Bader Kureyem Al-Zarea has been vice rector of Jouf University since September 2016.

He gained a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery from King Saud University, Riyadh, in 1998, and a master’s degree in prosthetic dentistry in 2004 from Jordan University of Science and Technology, in the city of Irbid.

Al-Zarea started practicing dentistry at the Saudi Ministry of Health’s Gurrayat Dental Center in 1999 and held numerous positions there through to 2005 including general dental practitioner, center director, assistant clinical director, and consultant.

Between 2005 and 2011 he worked at a private dental center as a consultant, and over the same period was an adviser and consultant with the Specialized Academy for Medical Training in Qassim.

In 2011, Al-Zarea became an assistant professor at Jouf University’s dentistry college and a year later was appointed the college’s vice dean, a post he held until 2015. He was later promoted to dean, and still retains the position.

He is also an academic and administrative supervisor, and associate professor of prosthetic dentistry at Jouf University.

Al-Zarea introduced an integrated transformation plan for e-learning education which involved turning traditional lectures into e-learning tutorials, an initiative that has now been running at the university for a number of years.

In line with the recommendations of the university’s committee to follow up on the transition to e-learning education, the previously adopted electronic courses will continue and tests will be postponed until further notice, and if educational institutions remain closed, an adequate mechanism will be adopted.

The committee’s recommendations included preparing students through the electronic portal, with the same mechanism used in classroom lectures.

The committee also urged professors and teachers to provide coordinators of the e-learning units with daily reports on attendance and the regularity of studies to be referred to the deans of institutions.