Middle East to witness first ever virtual education fair

Dubai: The Middle East’s first ever virtual education fair (VEF) was announced on Wednesday at Gitex by Dubai International Academic City (DIAC) in partnership with Bayt.com.

Set to take place online from November 15 – 21 around the clock, VEF will link universities, colleges, training providers and consultants from across the region to those interested in furthering their education.

“Many students don’t want personal interaction with exhibitors,” Dr Ayoub Kazim, Executive Director of DIAC told Gulf News; which is why VEF provides a perfect opportunity to do it all online. Not only is it free for information seekers but for participating institutions it is but a fraction of the price of what it would cost at a real-life exhibition.

Those interested in pursuing higher education will be given an unprecedented chance to interact on a real-time basis with education providers via text and voice chat as well as live video.

With 10 participating institutions already signed up the number is expected to climb to 50 said Akram Assaf, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Bayt.com.

“What is nice about it is that it is flexible,” said Assaf, in regards to last minute participants who will no longer have to be turned away. VEF will also enable accurate measurement of its success with advanced and accurate reporting tools.

Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading jobsite, will be the technological provider for VEF based on a replica of its virtual model which successfully carried out Bayt.com virtual career fairs through out the past year.

Assaf said the companies’ past career fairs attracted a quarter of a million visitors and 2,500 organisations, noting the vast potential.

To register visit: www.vefme.com