YES to education

NAJAH will give school students, university students and young professionals in the UAE an opportunity to hear from a variety of seasoned educational experts at the first Youth Education Seminar (YES) at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre today.

Hosted by IIR, these free seminars provide the UAE's youngsters options in their education and career choices.

Professor Alan Patching, the first speaker, discusses the key components for achievement from goal setting and time management to understanding how to establish what is really important in life. A 'jack of all trades', Alan has been an army officer, jet pilot, marathon kayaker, triathlon runner, professional speaker, clinical hypno-therapist as well as being the man responsible for supervising the design and construction of the Sydney Olympic stadium.

"Seven habits of highly effective teens" will be discussed by Mary Kobbe, who is currently the account manager of Education for Franklin Covey Middle East in Dubai. Kobbe will discuss the seven characteristics that happy and successful teens have in common. Dr Annette Ittig's address is on Youth Economic Empowerment Initiatives in Afghanistan. In this conflict-affected society, where an estimated 60 per cent of the population is under 25, youth micro-enterprise plays an important element in rebuilding communities.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for students in the UAE to be able to hear directly from these inspirational speakers and ask questions about their experiences" said Christine Weaver, Exhibitions Director for YES and NAJAH.

"Interactive sessions such as the YES seminars are vital for young people to help shape their future. In addition to high caliber speakers, visitors to NAJAH will have access to assessment sessions and other vital resources to help make decisions about higher education and careers."

NAJAH is supported by the Ministry of Education, NAPO, Abu Dhabi Education Council, Abu Dhabi Emiratisation Council and the Ministry for Labour. Visitors will include teachers, students, university faculty, Ministry of Education personnels, HR managers and education professionals.

Real estate programme

Dubai Real Estate Institute (DREI), an industry-founded learning community providing comprehensive, graduate and professional development programmes on real estate is launching new real estate programmes during NAJAH. The courses are delivered in partnership with international universities such as, the University of Reading in the UK. The programme caters to the increasing demand in the industry for well trained, multi-faceted leaders. It also offers a six-month diploma delivered in partnership with The Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden.

Career counselling

In addition to exhibitors, NAJAH will feature career counselling sessions in which students will be able to meet with educational counsellors on a one-to-one basis and discuss their personal educational goals.

Individualised sessions will help students find the right courses, many of which will be offered by the various educational institutions participating in the event. There will be job profiling sessions where students, executives and professionals will be able to access an online service which will match suitable job options to match their personalities, interests and qualifications. It will also have interactive seminars covering a range of topics, including the most effective way to handle interviews, how to write a good cv, information on various professions and their requirements.

Training

HR professionals and senior management who are interested in training and development of staff will be able to seek advice and information from exhibitors such as the Gulf Training Centre and those who are searching for possible employment can speak directly to decision-makers from banking institutions such as HSBC, Barclays Bank and ABN Amro. The exhibition will also showcase other leading international companies which have a Gulf presence, such as Schlumberger, Adnoc and Etihad Airways who will be looking for new graduates.

— The writer is the director of the Counselling Point
Educational and Social services and an Adjunct faculty Sharjah Women's College