Getex 2006

The second edition of the education fair is being held in Abu Dhabi from November 24-26. Rema Menon has the details

The second edition of the Global Education and Training Exhibition - Getex Abu Dhabi - will bring together education and training institutions at the Rotana Beach Hotel and Towers from November 24 to 26.

Held under the patronage of Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the fair will feature free workshops on career counselling and making academic and life choices.
Getex Abu Dhabi has been organised to coincide with the spring intake at international universities.

Most universities abroad have two admissions intakes - autumn and spring. The latter is the lesser known option, with most students targeting the former. The fair thus opens up a second opportunity for students.

Getex 2006 Abu Dhabi
When: November 24-26
Where: Rotana Beach Hotel & Towers, Abu Dhabi
Time: On Friday: 5-10pm;
On Saturday, Sunday: 2-10pm

Background: The Global Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) is the largest education fair in the Middle East region. It is held under the patronage of the UAE Ministry of Education with the support of Dubai Knowledge Village and the British Council in Dubai.

It is organised by International Conferences and Exhibitions (IC&E).

Urban planning and petroleum engineering among
the courses on offer

Getex Abu Dhabi will highlight courses in management, medicine, information technology and e-learning and will highlight new methods of study including real time e-learning solution.

There is increasing evidence that education providers are recognising the importance of providing courses that link into the UAE and the region's market requirements for professional resources in the coming years.

Emerging trend
A series of topical courses such as urban planning and petroleum engineering will take centrstage.

"This year's exhibition is significant in that a much larger number ... of higher education institutions are bringing in several courses that are very pertinent to Middle Eastern markets," said Anselm Godhino, managing director of IC&E, organisers of GETEX.

"This highlights the increased importance that education providers and curriculum designers are giving to providing studying options suited to needs of the UAE and the region."

Alhosn University
According to Professor Abdul Rahim Sabouni, vice-chancellor, Alhosn University in Abu Dhabi, "Alhosn University offers Urban Planning, which offers a systematic yet creative framework to address social, physical and economic problems of neighbourhoods, cities, suburbs and metropolitan areas.

"The rapid development of the UAE and the mushrooming of new suburbs and developments are catalysing demand for a generation of graduates that have the ability to address issues related to rapid expansion.

"Further, we are also offering Industrial and Petroleum Engineering academic courses, which are also highly relevant to the region's oil-driven and rapidly industrialising economies."

Abu Dhabi University
"We will be showcasing our new state-of-the-art campus in Khalifa City, and raise awareness of our newly announced bachelor degrees in English, Public Relations and Communications, Accounting, and Information Systems Technology", said Professor Reynold Macpherson.

Special technology section
Given the increased usage of technological tools to upgrade infrastructure and improve education delivery systems, Getex Abu Dhabi will host a special segment for Education Technology, Equipment, Services and Supply where cutting-edge solutions will be showcased for the region's managements, end-buyers, dealers and importers.

Similarly, the segment devoted to Human Resource and Training will focus on emerging trends and methodologies in specialist training programmes aimed at helping Abu Dhabi's corporate organisations improve employee performance and professionals enhance career prospects, especially in the regional petrochemicals and energy sector.

Some of the participants

Abu Dhabi University

• Has a College of Arts and Science, College of Business Administration and a College of Computer Science and Information Technology.
• Offers bachelor degrees in public relations, education (field teacher in Arabic language and Islamic Studies), translation, finance and computer science.

Ajman University of Science and Technology Network
www.ajman.ac.ae

• Has a Faculty of Business Administration, Faculty of Dentistry, a Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Science and a Faculty of Law and an Institute of Environment, Water and Energy.
• Among the undergraduate degree programmes it offers are biomedical engineering, educational technology, and water engineering and management.

Alhosn University
www.alhosnu.ae

• Offers undergraduate and vocational/professional programmes.
• Its bachelor programmes include business administration, industrial engineering and urban planning.

American Intercontinental University, London
www.aiulondon.ac.uk

• Offers programmes in English, fashion, interior design and media production.

American University of Sharjah
www.aus.edu

• Has a College of Arts and Sciences, School of Architecture and Design, School of Business and Management and a School of Engineering.

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
www.amrita.edu

• Its undergraduate programmes include Ayurveda, bioinformatics, microbiology and nursing.

Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi (International Centre)
www.bitmesra.ac.in

• Among the programmes it offers are architecture engineering, hospital adminstration, animation and multimedia and management courses.

