Through a generous donation from Mr. Walid Kattan, the Computer Center at Birzeit University has been developed significantly over the last three years. New servers, computers and other equipment have been installed to support information and communication technology at Birzeit University. In recognition of Mr. Kattan's support, the Center has been named in honor of his wife Mrs. Helen Kattan.

The Helen Kattan Computer Center (HKCC) is housed in the Administration Building, and it is worth noting that this building was constructed in 1985 through other generous donations from both Mr. Walid Kattan and Mr. Zein Mayassi.

Following is a brief description of the The Helen Kattan Computer Center (HKCC), its functions, activities and achievements:

1.Infrastructural development: The HKCC has been involved in the building of a reliable electronic and communication infrastructure for the University. This basically included the following:

• Fiber optics based network which connects the University sites (main campus, and Ramallah based facilities) and connects buildings within the main campus. The University also has a wireless network which serves as a backup in the event that the fiber optics network is damaged or destroyed.
  
• Internet lines that provide the University with 2 MB (megabits) from two different ISPs.
  
• Five main servers for:
  1.Applications
  2.Databases [all administrative (financial, human resources, payroll) and academic
  3.(student admission, registration and accounting) data is stored in an integrated
  4.datacenter based on oracle technologies].
  5.Proxy and Internet Access


• Files and Print Sharing
  
• E-mail Services

2.Development of an Academic Portal - Ritaj

In the year 2002, HKCC launched a student-faculty portal, "Ritaj", to enable students and faculty to communicate via the Internet. "Ritaj", meaning portal in Arabic, is an electronic medium for exchange of information. The portal allows students to post messages to classmates, look up course schedules, course outlines and course links, register on-line, and review their transcripts and financial records, library searches and reservations. Each student and faculty member has a special pass word to access Ritaj - from inside the campus or outside it. As such, "Ritaj" is seen as an initial step in creating a culture of electronic learning at Birzeit University, entailing no less than a small revolution in higher education technology in Birzeit and eventually in Palestine. At the same time, "Ritaj" was essential in enabling Birzeit to continue the educational process at the height of Israeli destructive policies of curfews and closures in 2002.

As part of the Ritaj support system, the HKCC established the Ritaj Student Support Unit in December 2002. The Unit consists of about fifty computers available during the working hours of the University for the use of student to log-on to Ritaj. A full-time employee of the HKCC is on-call for the students to respond to inquiries and assist in the utilization of Ritaj. During periods of pre-registration students at the University use the Ritaj Unit to register for courses and monitor their academic and financial situation. During other periods of the semester, students can utilize the Support Unit to do searches on the University library system, search the Internet, type papers, and read articles, memos and the University and department based bulletin boards.

3.General Computer Services

The HKCC, with a core staff of 11 permanent employees and several part time students is involved in the installation, maintenance and upgrading of over 1000 personal computers that are spread around the campus in various offices, laboratories or research units. It takes care of virus security, firewalls and all the operational aspects of a reliable computer environment at the University.

THANKS TO THE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICE FOR PREPARING THE CONTENT OF THIS SECTION^

The Computer Center ensures that faculty, students, and staff have the information technology tools necessary to help them carry out their missions. It provides the infrastructure needed to enable members of BZU community to make maximum use of the available information technology resources in their learning, teaching, administration, and support activities. The center chooses the most cost-effective technology required to support continuous improvements in the University's ability to fulfill its responsibilities. The computer center is working to achieve the following goals:

• Help Faculty improve the way education is delivered by supplying shared host computing services
• Provide students with resources to enrich their educational experience by supplying students with general access computer labs
• Help administration carry out its mission and improve productivity, by developing an effective information technology database systems in support of administrative functions at Birzeit University
• Establish the information technology infrastructure necessary to maintain BZU's reputation in integrating high quality programs in teaching and research

The Computer center's unique role in accomplishing the University's mission, is to provide support to the primary university-wide shared resources of hardware and software. In addition to its traditional role of providing support to host computers and maintaining a strong infrastructure, the center has a mission to develop a high level database systems that keep administrative data recorded and protected for easy procedural design for all transactions at Birzeit University.

General Services

The Helen Kattan Computer Center operates the technical support and Network services which take care of virus updates, firewalls, training and technical support solutions. It also operates the technology help desk, the single point of contact for all information technology solutions at Birzeit University. In addition, the computer center manages and operates Birzeit University's network backbone and infrastructure, enterprise server facilities, and telecommunication systems.

Students, faculty and staff have several sources available for assistance with information technology issues during weekdays (from 8:00am to 4:00pm), below are the services the center provides:

Technical Support Services: includes hardware repaire, virus fixes, and software installation.

Ritaj Services: includes opening a new account, reset user password, and bulletin board services.

Help Desk Services: includes Purchase/Upgrade machine services, Network Services ( open network account + reset password, dial-up account ) ,ritaj services, and training services.

Late-Hours Services

The help desk personnel provide support to Ritaj users after work hours daily except weekends and holidays from 8:00pm - midnight at: 059- 281 206. When you call, you will be asked to provide some information like your user name (University ID) and your identification card number (Haweyyah) for identity verification purposes.

The Computer Center is located in the Administration Building at Birzeit Campus of Birzeit University - Palestine. The mail address :

Computer Center
Birzeit University , P.O. Box 14
University Street
Birzeit, Ram Allah
West Bank - Palestine

All extensions below can't be reached externally from off campus, only ext. 2012 and 2142 can be.

If you have any question , Please call the help desk at: +972 (02) 298-2012