Umar Ruhi

Educator/Researcher/Consultant with broad interests in Informatics & an enduring excitement for Technology Applications | Professor @uOttawa | Tweets are my own

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

Wrote a short reflection on common ground, and what prevents us from reaching it. Partly an observation... partly a reminder to myself that the positions that tend to divide us at the surface are often built on top of values we share. https://t.co/npaQtA0jIu

[Harvard Business Impact Education @HarvardBizEdu]

"The case method is alive and adaptable.” Digital collaboration tools can serve the case method’s learning goals while also boosting engagement and analysis. Read more from @informatician of @Telfer_uOttawa: https://t.co/loZ2MDO0QQ

#CaseTeaching #Collaboration #BusinessEducation

[Cyrus Janssen @thecyrusjanssen]

An Iranian man left this comment on my YouTube channel. This is without a doubt the single best explanation of the reality facing Iranian people today👇

"As an Iranian, I can tell you the situation is no longer just political—it's existential. We are trapped between two collapsing structures: one internal, one external. On one hand, we face a deeply dysfunctional government, led by the Supreme Leader and the Islamic Republic’s unelected institutions.

Decades of economic mismanagement, suppression of dissent, and brutal ideological control have alienated multiple generations. No one believes in reform anymore—because every attempt has either been co-opted or crushed. But here's the paradox: We are also terrified of regime collapse—because we've watched the aftermath of Western intervention in countries like Iraq, Libya, Syria, and Afghanistan. Each was promised freedom; each descended into chaos, civil war, or foreign occupation.

So no, we don't trust the U.S. or Israel. Not because we support our regime—but because we know how imperial powers treat ‘liberated’ nations in the Middle East.

Freedom, in their language, often means vacuum, fire, and permanent instability. Right now, many Iranians live with three truths at once: The Islamic Republic is morally and politically bankrupt. The alternatives offered by foreign actors are not liberation—they’re collapse.

A bad government is survivable. No government is not. We are not silent because we agree. We are cautious because we’ve learned—too well—what happens when superpowers decide to "help." In a sentence: Iran is a nation held hostage by its own regime, but haunted by the fate of its neighbors. We are stuck in a house we hate, surrounded by fires we fear more."

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

Thank you @HarvardBizEdu for publishing and sharing this piece. It's many years of case teaching experimentation and experience distilled into one article. I hope it's useful and sparks some good conversations.

[Harvard Business Impact Education @HarvardBizEdu]

Imagine a whiteboard—but better. In Inspiring Minds, see how digital visual collaboration tools can enrich your case method teaching.

@informatician of @Telfer_uOttawa shares his advice for implementing this tech: https://t.co/df28BH75vP

#CaseMethod #Collaboration #HigherEd

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

Hot off the press! my piece in @HarvardBizEdu Inspiring Minds magazine explores how Digital Visual Collaboration tools can tackle real limitations in case method teaching, and unlock new possibilities for inclusive engagement.

https://t.co/RLCQCZ5977

#CaseTeaching #HigherEd

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

@FlyYOW your really need to improve your retail and food services at the US terminal. Everything practically closes at 6 pm or gets sold out, while there are around 100+ people waiting for flights. I know we're a small airport, but c'mon... this is the airport of a G7 capital.

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

Are you using AI to think better, or just to think less? When AI removes the struggle from learning, it often removes the learning itself!
In my latest blog post, I write about why the struggle matters, and the need to use AI as a coach, not a crutch. https://t.co/9Bk2cWcOHr

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

This #Thanksgiving, I’m reminded of the many things for which I am deeply thankful - the warmth of family, the comforts of home, and the simple joys that enrich my life each day. These blessings often pass by without a second thought, yet they are privileges that many around the world cannot claim.

While I enjoy my walks through nature for peace of mind and health, others in war-torn places run through the rubble, seeking refuge from bombs. While I find myself frustrated by the minor delays of modern life, others wait patiently for aid, shelter, or simply a moment of safety. While I spend time planning for the future, so many are consumed with the urgent need to survive the present.

Today, I reflect on how fortunate I am to live in a place where my concerns are small, and my struggles are fleeting. Meanwhile, there are those who face the horrors of conflict and loss with a resilience that humbles me deeply.

May this day of thankfulness remind us of our shared humanity, and deepen our compassion for those forced to endure unimaginable suffering through no fault of their own! As we enjoy the abundance before us, let us also hold space for those whose strength in the face of overwhelming adversity is the true measure of grace.

