Dubai eGovernment, the region’s pioneering initiative that facilitates online transactions and communication to ease the lives of people and businesses interacting with the Dubai Government, has announced its support for GETEX Dubai 2006 (Gulf Education and Training Exhibition), the Middle East’s leading education fair to be held from April 12 to 14 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre.
Through its stand in the Education Technology and Equipment segment of GETEX Dubai 2006, Dubai eGovernment will enhance awareness about the host of e-services it provides for students, citizens, investors, the business and resident communities through its innovative portal, www.dubai.ae, with special focus on eLearning courses conducted through its eLearn channel.
Salem Al Shair, eServices Director, Dubai eGovernment said: “GETEX Dubai 2006 provides Dubai eGovernment a popular and effective forum through which to promote our innovative eServices, particularly among high school and university students, in whose hands rests the future of our country. We strive to stay up-to-date with the latest technology and tailor our eServices so as to enable Dubai’s citizens and residents to enjoy the convenience, ease and efficiency that online services bring to everyday life.”
“The online courses conducted through the eLearn channel of our portal help Dubai eGovernment fulfill its objective of building an IT-competent society that is equipped with the latest skills. eLearn programmes are a quick and easy means of training, allowing students to acquire skills at their own pace and convenience,” he added.
Launched with the objective of spreading awareness and developing people’s e-skills towards better usage of on-line services, the eLearn forum has conducted more than 3,000 interactive and cost effective on-line courses in various disciplines including technology and business. The forum also conducts on-line and blended training programmes to improve e-literacy among employees of government departments and holds regular basic courses in e-mail, Internet and digital media aimed at increasing the level of awareness about and usage of Dubai Government’s eServices.
Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, International Conferences and Exhibitions, organisers of GETEX said: “Dubai eGovernment’s support to GETEX Dubai 2006 highlights its commitment to equipping students in the UAE with the latest technological skills in the increasingly competitive world of global education. Its eLearn courses have popularised the concept of e-learning in the UAE, which is one of the countries leading the region’s growing eLearning education segment.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s eLearning market is predicted to grow by a 27 per cent compound average growth rate over the next five years from 2004 to 2009, states a recent study by Dubai-based Madar Research Group. This high growth is expected to increase the value of the region’s market to almost US$ 240 million by the end 2009, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounting for over 80 per cent of the GCC market, particularly in the academic eLearning and corporate eLearning segments.
Dubai eGovernment is a pioneering initiative in the region to provide online services across the spectrum of corporate and community life in the emirate. It also has a vision to integrate
individually automated government departments under the single umbrella of the eGovernment initiative, thus empowering employees across lines of businesses and levels of government, besides facilitating the lives of citizens and customers of the government. Dubai has taken a lead in the region in deploying eGovernment applications and is among the first few governments in the world to provide such integrated services to its citizens. The eGovernment portal (www.dubai.ae) is a single contact point masking the complexity of the bureaucratic procedures, and guiding access to all services in the easiest possible way. In addition, the eGovernment initiative seeks to improve and enhance procedures by maximizing the benefit from technology, so that users from all walks of life will be able to utilize the portal for their specific needs with considerable ease.
