Educators and institution leaders recently gathered in Mauritius for the Oracle Academy Faculty Day, an engaging event focused on how cloud computing and artificial intelligence are transforming teaching, learning, research, and innovation in higher education.

Held under the theme “Future-Ready Teaching Starts Here: Cloud and AI,” the event created a collaborative platform for faculty members to explore emerging technologies, curriculum integration, professional certifications, and research opportunities relevant to helping students become career ready as the future workforce.

The event opened with remarks from the Oracle Country Director Vishal Soockeea, who reflected on Oracle’s long-standing role in supporting organizations globally. He highlighted Oracle’s 48 years of helping customers manage and protect the world’s most important data, emphasizing how technology continues to shape industries, institutions, and society. His remarks reinforced the importance of preparing students and educators for a future increasingly driven by cloud and AI technologies.

Danny Gooris, Oracle Academy Senior Director, EMEA, also emphasized the importance of stronger collaboration between academia and industry, noting that preparing future-ready graduates requires continuous engagement between educational institutions and technology leaders. The discussions throughout the day reflected this shared vision of aligning education with evolving industry needs.

Throughout the event, faculty members and Oracle experts exchanged ideas on practical technology integration in academia, professional certifications, cloud technologies, AI innovation, and research enablement.

Some of the key highlights included:

  • Dr. Adityarajsingh Santokhee, Middlesex University, sharing his experience integrating technology-enabled learning within higher education and demonstrating how educators can use digital tools available on the Oracle Academy Member Hub to enhance teaching and innovation.
  • William Mcrae, Principal Instructor, Oracle Academy, EMEA, providing a practical demonstration of teaching resources and tools available through the Oracle Academy Member Hub.
  • Lorna Juma, Oracle Academy Program Manager, giving a “Classroom to Careers” presentation highlighting pathways from technology learning to workforce readiness.
  • Roshni Devi Dhunputh, Chairperson of the IEEE Student Branch, presenting her final-year project developed using Oracle technology, while also sharing the student perspective on leadership, innovation, and technology learning opportunities.
  • Technical sessions exploring how Oracle Cloud, Oracle Database 26ai, and Oracle APEX are transforming teaching, learning, and higher education research, delivered by Oracle Academy Ambassadors Nilesh Jankee, Master Principal Account Cloud Engineer, Oracle, and Rahul Sharma, Principal Account Cloud Engineer, Oracle. They gave demonstrations of practical use cases showcasing how cloud infrastructure, AI-driven database capabilities, and low-code application development can support research, innovation, collaboration, and digital transformation within universities.

    Roshan Gokhool, Sales Manager, Database Platform, Oracle, emphasized the importance of integrating industry-relevant technologies into higher education curricula to help students build practical, job-ready digital skills aligned with evolving workforce demands. He highlighted how exposure to modern cloud and database technologies can better prepare graduates for careers in a rapidly changing digital economy.
  • Marvin Moonien, Territory Manager, Database Platform, Oracle, also highlighted the growing need for stronger collaboration between academia and industry to ensure students gain hands-on experience with enterprise technologies used in real-world environments.
  • Prof. Ashish Vasantrao, Dean, AMITY Institute of Higher Education, delivered closing remarks focused on the growing impact of artificial intelligence in higher education and the importance of preparing students for an AI-driven future.

One of the recurring themes throughout the event was the importance of empowering educators with the right tools, technologies, and learning opportunities to inspire the next generation of innovators.

The Oracle Academy Faculty Day concluded with strong engagement from higher education institutions across Mauritius and meaningful conversations around the future of education, AI, cloud adoption, and industry-academia collaboration.

Special thanks were extended to all speakers, facilitators, participants, the Oracle Academy team, and the Oracle Mauritius team for contributing to a successful and impactful event. Not an Oracle Academy member? Join now. Learn more at academy.oracle.com