Realizing the importance of the use of technologies in educational settings and of the ways to effectively implement it as a crucial factor to the sustainable development of our societies, of educators and of humankind, the Unit of New Educational Technologies (UNTE) at Saint Joseph University of Beirut has launched a series of “EduTech Café” scientific meetings at the national and global levels under different themes and diversified concepts related to digital technologies in teaching and learning.

It is a well-known fact that technology has revolutionized the traditional teaching and learning process especially in the aftermath of COVID-19. From this perspective, the UNTE is providing a forum for teachers and experts in the field of education to present their latest techniques, ideas, expertise, developments, and applications in all areas of education. 

The 1^st EduTech Café Meeting held on March 30 under the title “Intersection of Alternative Assessment & Educational Technology” hosted Dr. Eliana El Khoury, Assistant Professor at Athabasca University in Canada. The meeting highlighted the role of educational technologies in alternative student assessment methods. The participants showed a lot of enthusiasm and curiosity toward the field of innovative and engaging evaluations.

The 2^nd EduTech Café meeting took place on April 28. It was an opportunity for people from such diverse areas to exchange thoughts and experiences on the "Open Educational Resources (OER)", and stress on OER in providing better access to high quality learning materials for all through a virtuous cycle of materials being developed, improved and repurposed over time and for different contexts. A fully-fledged inspiring presentation was given by Dr. Fawzi Baroud, Assistant Vice President for Information Technology at Notre Dame University and UNESCO Chair on Open Educational Resources (OER).

The 3^rd EduTech Café meeting on "Assistive Technologies Towards Inclusive Education” was organized on 30 May in partnership with Qatar University. Mrs. Rehab Dorgham in her capacity as Assistive Technology Specialist at the Inclusion and Special Needs Support Center at Qatar University delivered an interesting presentation. Experts tackled the pivotal role of assistive technology in increasing student independence, accelerating participation in classroom activities and simultaneously advancing academic standing for students with special needs, providing them the ability to have equal access to educational environment.

The 4^th EduTech Café meeting on” Digital Research Methods” took place on June 29. This event aimed at discussing topical issues of education and training related to the use of digital technologies in the educational settings, including distance education and the digital educational environment. A presentation was delivered by Dr. Marguerite Asmar Bou Aoun, Assistant Professor at USJ and trainer in digital research tools. The meeting brought together leading academic scientists, researchers and research scholars who exchanged and shared their experiences in the use of digital tools to improve research results.

At UNTE we’re setting a new standard for responsibility in the higher education field, enacting meaningful changes throughout our entire global network. From advancing solutions to diversity and inclusion initiatives, we’re uniting our partners, and our global technology portfolio to improve the quality of teaching and learning.