Knowledge Village workshop explores Dubai's emerging e-society

The aim of the workshop, which was held as part of Dubai's 'Knowledge Month', was to offer a forum for the exchange of ideas, and was attended by a group of people from diverse backgrounds. The workshop was organised by the British Council Dubai in collaboration with Knowledge Village and the University of London, and conducted by Dr Don Peterson (MA, PhD, MSc) of the University of London.

"The realisation of the e-society will require people who can approach socio-technical problems in a socio-technical way - people who are trained both in social science and computer science, so as to avoid the creation of a gap between 'people people' and 'computer people'," said Dr Peterson.

"The University of London is developing an MBA programme in 'knowledge ecology' which will produce graduates who will also be advocates of the e-society and we expect them to take up or continue their careers in areas where there are socio-technical challenges and opportunities. For example, in tourism, there are possibilities in using digital technologies to support and attract tourists before, during and after a visit.

"The workshop was also very helpful in exploring ways in which the University of London's MBA programme could support this vision of creating graduates highly attuned to the needs of the e-society."

The workshop was the result of the collaboration between the British Council and Knowledge Village, and similar events are planned for the future: "The British Council signed a memorandum of understanding with Knowledge Village, last year, to facilitate this kind of activity, which draws together different strands of the community in Dubai and helps create a forum for sharing knowledge and ideas," said Jo Maher, Director of the British Council Dubai.

"Knowledge Village is the perfect situation in which to stage this kind of event, because of the role it is playing as an important catalyst in helping Dubai drive towards evolution of a knowledge society. We aim to bring together learning, innovation and entrepreneurship in an exciting forum that generates original ideas," added Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director of Knowledge Village.

The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational and cultural relations with a network of 243 offices and teaching centres in 100 countries. The British Council in the United Arab Emirates connects people with learning opportunities and creative ideas from the UK and builds lasting relationships between the UK and the UAE, through its Teaching Centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.

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