Dr. Moataz Soliman
Dr. Moataz Soliman is an Assistant Professor in the Rowe School of Business, with interests in the individual acceptance and adoption of information technology and in the impact of the use of these technologies on job performance. His current research focuses on user motivations, and on perceptions of fit between user needs and system functions. His research topics include IT adoption, IT user behaviour, social media and augmented reality.
CEGE Connection reached out to Dr. Moataz to discuss his research and his experience as a Dalhousie professor with the CEGE Connection community.
Dr. Moataz Soliman:
I am pleased to share my thoughts on CEGE Connection. I am a limited time appointee (LTA) assistant professor and my main mandate is teaching. Over the past year, I have had the privilege of teaching six courses and working with enthusiastic and dedicated students. Academic journeys are life- long. They continually challenge us to realize our full potential. There is always a delicate balance between creating a positive teaching experience for students and ensuring that my research is ever fresh and continues at an accelerated pace.
This past year offered wonderful opportunities for exploration. I have had success in grant applications, published conference papers and had journal papers under review. I have also been an external examiner for a PhD student dissertation defense at McGill University. In addition to all this, there was a dream SSHRC IDG grant proposal that I was leading with a team of able researchers from Rowe, the Faculty of Computer Science, and the Faculty of Science.
Armed with six HoloLens devices (an advanced augmented reality tool), our goal was to develop apps that could enhance a student’s learning experience, and then conduct experiments to test the effectiveness of those apps, along with the HoloLens, in improving learning. For example, rather than viewing a static diagram, a student can visualize and interact with a 3D holographic model showing the effect of climate warming on the increased melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet and the resulting increase in the freshwater inflow to the North Atlantic and the subsequent reduction in its salinity.
With opportunities come time constraints, deadlines and demanding schedules. I was focused on teaching and committed to the SSHRC IDG grant proposal. My wife and daughters were amazing during this turbulent time. They were proud of my work and encouraged me to persevere, recognizing that this was important research. On February 4, 2019, our team submitted a good, complete and coherent application. The results are only due in June, but to all of us we have already succeeded!
I have enjoyed and value my time at Dalhousie and the Rowe School of Business. In July, I will be exploring new adventures and possibilities. As I look back over my busy three years at Dalhousie, I am grateful for the opportunity to teach, to work with like-minded academics and pursue meaningful research. Most of all, I am thankful for my family’s trust in me. It has been good years.