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Rector’s Speech During Launching of international University Carnival on e-Learning (iUCEL) 2018 ((12-13 September 2018)

Alhamdulillah, I would like to congratulate the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL) of IIUM on successfully hosting this year’s international University Carnival on e-Learning (iUCEL) jointly with the Ministry of Education, MEIPTA, MyCEL, and from the Industry Partnered by PETROSAINS and Openlearning.  I would like to thank all staff of IIUM and the partners who put long hours and commitment to make this programme a success.  I hope your continuous efforts to organise such programmes where new ideas and knowledge are generated will benefit all of us. 
IIUM’s involvement in organising this event represents our persistent attempt to keep pace with new developments in the field of teaching and learning globally in this age of technological change and innovation which is also dubbed as the Age of Loneliness, and unsustainability including that of technology per se. While it cannot be denied that modern technology has been evolving very fast and is pervasive in both our daily personal and professional life, like all things in the "modern" world it has its downside which is not well articulated, unintended or otherwise. 

Therefore, the importance of organising such conferences cannot be overemphasised provided the aim is to identify mechanisms to ensure the development of a balanced and harmonic person as stipulated by the National Philosophy of Education, and indeed in the Qur'an. 

IIUM’s Constitution enshrines the vision of the Islamisation of Human Knowledge (IOHK) and the concept of seeing ideas in various disciplines from Islamic perspectives in all modes of academic work. As our Memorandum and Articles of Association states: “Inspired by the worldview of Tawhid and the Islamic philosophy of the unity of knowledge as well as its concept of holistic education, [IIUM] integrates Islamic revealed knowledge and values in all academic disciplines and educational activities.”
In recognising this, I believe the outcome of this conference will have positive impacts in all areas of our academic practices. 

We at IIUM fully appreciate the importance of academic research and are guided by the contents of verse 122 of Surah Al-Taubah. The essence of the verse requires a group of dedicated people among us to devote their time and energy to research and developing scholarship in order to guide the larger community. Islam has placed huge emphasis on knowledge for upliftment of humanity and thus making it obligatory. 

On the same note, the Malaysian Ministry of Education emphasises enhancing learning  culture in academic institutions to promote knowledge generation, sharing  and co-learning beyond mere technology. 

We in IIUM are ready to be a team player with our counterparts from all other institutions of higher learning to create and provide a more holistic and balanced education at the national and global level to support innovative teaching and learning activities.

We owe our gratitude to the Malaysian e-Learning Council for Public Universities (MEIPTA), Malaysian Centre for e-Learning (MyCEL) and Ministry of Education for facilitating this e-learning carnival. iUCEL 2018 has an added significance for the IIUM community, as we are one of the main organisers and honoured to welcome everyone to our Garden of Knowledge and Virtue. We hope that it will act as a platform to promote, explore, and share best practices and global expertise in e-Learning applications at all levels of learning institutions from all over the world rooted in virtues that ensure knowledge remains relevant for a sustainable future. 

By putting the "right" emphasis on the use of technology for educational purposes, we are reminded that technology is there for our use, and not vice versa. We should not dehumanise ourselves with the forces of modern devices knowingly or otherwise such that our human intelligence, more specifically primordial intelligence (fitrah or karma) are undermined by the use of technology. We need to persistently remind ourselves that technology must be there to serve human needs, but ensure we must not be enslaved to technology and devices. Evidences to this effect is getting more and more evident as we research deeper into the evolution of technology. Indeed, the late Stephen Hawking and Albert Einstein had forewarned us as to what to expect if technology is given a free reign to determine what the future is about. Hence, we see Japan started talking about 5th Social Revolution and choose not to be bonded by the 4th Industrial Revolution in meeting their future needs. No doubt technology and human needs in today’s world have been enmeshed in a way which has never happened before, but humans must have the upper hand in ensure human dignity is not compromised. This is one of the six overaching goals stipulated in the UN Sustainable Development Goals or better known as Education 2030 and not Education 4.0 as some dubbed it without any meaningful purposes. 

Many of us do not realise how technology is changing our life and controlling our intellectual capacity in a manipulate way, and concurrently destroying many of our long-held values, virtues and relationships. It has been showed that the level of trust must be enhanced as technology advances. Yet the reality today is that we are expering severe trust-deficit thus allowing corruption and ethical practices to creep in more insidiously. The academic world is not exception among students and even professors alike. This concern must be first addressed before e-Learning can be a meaningful educational tool that is values-based.  We need to analyse the correlation between availability of technology and its impact on the development of competencies involving trust and trustworthiness and not just innovation as often cliched as "innovate or die."  The fact of the matter is that, technology can stultify human dignity if wrongly used. 
I am sure most of us here are aware that the wrong use of technology may diminish our ability to communicate effectively and risk the social wellbeing of society (sejahtera) that we are already witnessing amongst the youth especially. When our eyes are glued to smart phones and other screen devices, we tend to detach from those around and thus create unseen boundaries that bound us between members of the family and society. The latest report from the World Health Organisation that classifies "gaming" as an addiction is just the tip of the iceberg.  Such irresponsible use of technology can potentially harm the individual and the community as large. At this juncture it reminds me of my involvement as anti-tobacco advocate for more than 3 decades. Screen devices addiction is a deja vu. 

In my first address to the IIUM Community, I made an analogy between the use of technology to that of a ‘toilet’. I know the analogy may sound crude, but the message I want to share is that, we must use technology responsibly and should not be controlled by it. A toilet is an essential, indispensable and integral part of our everyday life; we use it when necessary and do not remain there all the time. Nor do we carry it with us wherever we go. Similarly, while innovating e-learning and promoting its use in academic activities, we must remember that if we are fully and obsessivly depend on it then "real" education and learning stops. Instead it becomes a menace to individuals and society at large. 

The choice of the motto HUMANISING TECHNOLOGY is spot-on but the question remains is "how" so.  I trust the outcome of our discussion with through some light on this such that the e-learning is also understood as "ethical"-learning where trust and trustworthiness is the centrepiece of what learning is all about to promote sustainable use of technology for the benefit of humankind. 

I wish all participants a successful conference and welcome to our Garden of Knowledge and Virtue. In the Name of Allah the Most Compassion and Merciful, I officially declare the 2018 iUCEL open.