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

You know you live in the Shawarma capital of the world when your city appropriates it in their public messaging 😃 . Nicely done, @ottawacity. #ThunderShawarm

[City of Ottawa @ottawacity]

Here in #OttCity, we know our shawarma, but weather alerts can be confusing, let’s talk about the difference between a “watch” and a “warning.”
Remember:
Watch = Be aware.
Warning = Take action.
Learn more: https://t.co/NKtgEFZXSL

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

One of life's bittersweet epiphanies is that the clarity we seek must often be voiced, not merely hoped for… that there’s a delicate balance between silence and communication, shaping our journey toward deeper connections… that understanding doesn’t always come unspoken, and words left unuttered can create chasms of misunderstanding.
For my friends who understand Urdu/Hindi, this integral part of our life trajectory and maturity is reflected in Munir Niazi’s two poems: Kuuch baateiN unkahi rehne do // … // Hamesha deir kar deta hooN meiN.
Here's my mashup of the matla (intro) from both ghazals.

[F4P Ottawa @OttawaF4P]

Vigil/convocation for Palestinian students who will never cross the stage. Friday June 14 at 7pm, uOttawa encampment at Tabaret. Join students in the struggle to #Disclose #Divest #Boycott. End the scholasticide and genocide.

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

@asim_minahil *sigh* pathetic display today - esp. in the bowling and fielding depts.

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

Thank you for this balanced response to a very prejudiced opinion piece. I can't believe anyone would equate the student encampment with the truckers’ convoy – the latter was overloaded with racist and white supremacist ideologies… with documented cases of abuse, profanity and dangerous incidents.

Structural racism was quite prominent then – if those protestors had been from indigenous or black communities, the police reaction might have been much more swift and severe! Similarly today, the vilification and slander against Palestinian supporters, and calls for law enforcement to end their peaceful demonstrations is a form of structural racism.

[Alex Neve @AlexNeve24]

This is a deeply troubling and wrong-in-law take on the @uOttawa encampment. A few thoughts in response...

'Just cause' is not the legal test. What makes the students actions lawful (and they are) is that they are exercising fundamental freedoms of expression & peaceful assembly, protected under the Charter of Rights & under Canada's international human rights obligations. Freedoms every one of us should take to heart, and embrace & champion vigorously, whether or not we are the ones protesting.

Notably, the U of O students have taken up their right (a right we all share) to peaceful protest thoughtfully & courageously, and with remarkably little disruption to campus life. I know, I've been there several times, including an engaging afternoon teach-in discussing international law. Sometimes I've just spent a few moments, other times I've stayed for lengthier conversations. I've been their in the full heat of the sun & in pouring rain. Each time, I've had inspiring exchanges with the students involved. I've always left with respect & admiration. Left, in fact, with renewed hope in what too often feels to be a hopeless time.

I served as a Commissioner with the Ottawa People's Commission on the Convoy Occupation. With my fellow commissioners I heard & read testimony from over 200 residents of Ottawa about the fear, assaults, hate & abandonment they went through while the convoy had taken over & blocked a large swath of the downtown core. Many of the most vulnerable members of our community felt so terrorized they could not leave their homes or were unable to navigate the hostile sidewalks outside their apartments. It is an absurdity, and an absolute affront to the trauma & unrelenting rights abuses endured by thousands of people in downtown Ottawa for 3+ weeks, to draw any kind of comparison between the truckers & the students. Or to suggest that the impact of what was playing out with the big rigs & other vehicles completely blocking passage along city streets, compares even slightly to tents pitched on a relatively out of the way university greenspace the size of one small city block.

There is no comparison; at all. That is why action should have been taken, much earlier than it was, to restrict the convoy & protect human rights; but is not justified in any way with the encampment. And for that restraint & respect for the law, @recteurUOpres & the university administration deserves praise for their approach, which has of course not been on display on other campuses. (What happened in Calgary & Edmonton should offend us all.)

And enough with red herrings of asserting that campuses are private property, Charter-free zones, where only the law of trespass & the dictates of university officers govern, and the police can be summoned at will. The 'universities are private property' argument is, at best, still unsettled law with courts across the country having taken different approaches over the years. And as we've seen 2 times now, Quebec judges refused to take the step of forcing the McGill encampment to be dismantled.

Here's a refreshingly contrary take about the rule of law & the encampments. "Enforcing the law" means upholding protest rights & intervening to limit or shut down a protest ONLY when truly justified, for reasons recognized under human rights laws. It does not mean sending in the police to clear away protesters because they have inconveniently occupied space & have views that some may find uncomfortably challenging.

[Umar Ruhi @Informatician]

@Ester__Island Awesome! Congratulations Evan.

[missfalasteenia @missfalsteenia]

This is beyond devastating