Exploring the Horizons of Artificial Intelligence at a Scientific Day for the College of Informatics and Communications Engineering
Under the patronage and in the presence of Prof. Dr. Ammar Nasser Agha, the University President, the College of Informatics and Communications Engineering, in cooperation with the specialized technology business incubator and accelerator SharafAI, organized a scientific day on Artificial Intelligence. The event featured an elite group of experts and specialists in this field and was held at the College of Dentistry auditorium with a large student turnout.
The scientific day began with a welcoming speech by the Dean of the College, Dr. Mohammed Hayan Al-Sibai, who welcomed the speakers and attending students. Dr. Al-Sibai then delivered a lecture that provided a simplified definition of Artificial Intelligence and the evolution of this field from the 1950s to the present day. The lecture also explored the concept of Generative AI and Large Language Models, in addition to their applications in various fields such as artistic design, video generation, textual content generation, smart search tools, audio generation, and rapidly and efficiently generating programming code.
The lecture also focused on AI tools that contribute to the development of scientific research, dividing these tools into five main axes:
1. Tools that help in selecting a research topic and title.
2. Research tools for finding reference studies and linking them to the chosen research.
3. Tools that help in reviewing, understanding, and summarizing research papers.
4. Tools for detecting plagiarism and literary theft.
5. Spell-checking tools.
Following that, Mr. Hani Al-Sayes, an entrepreneur and specialist in the field of cybersecurity, gave a lecture discussing the role of AI in developing software faster and more professionally than traditional methods. He also touched upon the importance of “Prompt Engineering,” which is considered today more important than learning programming itself.
Mr. Mohammed Sharaf, the Executive Director of the SharafAI Foundation, an expert in AI and digital transformation, presented a lecture covering two main themes:
Firstly: Presenting messages from young Syrians working in major companies, addressed to the youth of Syria.
Secondly: Introducing the activities of the SharafAI Foundation and the support it provides to students, addressing the challenges students face in choosing the appropriate career path and the challenges facing informatics students in Syria on their way to the job market.
The lecture included a video from Engineer Alaa Sharaf from Google, who provided professional advice to university students, including:
– Committing to lifelong learning.
– Being prepared for failure and choosing challenging projects that increase practical experience.
– The importance of excelling in using AI for creative thinking.
Dr. Bashir Arnous, a specialist in the fields of business development and management, information technology systems, and academic work, presented a lecture titled “Artificial Intelligence and Social Engineering Attacks.” In it, he discussed defense strategies and security awareness in the era of smart forgery, deepfakes, and advanced impersonation methods.
This event comes within the framework of the College’s keenness to link theoretical aspects with practical ones for its students and to provide them with the opportunity to learn about modern topics related to their academic specializations.
It is worth mentioning that SharafAI is a developmental, voluntary, and non-profit initiative, and a specialized technology business incubator and accelerator that started in Syria. It aims to empower technology entrepreneurs and students with everything they need to confidently launch into the local and global job market. It seeks to build a generation of technical leaders at a global level by transferring practical knowledge and linking learning to actual market needs.
