Getex 2009

In its 21st year, the exhibition held in Dubai last week brought together students, academics and working professionals under an umbrella of education. Rania Moussly reports.

Shaikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, inaugurated the 21st edition of the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (Getex) 2009 last week at the Dubai International Exhibition and Convention Centre.

Getex ran for four days. It is one of the Middle East's largest education fairs, serving as a platform for students, academics, job seekers and working professionals to network and exchange information and ideas.

This year, Getex hosted the 2009 Global Forum on Technology and Innovation in Teaching and Leading with 1,500 delegates attending. Alongside it ran the 2009 Human Resource Development and Training Conference and the student recruitment segment.

Getex aims to improve educational standards in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) and keeps in line with the Dh4.2 billion allocated by the UAE Federal Cabinet for the development of the educational sector.

"Getex Dubai has introduced improvements this year as part of our strategy to cater to the evolving challenges in the delivery of quality education in the region," said Anselm Godinho, managing director of International Conferences & Exhibitions, the organisers of Getex.

Ayoub Kazim, Executive Director of Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV) and Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), spoke to Notes about the participation of these two educational hubs at Getex. While DKV is participating for the sixth time, it's only the second time for DIAC.

Kazim explained that DIAC was born out of DKV to create a free zone dedicated to hosting international higher education providers, "giving universities the freedom to expand and grow further".

DKV and DIAC together have 30 universities offering a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programmes. "Our aim is to transform Dubai to be a city based on a knowledge economy," said Kazim.

Volunteer final year mechanical engineering students from Heriot-Watt University Dubai Campus demonstrated a prototype of a robot sent to Mars, using the NXT Lego Mindstorms kit. They steered the robot around a handmade version of the planet's surface. Their aim was to promote their university and "show people we are a well-equipped campus up there with the best".

"We also want to show that we offer a good level of education," Hassam Nasarullah, 21, told Notes.

The Gulf Medical College (GMC), Ajman, was at the exhibition because it is "a platform where we can introduce our university, advise students on what programmes to go for and give them direction," said Hina Amoun, career counsellor at the college. The institution offers a range of medical programmes as well as postgraduate courses. It is to date the only UAE-based institution offering a Doctorate in Pharmacology.

Nursing students Mariam Rashid and Fatima Ameer from the College of Health Sciences were volunteering at Getex to spread the importance of a nursing education. "This is a good chance for us. There are not many nurses around and we need them everywhere," said Mariam.

With the college recently opening the programme to Emirati men, the girls were aiming to encourage more Emiratis, male and female, to join the profession. "I am here representing my college to tell people nursing is not as bad as it seems; it is a good thing," said Fatima.

"It is nice to know that whenever you help somebody you are making a difference in their life... I'm here trying to convince students to enrol in nursing and change the common stereotype that nursing is a hard job; it is not like a maid's job. We are here to clarify the point that nursing is a good education and we can make a difference," said Fatima.

While conferences and training programmes were held for academics and professionals, students sat in for various seminars and workshops. These tackled topics such as career planning, managing finances while at university and studying abroad vs. studying in the UAE.

Amir Ameen, 17, is in his final year at Nahda School in Abu Dhabi. He was at Getex to look for a university offering business programmes. He was unsure about whether he wanted to stay in the UAE or go abroad. "I'm not sure; it depends on my university acceptance," said Amin.

His friend Mohammad Hijaz, 18, from the Emirates School in Abu Dhabi, seemed to favour studying abroad. "I will most likely go to the American University in Beirut," he said.

The Russian Ministry of Education and the Business College of Beijing Union University were at the exhibition to recruit students from the UAE to study at their home campuses.

"We've started recruiting overseas students since 2006... and offer them a chance to learn Chinese as part of their course," said Gao Lixia, director of the Office for International Cooperation and Exchange. She spoke to Notes about the launch of the undergraduate business programme taught in English in association with the University of the West of Scotland.

Yassmine Mebar, 18, is studying marketing at the Canadian University of Dubai (CUD). As a working member for Student Services at CUD she volunteered to promote the institution's student activities at Getex.

"A lot of people are interested because we are the only Canadian university in the UAE. We are something new compared to all the local universities and American universities available. People are interested," said Mebar, who plans to transfer to Canada. "Students planning to transfer to Canada find CUD is their best choice."