Conventional academic institutions and the newly developed online or combined education organisations in the Middle East (ME) are still in the early stages of convincing students and parents to accept and adapt to the idea of e-learning. However, to date, different countries and different universities in each country within the ME have attained several levels of success. While some conventional higher education institutions have started offering some e-learning courses, others are still at the very early phases of designing such programmes. This paper provides a general outline of the present outlook of e-learning the ME. It demonstrates drivers and barriers to e-learning, the various e-learning initiatives, efforts taken in resolving challenges, and a possible future of e-learning through a case study of continuous developments by an authority on e-learning in Saudi Arabia.
Participating in the upcoming QS-MAPLE 2019 under the theme of “Promoting Research in the Middle East and Africa” from 22-25 April 2019 in Dubai, UAE.