Dammam, Sep 9 (Arab News) A workshop conducted by King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dammam recently discussed the prospects of using mobile phones for educational purposes.

Khaled Al-Sultan, president of the university, said KFUPM would seek greater participation of students in the academic process and encourage them to look for knowledge and information.

“We want to keep our students away from the spoon-feeding system and encourage them to search for the knowledge they want from the right sources,” he said at the conclusion of the workshop. He said KFUPM was successful this year in attracting a large number of brilliant students.

“This again increases the university’s responsibility and we conduct workshops to improve academic standards.”

“Our university also makes use of international expertise and modern technology for students to achieve academic excellence,” Al-Sultan said.

“We are trying to follow the most successful academic methods, coping with modern educational developments in the world,” the president said.

He emphasized the need for teachers to change and develop their academic capabilities to cope with modern requirements and answer queries from brilliant students.“Education is not the responsibility of students alone. Teachers have a big role to play,” he said.