International Education Show 2012 set to reflect changing higher education landscape

Despite a deluge of choices in countries and programmes, choosing the right place and course that will deliver the desired results remains an uphill task for students and parents.

"The landscape of higher education — the growing variety of higher education institutions and the cultural and competitive environments — is changing rapidly. The choices are growing wider by the day, so is the size, scope, and complexity of many universities and countries, due to the fast-changing economic and geographical environments," said Mr Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, Director-General of Expo Centre Sharjah.

"Students and parents are flooded with so many choices that they have to seek help in choosing the right programme and country. The International Education Show will help them take an informed decision, given that they can speak to representatives of respective institutions then and there and choose the best one that suits them," said Mr Midfa, who was speaking ahead of the International Education Show that is scheduled to be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from October 10-12, 2012.

Most universities in the UAE have introduced more programmes and expanded their campuses in order to accommodate a projected growth in student population in the private sector to 2.6 million by 2020, or as much as 11.3 million in both private and public schools in 10 years from now.

The total number of students at the Dubai's 52 universities rose to 43,212 this year from 39,127 last year. The number of Emiratis staying home to study also rose, to 18,708 from 16,805, according to Knowledge and Human Development Authority figures.

Apart from the presence of most of the local institutions at the International Education Show, the stalls of EducationUSA, Australian Agency for Education and Training and the Malaysian will also be keenly awaited.

While EducationUSA is a global network of more than 400 advising centres supported by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US Department of State, the Australian Agency for Education and Training will support students in every step of their education journey in Australia.

More than 3,000 UAE-based students went to the UK for higher studies in 2011, while the number of students travelling to the US was 1,871 in 2010, in addition to around 2,500 more students of other nationalities. About 4,200 students went to Malaysia, according to Education Malaysia.

The Malaysian Universities, exhibiting for the second consecutive time at International Education Show, will represent some of Malaysia's top 21 state universities and more than 500 private institutions, many of which are branch campuses of international institutions.

For this year, the International Education Show will feature more than 60 higher education institutions from all over the world, including India, Malaysia, Oman, Jordan, the US and the UAE, which will present programmes ranging from traditional fields like medicine, engineering and management, to new age education programmes like and language skills training, among others.

Other new exhibitors include Jerash Private University of Jordan, one of the top-rated institution in the country and the only university in Jerash Governorate, the Aviation Academy of Jordan, American University in the Emirates, Buraimi University and Sohar university, among others.

Apart from workshops, seminars and counseling sessions by several institutions Ministry of Education and the American University of RAK and some other institutions, lucky students can win two MBA programmes from IIMTS-Sharjah (A Genius Group Global Initiative), where the institution will sponsor two students for its master's in business administration course. Laptops are also up for grabs for lucky visitors.

The show will be open daily from 9am to 2pm and 4pm to 8pm. On Friday, it will be open from 4 pm to 8pm.