AMSTERDAM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq:BBBB), a global leader in education technology, today announced an expansion of its Middle East program with BME Holding S.A.L. (BME), a local partnership to meet growing demand for online teaching and learning solutions. With offices in Beirut and Riyadh, BME will work closely with six partners throughout the region to better support clients and the wider use of education technology in schools and universities, corporations, government, military and professional organizations.
A growing number of institutions in the Middle East – including King Saud University, King Faisal University, the Higher Colleges of Technology and the American University of Sharjah – have already adopted Blackboard Learn™ for online learning, Blackboard Collaborate™ for Web conferencing and Blackboard Mobile Learn™ to support teaching and learning through native applications for smartphones and mobile devices.
Blackboard also recently signed two major national agreements in the Middle East to further accelerate the availability and adoption of state of the art education technology.
“This partnership strengthens our ability to support the wider use of learning technologies in the Middle East where we’re seeing greater demand for them,” said Michael Chasen, CEO and President of Blackboard. “With this effort we can better support the increasing adoption of education technology in the region with solutions that support all aspects of the education experience.”
Through Blackboard’s increased regional presence, clients will benefit from more fluid relationships with the company around product, service and support issues. The effort will also give Blackboard an opportunity to better understand challenges and opportunities faced by educational institutions in the Middle East and to foster closer relationships with leaders in government and business working to support them.
“We have expanded our partnership with Blackboard to cover online learning management, mobile learning, Web collaboration tools and distance learning in an effort to meet a high demand for online learning and create a more engaging, interactive and effective education experience,” said Dr. Sami M. Al Homod, Dean of E-Learning and Distance Learning at King Saud University in Saudi Arabia.
For more information about Blackboard, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/International/EMEA.aspx
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About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will,” and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section of our Form 10-K filed on February 18, 2011 and Form 10-Q filed on August 4, 2011 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of August 15, 2011. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company’s views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company’s views as of any date subsequent to August 15, 2011.