The College of Computing and Informatics at the University of Sharjah held the 2020 Computing and Informatics Annual Retreat (CIAR) 2020 using remote communication technologies to discuss the overall performance of the College and its strategic plan for the academic year 2019/2020. The CIAR was held in the presence of Prof. Mohammad S. Obaidat, Dean of the College of Computing and Informatics, and Prof. Ashraf Elnagar, Vice Dean, as well as Department Head, and faculty and administrative members of the College.

The Dean of the College started the meeting by conveying the greetings of His Excellency Prof. Hamid M.K. Al Naimiy, Chancellor of the University of Sharjah, to faculty and attendees, wishing them a successful and effective retreat. Then the Dean gave a presentation on the College's achievements for the academic year 2019/2020, covering an introductory overview of the College departments and programs, and possible future programs that will contribute to serving both the government, industrial and business sectors, and stimulating the transition to the digital and knowledge economy. These programs include cyber security engineering, information analysis, artificial intelligence, medical informatics, and e-commerce. The Dean of the College also addressed several topics including increasing the number of teaching staff, getting international accreditation for the academic programs, improving the field training course for students through communication with local and international companies, stimulating scientific research and integrating students with professors in the work of scientific research, and the use of technology with education in lectures with a focus on honing students' skills and giving them field and practical experience before they graduate.

He stressed the importance of excellence in education and community participation, and the need to motivate faculty and students to build strong relationships with the industry community using technology and research, and to participate in events and conferences that develop creativity and innovation among students. The Dean concluded his speech assuring that despite the College being new, its performance was distinguished. The College's Advisory Board was established under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Executive Director of the Department of Government Relations in Sharjah, in addition to leaders of trade and industry from inside and outside the country, and they provide valuable advice regarding curricula and scientific research through their institutions in research and cooperation with professors and students in the College. He finally stressed the ability of the College to successfully implement distance education and face the current challenges and conditions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For his part, Prof. Ashraf Elnagar gave a detailed presentation on the performance measurement indicators of the College's strategic plan, during which he dealt with the level of student satisfaction with the services provided by the College, as well as the level of satisfaction of faculty members. This in addition to enhancing the innovation environment in activities and workshops, and the College's cooperation with many institutions in community service and training hours for faculty members.

This was followed by a session during which Prof. Ibrahim Kamel, Head of the Computer Engineering Department; Prof. Zaher Al Aghbari, Head of the Computer Science Department; and Dr. Iman Akour, Head of the Information Systems Department, made a number of presentations on the topics of education and learning, community service and research activities of the College, and educational programs and online education. This in addition to a summary of the number of students enrolled in departments, and the identification of members of the academic staff with high efficiency, research, and scientific activities. The session was moderated by Dr. Tamer Rabie from the Department of Computer Engineering.

The heads of the College committees also addressed topics of academic accreditation and curricula, strategic planning, communication and public relations, student affairs, exams and student schedules, the website and College catalog, annual reports, equipment and laboratories, as well as community service and seminars, research and conferences.

At the end of the session, the participants in the meeting discussed several suggestions and recommendations about the next step that the College will take regarding establishing programs and organizing conferences, seminars, and e-learning. In this regard Prof. Obaidat announced that the College will be one of the organizers of the International Conference on Information Systems, Computer and Communications, which will be held next October in Hangzhou, China. The College will also organize the International Conference on Communications, Computing and Cyber Security and Informatics, which will be held next November at the University of Sharjah and supervised by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The College will also organize the International Symposium for Electronic Commerce and Cyber Security in cooperation with the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry in September 2020.

At the end of the session, Dr. Amal Al Ali from the Department of Information Systems, Dr. Ali Al-Mursi from the Department of Computer Engineering, Dr. Mohamed Latayfeh from the Computer Science Department, and Ms. Reem Al-Jaber from the Administrative Body were honored with the Excellence Service Award for their dedication to College service during the academic year. It is worth noting that the social committee in the College is headed by Dr. Iman Akour and the members are Prof. Tamer RabIe and Mr. Mohammed Ockba organized and managing CIAR 2020.