AUK Wins 3rd Technology Award for 2015

The American University of Kuwait's (AUK) Technology Department has experienced a stellar year for 2015. The department was nominated for four technology awards and won three, posted 4 press releases for technology advancement and presented seven times at four different conferences.

The most recent award was presented at the Ellucian Live Middle East 2015 held in Dubai, UAE on November 10th, 2015. Ellucian Live Middle East Awards recognize regional customers who apply Ellucian technologies or services in innovative ways to improve operational efficiency, better serve constituents, and improve student success at their institutions. AUK won this award for enhancing services to constituents (faculty, staff and students) by streamlining several processes that improved customer service and enhanced productivity.

The Ellucian Live 2015 Annual Conference was held in New Orleans, La. April 12-15, 2015. The 2015 Ellucian conference had more than 8,800 registered attendees and more than 2,400 clients in 40 countries. At this annual conference, one school is presented with an Innovative Technology Award for using the software in innovative ways to improve services. AUK won this award for specifically addressing student challenges in both registration and communication - both of which improved the overall student experience. The 2015 Ellucian Innovation Award recognized two specific innovations at AUK: the use of Banner Workflow to replace the manual course override process and the use of Ellucian Mobile, where students can see news feed messages including grades, schedules, events and maps all on their mobile phones. AUK is the first award recipient outside the United States.

On January 27th, 2015, Computer News Middle East Magazine honored the top 100 C-level IT talent from across the region. Endorsed by International Data Group, the CIO 100 Awards have been taking place in the United States for the last 30 years, but have finally made their way to the Middle East. The Jumeirah Beach Hotel procession celebrated 100 organizations and their IT figureheads that have been using technology innovatively throughout 2014 to deliver business value. Applicants had to show not only that they had executed a project well but also that they had done so in uncommon, innovative ways: pioneering a new technology, applying a familiar technology to a new purpose or setting the bar higher for their competitors. AUK was honored to receive this award.

"We continually look for innovative ways to meet customer's needs by simply asking, what is wrong, what can we do to make it better and are we meeting your expectations? The awards are a bonus for providing our customers the best possible solutions in some unique ways, always ensuring we do not lose the focus that we provide a service/product that promotes the institution's success," says Rusty Bruns, Chief Information Officer at AUK.  


Group Photo for the AUK IT Department Team