Gulf Education and Training Exhibition to attract 300 international academic institutes

Providing the visitors with a suitable environment to network information on educational resources available worldwide, the exhibition will be held from April 8 - 11, 2003 at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

The global demand for international higher education is set to grow enormously, it is set to increase from 1.8 million international students in 2000 to 7.2 million international students in 2025, according to a research by IDP Education Australia. Asia will represent about 70 per cent of total global demand with China and India being the key growth drivers generating over half of the global demand in international education by 2025.

Aimed at meeting this growing market in international higher education, the objective of the Gulf Education and Training exhibition in terms of international student recruiting is to facilitate interaction between prospective student and advisor. The key is to effectively filter the student inquiries before they reach the admissions office of their respective universities.

"Choosing the right combination of course, college and country is probably one of the most important decisions any student who is considering studying abroad will ever have to face," said David Domoney, Managing Director, International Conferences & Exhibitions (IC & E). "The vast majority of these students aim to acquire resources and information on international educational institutes, colleges and universities. The exhibition will offer a unique chance for the students, their parents and educators to meet face-to-face with international education advisors and agents from around the world," he added.

Many UAE national and foreign students graduating each year seek better opportunities for higher education overseas. Designed to meet this growing demand for higher education, a full programme of educational and informative seminars will run alongside the exhibition. The exhibition will host the Education Forum, which presents a programme of "hands on" seminars presented by exhibitors to help inform the students of the educational options available to them. The Gulf Education and Training Exhibition also provides these students with a Student Lounge, a meeting place to network information on the latest courses available worldwide.

The show will also be a reflection of today's training scene targeting individuals in the manpower training and personnel departments of major private companies and public sector organisations in the GCC region, training managers, training executives, and human resources managers. Visitors will find new products, suppliers and innovative offerings.

"The training show will expose professionals from academic institutions and from corporate and government departments to staff developmental solutions and training that offers high quality programmes and courses," said Domoney. "It will provide opportunities for specialist training organisations to widen their market appeal to corporate clients and working adults as well as individual students covering a wide ranging selection of personalized programmes."

Attracting two distinct categories of visitors for education and training, Gulf Education and Training Exhibition is a vocational, professional, educational and training event. Visitors will include students, parents, teachers, and manpower-training specialists who want to acquire more information about international educational programs, institutes, and training courses.

Organized by International Conferences & Exhibitions (IC&E), the event is held under the patronage of the UAE Minister for Higher Education and Scientific Research, H.E. Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan.