Work of the YCITE
Maximizing Yemen's information technology

The Yemeni Club for Information & Technical Education, YCITE was established in 2001 by specialists of library, documentation and information technology. Mohammed Ali Rajeh, the General Manager of YCITE is an IT expert and has occupied several posts. He was appointed as a Manager for the Central Library at Arwa University for Academic Sciences. He was a specialist in the context of information and documentation for the States Properties Authority.
He has also done a number of analytical studies in the context of information services at Arwa University for the Academic Sciences. He has conducted a number of fieldwork studies such as, the General Administration for Documentation at the Central Organization for Statistics, Telecommunication techniques and the reality of its use in libraries and information center and technical aspects of the central library at Sana'a University.
Following are edited excerpts of a recent conversation with him.

Q: Could you give us a brief account of the YCITE?
A: The YCITE was established in 2001 by eminent specialists in library, documentation and information technology. It has been entrusted with promoting the information technology with the view pushing development as well as broadening the horizons of computer sciences, IT, automatic documentation, classification and library for a better future.
The YCITE is the first of its kind in Yemen for selective disseminating services, and providing researchers and students to hold the scientific degrees, such as BA, doctor's degree, and others.
It is a multidisciplinary laboratory operated by eminent professors and highly qualified staff and it includes a core of full-time as well as part-times employees.
The central focus of the club's activity is the development of advanced information technology - computer technology, appropriate to the communication and manipulation.
In a departure from the tradition of many academic organizations, the work of the club is vertically in
integrated, with a significant amount of effort devoted to
- research on the principles underlying information technology,
- development of practical technology based on this research, and demonstrations to illustrate this technology and assess its strengths and limitations.

Q: What are the main spheres that are entrusted by the YCITE?
A: Different training courses in the context of IT for the governmental as well as non-governmental organizations are held periodically for assisting these sectors for a better IT technology.
Advanced information in the IT is readily accessible for researchers and students in different specialization including the direct line and other information resources.
The Yemeni Club for Information & Technical Education provides the researchers with research services in the following spheres:
- Research for books, and valuable references at the academic and documentation centers.
- Providing information about data and information in any field of study through the use of the Internet.
- Opening a file for a field of study within the framework database to the researches that have been gathered.
- Consultation in the field of documentary information system.
- Preparing developmental studies, plans and programs.
- Raising IT awareness among the public through publishing periodicals and cultural information handouts.
- Consulting services in the field of information for the governmental and non-governmental institutions.
- Applying standard operating procedures through the use of apparatus and determined software within the framework of organizing training courses for individuals and companies.
- Participating to rehabilitate and qualify researchers in departments and institutions of the libraries and documentation and IT through providing software requirements and database systems and live applications.

Q: What are the main contributions undertaken by the YCITE?
A: Promoting scientific research in different fields for researchers according to one' s specialization through holding and organizing IT training courses, and methodology of the scientific research.
Participating in different fields of study including enlarging one's understanding of computer and IT. These two main factors have become one of the prerequisite requirements nowadays where nations greatly depend its technical and information progress. The prime establishment of the YCITE is to cope with the state-of-the-art technologies and trying hard to eradicate the IT illiteracy.

Q: What are the training programs organized by the Yemeni Club for Information and Technical Education since its establishment?
A: Two training courses in the field of administrative archiving,and documentation were held. The first course was held from March 26 to Apr. 20 in collaboration with the Yemeni Association for Information and Library titled " Journalistic Archiving" and was attended by the Information Minister and a host of prominent mediamen and journalists in the country.
The second training course deals with the field of the administrative archiving, and was held from Nov. 11 to 28. The training course aimed at promoting the information work system in Yemen with a view of providing the trainees with the basic skills and the technical and vocational knowledge in the field of applying the documentary procedures.