Dubai International Academic City and Bayt.com launch Middle East's first Virtual Education Fair

The online event will run from 15 - 21 November and will bring together education and training providers from all over the region, including academic and training partners of DIAC and Dubai Knowledge Village as well as strategic training and education partners of Bayt.com.

The announcement came at a press conference led by Dr Ayoub Kazim, Executive Director, Dubai International Academic City and Dubai Knowledge Village, as well as Akram Assaf, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Bayt.com, on the sidelines of Gitex Technology Week 2009, the region's largest industry event being held in Dubai from 18-22 October.

Dr Kazim said: "The Virtual Education Fair is a pioneering platform for academic institutions and training institutes to reach potential students. VEF also offers an excellent opportunity for students to learn about admissions, financial aid, institutions and academic programmes. We are confident a large number of stakeholders will greatly benefit from this endeavour that will particularly help our academic partners reach a wider student community at a fraction of the cost of traditional education fairs."

Akram Assaf, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Bayt.com, said:

"The Virtual Education Fair bears testimony to Bayt.com's social responsibility and commitment to fostering regional job markets by paving the way for a skilled generation that is well-equipped for the workplace. By combining our industry-leading technology platform with best-of-breed marketing and communication tools and techniques, this promises to be a landmark event in the Middle East education calendar. We are optimistic that students and educational institutions will benefit immensely from the state-of-the-art opportunities and exposure."

Offering a dedicated online resource for the academic community, virtual education fairs have proven to substantially reduce costs in comparison to conventional education fairs without the need for setting up physical booths or printing collateral materials.

More importantly, the Internet-based event allows for an accurate measurement of its success with advanced and accurate reporting tools.

Students, on the other hand, gain a unique and unprecedented chance to make informed decisions through interacting on a real-time basis with education providers and consultants via text, voice and live video chat.

In addition, a virtual education fair offers students round-the-clock access to a vast academic landscape with plenty of scope to gain valuable insights and information on current and future courses, programmes and degrees, at no cost to them.

DIAC currently hosts 32 academic institutions from 13 different countries from diverse regions, including the US, the UK, Iran, Russia, Australia, France, Pakistan, Lebanon, India and the UAE. Some of the important names include the Michigan State University, Heriot-Watt University, Hult International Business School, and the Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE).

Bayt.com is the Middle East's #1 jobsite with a database of over 3.5 million professional jobseekers and 30,000 employers. While its award-winning technological platform is at the vanguard of the industry globally, Bayt.com has been a pioneer and leader in the online recruitment marketplace since its launch in 2000.