Over 10,000 residents call the DQ home. Meet Your Neighbor profiles interesting people in our international DQ Community. Learn about the diverse experience, interests, and backgrounds of DQ dwellers. Read on, and Meet Your Neighbor.
Tell us about yourself.
I am married and a father of six children. I work as the head of a company in the field of eLearning, eTraining, and ePublishing. We also develop games and simulation on iOS, Android, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms. We developed a couple of platforms such as Semanoor for education, vMakkah for Hajj training, and vExpo for conferences and exhibitions.
The work consumes most of my time due to the importance of eLearning; there is a need to assist candidates to develop and reach the digital revolution stage with the required skills and information to keep up with the next stage.
How would family and friends describe you?
I am known to them as an eLearning technology believer and one who is devoted to challenging the education and publishing industry.
Who or what have been the strongest influences in your life?
I’m most influenced by my late father Fahad Aldoghaither -may God have mercy on him. He was my mentor and guide, and his reputation was the greatest thing we inherited from him.
What led you to your career and how has Saudi Arabia helped you in your career goals?
I studied Business Administration and Investment, which is my field of work, but the computer is my hobby since my father gave me an Apple 2 back in 1981. As education is my passion, my studies and experiences combined with a hobby and passion in my work in the field of e-learning helped my career goals.
What are you most proud of accomplishing so far?
I am most proud in adapting the technologies of smart devices, cloud servers, and the Internet in addition to AI to serve education in the correct manner through an integrated platform for all stages of public and university education, training, and publishing in all languages of the world, as well as developing e-book technologies to the SmartBook stage.
What are your thoughts and insights on being a resident of Saudi Arabia?
Saudi Arabia is a promising country as young people constitute the majority, and it has a young leadership that sets an ambitious plan 2030 and seeks to achieve it and prepares for what comes after.
Where are your favorite places to visit in Riyadh?
Al Safarat and Riyadh’s nights during the summer, especially the farm in the Alammariya area. During winter time, I love the desert especially if it’s raining during spring time. I love watching camels and drinking their milk.
What were your first impressions of the DQ?
I have lived in the DQ for 8 years. However, I have known the DQ since the time it was established more than 40 years ago when they were still implementing the landscape and gardens in the Hanifa Valley. I had been visiting the neighborhood since then until I decided to be one of the lucky ones to live here.
What is a typical day like for you?
Since my office is in the neighborhood, I start walking between 5:00 to 6:00 AM and then reach my office by 7:30 AM. By 5:30 PM, I have lunch with my family and then visit relatives and friends until 9 in the evening. My schedule may change during weekends.
What do you like most about the DQ?
The neighborhood is known for its calmness and the fact that my office and my children’s school are not more than five minutes away so my need to move around is few which gives me more space to work and focus on my work which requires a great deal of creativity.
What is something you wish the DQ had, but currently doesn’t?
Any service that reduces the need of the residents to leave the neighborhood is required, especially in the conditions of quarantine that showed the need for the presence of shopping centers for the residents’ basic needs.
Any tips/recommendations/advice for your DQ neighbors?
I hope the residents benefit from some of the neighborhood’s services such as the gardens and the valley walking tracks, so I strongly advise them to get to know the beauty of the neighborhood by visiting all its facilities on foot, especially during the spring weather. Also, I strongly advise them to try having picnics outside Riyadh in the springtime and enjoy the fantastic views and atmosphere.
