New Learning for the Knowledge Economy Seminar held at Dubai Internet City

These include a highly developed infrastructure, a critical mass of skills, cultural diversity and a culture committed to education. Dr Yapp was speaking at a seminar in Dubai Internet City, hosted by Knowledge Village and organised by the British Council.

A packed conference room heard Dr Yapp speak about the need to reform education in order to meet the demands of the emerging 'knowledge economy', where skills and education developed through lifelong learning will be the competitive advantage, as well as an important social dimension and not just for employability.

"Smaller states, such as Finland and Denmark, are making the transition to knowledge economies faster than large countries, which are slower moving and are shifting from more traditional, industrial-based economies. There are five characteristics for success in making this transition - small size; highly developed infrastructure; a critical mass of skills; cultural diversity and a cultural commitment to education. This sounds like Dubai."

Dr Yapp, on his first visit to the region, described our present era as a 'new renaissance': "Today's renaissance is knowledge-led, putting people first, and where there is a blurring of the arts, sciences, humanities and technology. Knowledge has become the new capital and educational re-engineering is essential to develop it. This requires a culture of lifelong learning.

"E-learning will play a part in this transition to a culture of lifelong learning; the most important element being the 'learning', and where the 'e' is purely to facilitate the process. Critically, it also requires a new breed of teacher and the biggest mistake we can make is to believe that this new teacher will be the same as the old teacher but with IT support. In tandem, there is a need to review exams and qualifications because while there is a constant need to update skills, skills are actually becoming obsolete within 18 months."

On Knowledge Village, Dr Yapp commented: "What constitutes progress is the development of a culture of learning; access to learning when, where and how people want it; content organised for each individual; and a social context where everyone learns from others."

"And this is exactly what Knowledge Village is set to do," affirmed Dr. Abdullah Karam, Director of Knowledge Village.