UET Lahore deploys the country’s first smart classroom with China’s help

LAHORE, Dec. 1 (Gwadar Pro) – “China’s smart classroom has improved our learning efficiency and enriched our learning methods and contents amid the pandemic,” noted Pakistani student Khan, expressing gratitude to the state-of-the-art facility.

With academic backing from Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), China, Pakistan’s Lahore University of Engineering and Technology (UET Lahore) successfully deployed the country’s first smart classroom, namely, Weidong Smart Classroom last July. Fully sponsored by China’s Weidong Cloud Education Group, it is also a flagship project of International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI).

Pakistani Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood had ordered closure of all educational institutions across the country from November 26 till January 10 next year and directed for holding online classes until December 24 following a surge in COVID-19 cases.

Ever since the first outbreak of COVID-19 in Pakistan, 15,000 students from UET Lahore had conducted distance learning activities at home via the platform. As the second wave of coronavirus grips Pakistan, the smart classroom became an important aid to local teachers and students when it comes to distance learning.

“We used to lecture students one by one on IT, but this offline teaching was extremely inefficient, and some might be dissatisfied with our teaching. With the help of China’s smart classroom, we could record our classes and share them with more students. Besides, we could interact with students during this pandemic time; it did help a lot,” said Pakistani IT teacher Naeem, adding that homework can also be given out online and the education continues from home.

As per student Khan, they can take lessons whenever and wherever they want, and they feel free to communicate with their classmates and teachers during the second wave of the coronavirus, which feared by global as well as local experts, is to worsen during winter. More importantly, the recorded classes can be played repeatedly and different lectures are open to them, which means they are powered with more education resources.

According to operators from Weidong Cloud Education Group, as the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) is promoting institutions of higher learning to seek way towards the digital transformation, this project enables administrators, teachers, students and technicians to exchange ideas and communicate in the field of information and communications technology (ICT).