The United Arab Emirates (UAE) thrives on diversity. With a rapidly growing economy and a multicultural society, the country has embraced bilingual education—particularly in Arabic and English, as a cornerstone of its academic system. English is widely recognised as the language of global business, technology, and higher education, while Arabic remains deeply embedded in the country’s heritage and national identity. This dual-language approach ensures that students in the UAE are well-equipped for both local and international opportunities.
The UAE government has made significant strides in developing bilingual curricula, aligning with its WE THE UAE 2031 goals to enhance education and workforce readiness. Schools and universities across the country, including Ajman University, navigate the challenge of providing a learning experience that fosters fluency in both languages. The key is finding the right technology to support this balance, one that integrates seamlessly with institutional needs and enhances student engagement and learning outcomes.
The challenge
As Ajman University expanded its academic offerings and student population, its existing learning management system (LMS) needed to keep pace. They’d been using Moodle 3.5.11, which had kept things running smoothly for years. But with more students coming in and more lessons to manage, they needed a setup that was scalable.
Another area the university wanted to improve was the integration with their SIS (Banner), which handles faculty and student enrollments. While the system was functional, it wasn’t always frictionless—leading to occasional slowdowns and extra admin work during peak times.
Most importantly, bilingual education requires a platform that can easily handle at least two languages. Ajman University has long been committed to delivering a high-quality, bilingual learning experience. With programs offered in both Arabic and English, the university needed a digital learning environment that could support both languages, ensuring an inclusive and engaging experience for students and faculty alike
The solution
That’s where Moodle Certified Premium Partner Eummena came in—leading the upgrade and ensuring Ajman University’s platform could support its vision for bilingual, future-ready education. Here’s how they achieved it:
A central hub for learning
One of the biggest improvements was seamless integration with key systems, including SIS Banner, Zoom, and ExamSoft. With the upgrade to Moodle 4.4, administrative processes—like managing enrollments and syncing student data—became smoother, allowing faculty and students to focus on what truly matters.
New features, better experience
The upgrade also opened new features that improved the teaching and learning experience. Faculty members now have access to tools that make course management easier, such as:
- Course merging allows instructors to combine multiple sections of the same course for a more streamlined experience.
- Better organisation of course categories, making it simpler for students to navigate their learning materials.
- Advanced quiz and grading plugins provide faculty with more flexibility in designing assessments while giving students clear feedback on their progress.
Supporting bilingual education
One particularly useful feature is the multi-language content filter, which allows learning resources to be created in multiple languages within the same course. When enabled, Moodle automatically displays content in a student’s preferred language, as set in their browser or user preferences. This ensures that both Arabic- and English-speaking students can access learning materials effortlessly, creating a smoother, more personalised learning experience.
“The bilingual support and advanced features of Moodle with help from Eummena have significantly enhanced the teaching and learning experience at Ajman University.” – Inas Abousharkh, The Director of Information Technology at Ajman University
The result
Since the upgrade, faculty and students have noticed a significant improvement in system performance and usability:
- Faster page load times, with system optimisations improving speeds by 30-50%.
- More concurrent users are supported thanks to 15-20% better database efficiency.
- Improved scalability, ensuring the platform can support Ajman University’s expanding academic environment.
While formal impact metrics will be collected at the end of the academic year, early feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ajman University’s investment in Moodle, together with Eummena’s expertise, played a critical role in ensuring uninterrupted learning. Now, with an upgraded and more powerful platform, the university is well-positioned to continue providing a future-ready, bilingual education that meets the needs of its diverse student body.