BITS, Pilani - Dubai Campus
www.bitsdubai.com

• Offers a range of engineering degrees. Includes BE (Hons) Chemical Engineering, computer science and mechanical engineering.

British Council
www.britishcouncil.org

• Provides information on all UK accredited institutions.

Centennial University of Dubai
www.centennialdubai.org

• The university opened its Dubai branch this year.
• Among the courses offered are general management, environmental studies and health management.

Centre of Excellence for Applied Research & Training (CERT)
www.certonline.com

• The commercial arm of the Higher Colleges of Technology in the UAE
• Is in the business of developing and providing education, training and applied technology for public and private sector clients.

DAAD - German Academic Exchange Service Information Centre Gulf
http://ic.daad.de/abudhabi/

• Serves as a point of contact for all issues concerning cooperation between Germany and the UAE in of Higher Education.

Datta Meghe Institute of Medical Sciences, India
http://2006.dmims.org/page/?page=contact

• Programmes include programmes in physiotherapy, dentistry and surgery.

Douglas College, Canada
www.douglas.bc.ca

• A major community college with two campuses in Greater Vancouver, British Columbia.
• Offers four-year degrees, University Transfer programmes and one- and two-year career programmes to local, national and international students.

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise University

• Offers programmes in aerospace vehicle design, air transport management, and airport planning and management.

Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, UAE
www.emiratesacademy.edu

• Offers an associate degree in business and tourism and an associate degree in international hospitality operations.
• Also offers BA (Hons) programmes in international tourism management and international hospitality management.

e-TQM College
www.etqm.net

• Offers undergraduate programmes in business process management, enterprise resource management and quality systems

German Institute of Science and Technology, Singapore
www.gist.edu.sg

• GIST is the first private German university abroad.
• It offers master programmes in Industrial Chemistry, Industrial Ecology and Integrated Circuit Design.

Gulf Medical College
www.gmcajman.com

• The college offers M.B.B.S and Bachelor of Physiotherapy programmes.

Heriot Watt University, UK
www.hw.ac.uk

• Offers management, mechanical engineering, construction management, food science and safety and oil and gas technology among other programmes.

Heriot Watt University Dubai Campus
www.hw.ac.uk/dubai/

• Existing courses in Management and Information Technology are being extended to include Mechanical Engineering, Construction Management, and Petroleum Engineering, and other areas such as Applied Mathematics and Food Science.

London School of Business and Finance

• A specialist in quality business and financial education.
• Offers programmes leading to MBA and ACCA (Association of Certified Chartered Accountants), as well as certificate programmes and executive courses.

Middlesex Uiversity Dubai
www.mdx.ac

• Offers accounting, finance and economics, business and management studies and communication and media.

Middlesex University - London
www.mdx.ac.uk

• Programmes include accounting, finance and economics, art design and design engineering, law and criminology.

Nova Scotia Community College
www.nscc.ns.ca

• Offers programmes in Applied Arts, Business Management and Geomatics.

Queensland University of Technology
www.qut.edu.au/

• It offers Built Environment and Engineering,
  business, English Language Law and Justice Studies among other programmes.

RAK Medical & Health Sciences University
www.rakmhsu.com/

• It offers an MBBS programme

SAE Institute
www.sae.edu

• It offers an Audio Engineering Diploma, BA (Hons) in Digital Film Animation, BA (Hons) in Recording Arts etc.

Skyline College
www.skylinecollege.edu/

• It offers a BBA in Information Systems, BBA in International Business among other programmes.

Thompson Rivers University
www.tru.ca

• It offers Art and Humanities, Business Administration, Education, Master of Business Administration, Archaeology and Art History.

Université Paris-Sorbonne Abu Dhabi
www.paris-sorbonne-abudhabi.ae

• Its programmes include archaeology and art history, economics, a French Intensive Programme, law and literature.

Universiti Putra Malaysia
www.upm.edu.my

• It offers Agro Biotechnology, Information and Communication Technology.

University of Sharjah
www.sharjah.ac.ae

• Programmes include business and management, dentistry and Sharia and Islamic studies.

University of Victoria
www.uvic.ca

• Among its programmes are a Cerificate in Business Administration, English Immersion, Public Relations, Teacher Training and University Admission Preparation (English Course).

University of Wollongong in Dubai
www.uowdubai.ac.ae

• Offers business administration, commerce, strategic marketing programmes.

The writer is the director of Counselling Point Education and Social Services