Over 25,000 visitors visit GTEX

According to International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E), the organizers of GETX, the turnover of students exceeded the average turnover of visitors in the past 5 years, not only in terms of actual numbers, but also in terms of tours organized by schools in the region. An estimated 100 schools organized trips to GETX, mostly for students in the final two years of school.

"The 16th GETX has been particularly successful in attracting a cross-section of students from all nationalities living in the region. This is as much a reflection of the stress placed on quality education in the region, as it is a reflection of the high quality of exhibitors participating in the show," said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director, IC&E. "This year the total exhibition area was 50 per cent larger than the last year's exhibition. With the high visitor turn out and a keen interest shown by exhibitors, who are already booking their stands for the coming year, the show is set to grow bigger in the coming years."

"The participation of European academic institutions began in a small way at the 14th GETX. This year, three countries, France, Germany and the Netherlands, came together under a large European Union Pavilion. This is a result of a shift of focus towards this region in a large number of European institutions," said Dr. Georg Krawietz, Head of Section, Training and Consulting, DAAD Information Centres, DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). "Earlier the focus of scholarship programmes was on students from the Maghreb region. However, most institutions have come to the realisation that the GCC region is a treasure house of talent that could benefit from our scholarship programmes. The 16th GETX has provided us with an ample opportunity to recruit students to these institutions."

"Another unforeseen advantage has been the opening up of possibilities of academic exchange at both the student and research and development levels. We have had discussions with various reputed institutes of higher education in the region and we are excited about the possibilities of collaborative work," stated Dr. Krawietz. "The post-graduate research centres in Germany, as in the other European Institutions, tend to be equipped to the highest standards and will provide excellent opportunities for furthering the academic exchange alliances. We intend to come back to the 17th GETX, to cement the ties forged in this show and to develop new ties."

According to Sean Dollman, Director, Admissions and Registration, American University of Kuwait (AUK), "Our decision to debut student recruitment for the first academic session of AUK at the 16th GETX has paid off rich dividends. We had a very successful show with a high degree of student interest resulting in good numbers of students recruited. Besides student recruitment, we have also had the opportunity to detail the profile of AUK vis-à-vis other universities in the region, thus allowing students to make an informed choice while selecting an institution of higher education."

"The student response at the 16th GETX has been extremely good, as compared to the earlier years. The visiting students were definitely more informed about the institutions participating in the show. They were also more clued into their future academic options. This helped speed up information dissemination, as well as optimise the selection process," said Sunny Ahonsi, Course Director, the LVMT Business School. "This is our second participation at the GETX and the effort that has been put in by the organisers into raising the profile of the exhibition has ensured a better quality of visitor participation."

Meanwhile, IC&E have already announced ambitious new plans of diversifying the annual GETX profile to include many other aspects of the education industry. "The growing success of GETX has prompted us to think of ways to improve the exhibition experience for the education industry. There are many aspects of the education industry, such as educational technologies, which would benefit from a unified platform where global institutions could closely examine innovations," explained Godinho. "We are working on plans to further enrich the GETX profile and in the years to come the show can only grow bigger and more diversified." The 17th GETX will be held from April 5 to 8, 2005.