenue in Saudi Riyal, generated by STC

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Number of academy employees E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE

Dr Moudhi Aljamea Dr. Moudhi Aljamea has a PhD in Computer Security Algorithms Design from King’s College London, Dr. Aljamea currently is the General Manger of the ICT School at STC Academy (Saudi Telcom Company). She is the first Saudi woman to occupy an executive position in the company and has vast experience in cyber and information security.

Prior to joining STC, she was the president of an entrepreneurship unit and business incubator and an assistant Professor in cyber security at Imam Abdurrahman Bin Faisal University, she is considered as one of the Saudis experts in the computer security field.

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11 live through the experience of a cyber attack.” Increasing cyber threat awareness and readiness in its executives is a top priority of STC and the Academy.

“The more connected we become, the more we are exposed to cyber risk.

The weakest link in every system is the human aspect, so, as an executive, increasing awareness of this type of threat is critical,” Aljamea says.

In addition to cyber security, Aljamea explains that the Academy’s program also delivers education in the fields of data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). “I have a vision that

“ We try to avoid traditional methods of delivering courses, instead focusing on interactivity” — Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy w w w.s tc. com

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every employee at STC should have at least a basis of knowledge regarding cyber security and data analytics. It doesn’t require a technical background; it’s something that they should know about. So, one of the things we’re doing is developing our executives knowledge of data analytics,” she says. “We also focus on AI. We just launched an AI competition for our employees to encourage them to come up

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with, develop and prototype an idea relating to AI.” Across

“ You never know what the future will bring.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll be dealing with new technology that we don’t know anything about today” — Dr Moudhi Aljamea, General Manager, Digital School, STC Academy w w w.s tc. com

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multiple digital disciplines, Aljamea and the STC Academy is constantly pushing to increase engagement in digital sectors and new technologies.

Aljamea notes, however, that the rapidly changing pace of technology means that, more important to the Academy and STC as a whole than educating executives on technology applications, is helping cultivate an agile perspective and approach. “You never know what the future will bring.

Maybe tomorrow we’ll be dealing with new technology that we don’t know anything about today.” As a result, while introducing its executives to new use cases for technologies such as 5G, quantum computing and AI, the deeper goal is to develop an executive team to whom adaptability is a second nature survival trait.

Looking to the future, Aljamea is confident that although “what our executives are learning today might not be important tomorrow, with this agile mindset, they can easily adapt to whatever tomorrow may bring.”

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STC Academy King Abdul Aziz Complex Mursalat Riyadh Riyadh SA www.stc.com