Bahrain-based Al Amthal Group and University of Bolton (UOB), Manchester, England, have announced partnerships and participation in iTech Gulf Forum 2014.

Al Amthal Group has signed up as a key exhibitor and UOB as the international education partner for the event being billed as the kingdom's premier international forum and exhibition for information and communication technology (ICT), said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

Organised by Hilal Conferences and Exhibitions (HCE), the iTech Expo is a business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) exhibition which will showcase the latest in hardware solutions, LTE 4G, consumer technology, cloud computing, networks and security.

Al Amthal has regional offices all over the GCC and partnerships with various national and international companies providing their customers with the most comprehensive and optimal business solutions.

Amthal group was accredited as a Microsoft Certified Gold Partner in 2008.

By achieving this accreditation, Al Amthal is well-positioned as an independent company that "provides the highest levels of technical expertise, strategic thinking, and hands-on skills".

The Amthal Group is also the 'authorised' distributor for the sale, marketing, licensing, technical support and maintenance of all products of ZK Software, which is a leading provider of biometrics technology applications for the financial, manufacturing, security and medical stores.

The university, which caters to 11,000 students with 700 academic and professional staff, will be a key adviser on the intellectual content of the forum.

UOB boasts a specialist creative industries faculty with leading lecturers in the field such as creative technology, material research and innovation.

It also manages a number of research groups.

As part of its contribution to iTech, UOB will be sending lecturer Chris Bateman to speak at the forum on Gamming.

Bateman is the author of Narrative skills for videogames, 21st Century Game Design and Beyond game design - Nine steps towards creating better videogames.

University vice-chancellor Robert Campbell said they were excited about working with iTech Gulf to develop a strong technical forum with relevance to working in the ICT industry.

"We are an innovative evolving educational establishment," he said.

"Our roots are in the community and economy of Bolton and greater Manchester but we have an ever-expanding global reach for students and educational partnerships," he added. - TradeArabia News Service