From now on, local Gaza and West Bank universities, are using new mobile applications that help students and public, alike, in both regions to keep updated about latest news about those universities, including admission, registration and other related matters.
The application can be installed into smart phones throughout the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and considered to be a unique computer program, based on ‘Cloud Computing’ and designed by a 22-year-old IT graduate student from Palestine University in south of Gaza city.
Sitting in front of his computer at his Gaza city home, Mahmoud Maher Abu Ghoush, spoke to the Medialine about his promising program, starting from early stages of his own innovation
” The application now is used by four universities in the Gaza Strip, including the Alazhar, the Islamic Uuniversity, Alaqsa University and Palestine University. In the West Bank, three universities including the Beir Zeit , Alnajjah and the Alquds Open University, have promptly accepted my new application. Actually, all local universities in Gaza and the West Bank, have had their own online websites and this has not been accessible for all categories of the community. Using my new phone application will help all , mainly students to have smoother and easier to datas about those universities”, Mahmoud Abu Ghoush, whose family is originally from the Jerusalem-based village of Abu Ghoush, told the Medialine.
The idea,,
The idea for creating such a computerized mobile application came to Abu Ghoush in 2014, as he had worked on a graduation project for the Palestine University, where he has studied.
” When I thought of a graduation project, I had the idea of getting the project by designing such a program , after I realized that majority of the students use smat phones. I made the survey needed , to find out that in the Gaza Strip alone, there are sixty thousand such smart phones and that internet services like Wifi, is available across the region. I began searching and hard work on designing the program and after initial work, I managed to share the production with students and teachers at Gaza and West Bank universities , for a feedback”, Abu Ghoush recalled
Some additional aspects,,
In the early stage of his designe, Abu Ghoush received some positive feedback, as some students and professors at local universities in both regions, have suggested that he adds , for example, SMS service, while some others hinted about the color of the design for such a program.
” I have found out that people in the West Bank have been very enthusiastic and encouraging to me and to my new program, yet , in Gaza, the people appeared a bit disappointing. Some of the professors and IT people have suggested that this program could be dangerous from a security perspective, as Gaza is still under Israeli occupation and it is likely that Israel will rather easily spy on those using my application. I responded to them all by saying that such a program is well-protected as it is connected directly with one of Google’s applications; the gmail service and that Gmail allows access to the application, only after sending a confirmation code to the user’s gmail account”
Difficulties,,
Mahmoud Abu Ghoush told the Medialine.org that he has been facing some sort of difficulties, spreading his own computer-based mobile application. ” Actually, the most difficult part of my current work on the program is the lack of real or genuine support and backing to me, as I have been doing the work only on my own. Unfortunately, I have found out that some factors such as envy and jealousy have affected. Can you imagine, many from the IT community, have disappointed me by saying that Cloud Computing never works in Gaza, yet I am more than confident now that the mobile application I have designed, functions pretty well, according to many others who now use the same application”.
Early attempts,,
Mahmoud Abu Ghoushe’s interest in IT or high-tech began early in childhood , when Mahmoud used to play with electronic toys and his father , Maher , who is a school teacher, helped him develop that interest or a hubby.
” When I was a child, almost 7-year-old, I remember I used to break some electronic toys and dismantle them to see what’s inside. My father promptly helped me by making all toys possible, available for me”, Mahmoud said while showing the application on a mobile phone .
Mahmoud’s technological interests grew more, when he joined the IT department of Palestine University in Gaza city, four years ago, as the young man focused attention on more innovation and exploration in the IT world.
” My actual start with the IT world was in 2011, when I participated in an online conference about social media websites, where an American IT expert suggested that that there was a security defect with the Facebook. By then, I refuted his allegation and afterwards I began to have some fame, to the extent that I participated in more than 130 conferences online in the course of two months”.
Guinness Prize,,
Abu Ghoush told the Medialine that he had won the Guniness prize for he was able to discover that Iphones, produced by Apple company, had a security problem and that such kind of phones could be breached by whoever, mainly intelligence services. Of course, Apple had objected to my suggestion, yet Guinness had chosen him as a winner for that discovery.
” In 2014 , I attempted to travel to receive the Gunniess price and the Guinees panel gave me two weeks to travel. On the border line in northern Gaza Strip, where there is a main crossing point, Eritz or Beit Hanoun, Israeli authorities denied me access for what they termed ” Mahmoud Abu Ghoush does not match up with their criterions”. When I wanted to go through the Rafah crossing terminal in south of the territory, on southern Gaza-Egypt border line, and with the help of some VIPs from the territory, the Egyptian authorities , turned me down”, Abu Ghoush concluded his talk to the Medialine.