This year’s edition of the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) will for the first time, bring together regional and international experts to deliberate on topics highlighting the importance of learning technology, the development of tertiary education and human resource training at three dedicated conferences.
International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), organisers of GETEX Dubai 2006, announced today (Tuesday, March 21, 2006) that the day-long conferences – Middle East Forum on Learning Technology; Middle East Forum for Academic Research and Reflection; and the Global Training and Human Resource Development Forum—will be held concurrently with the main event on April 10, 12 and 13 respectively. The conferences will, each one, be the first in a series of annual conferences planned for the coming years.
“Over the past 21 years, GETEX has evolved from a student recruitment show to a complete networking forum for the education industry. In keeping with our stature as the region’s premier education event, it is our responsibility to provide interactive fora at GETEX, where the region’s education planners, management and practitioners can come together to deliberate on important issues and gain new perspectives. This first set of conferences is our contribution to the development of education and human resources in the Middle East, and will serve to establish a base from which further conferences can be mounted,” said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director of IC&E.
The Middle East Forum on Learning Technology will take place on Tuesday, April 10, 2006. The conference will explore three themes—The Promise of Technology; Implementation and Change Management; and Supporting Best Practice Education—that will specifically target educational practitioners including head teachers, curriculum developers, faculty trainers; heads of Information Technology and Programme departments; teachers, teaching assistants and technicians; librarians and learning resource specialists; and technology and equipment providers.
Highlighting the potential of technology in helping practitioners create the best learning situations for their learners, this Forum will explore themes such as the creative use of technology and games in the acquisition of knowledge; learning styles, intelligences and technology; language learning approaches and technology; individual versus group dynamics in the effective use of technology; content delivery and the technological literacy of teachers and their students. The forum is supported by the Worlddidac Association, the global trade association for companies providing products, services and solutions for education and training at all levels; Dubai eGovernment and Dubai Knowledge Village.
Taking place on Wednesday, April 12, the Middle East Forum for Academic Research and Reflection will focus on generating appropriate tertiary educational opportunities that will best serve the developing needs of the region. Revolving around the two themes of ‘Faculty Development’ and ‘Research’, participants will discuss issues such as planning of course offerings and curricula to meet the short, medium and long-term needs of the Arab world; research and intellectual property; role of international, national and local institutions in the development of human talent; and blending distance and residential learning in the conventional education system.
Supported by the Dubai Knowledge Village, the forum will be open to regional and international college and university faculty and administration; deans, supervisors, programme administrators and department heads of tertiary institutions.
In the Middle Eastern context of human resource development, challenges and opportunities co-exist on many levels, including those of coping with multicultural workplaces, nationalisation and the multitude of training opportunities in a rapidly developing economy. In such a scenario, creating a sustainable human resource that will in turn develop new and pertinent solutions becomes imperative. Taking place on Thursday, April 13, the Global Training and Human Resource Development Forum will address these issues through the two themes—“Investing in Human Development” and “Emiratisation”.
Speakers at this Forum will deliberate on the way forward for the Emiratisation programme; training needs within an organisation; customised versus off-the-shelf training in the Middle East; developing in-house training versus outsourcing and training for enhancement of profitability or personal career development. Supported by the Dubai Knowledge Village and Tanmia, the Global Training and Human Resource Development forum will open a dialogue between the training industry and the public and private organisations in the Middle East, and aims to quantify the training needs of the region and develop programmes that take into account not just the global quality bench marks, but also the market, social and cultural realities of countries in the region.
In a move to strengthen its commitment to spreading awareness about education and training opportunities for the individual with special needs, GETEX Dubai 2006 will feature the return of a larger, more comprehensive series of workshops. This segment is drawing increased attention and budgetary outlays from governments across the GCC, who are establishing special schools, as well as equipping mainstream schools to educate and train the special needs individuals to play their due role in modern urban society.
On the one hand, the workshops led by special needs, which will feature talks and deliberations in both Arabic and English, will target parents and educators with the objective of spreading awareness about syndromes such as ADD, ADHD, Autism, etc, thus facilitating early intervention and equipping mainstream schools for inclusive education. On the other hand, the Academic and Life Choices counselling forum has also been thrown open to special needs individuals faced with crossing the bridge between secondary and higher education.
Organised under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, GETEX Dubai 2006 is scheduled to take place from April 12 to 14 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre. The event will feature three different segments—Student Recruitment; Education Technology and Equipment; and Corporate Training and Human Resource Development—and will bring together students, academics, professionals, parents, education providers, technology manufacturers and suppliers, human resource training institutions and corporate planners from all over the world.
