The UK Education Fair organised by the British Council in the UAE started on Saturday in Abu Dhabi and was opened by Dr Hadef Jouan Al Dhaheri, Vice Chancellor of UAE University.

Twenty-one exhibitors attended the fair held at the Crowne Plaza in Abu Dhabi. About 508 visitors attended the exhibition to enquire about education opportunities and enrolment procedures in UK universities and institutes.

Mike Coney, Regional Education Manager at the British Council commented: "There is a diversity of education courses on offer from red brick universities to newer institutes and universities."
Important factor

Dr Al Dhaheri said in the opening speech that "cultural exchange in a global context is the most important factor to explain education abroad.

"In the world of business, the biggest barrier for a multinational or multicultural project team whose members hail from different parts of the world is not language, physical space or time zone differences, but the cultural baggage they carry in their own suitcases."

Robert Sykes, Gulf Regional Director for the Gulf States in the British Council and Counsellor for Cultural Affairs at the British Embassy, expressed his amazement at the turnout of the exhibition.

"It is better than the year before. The major subjects on offer are engineering, business studies, information technology and medicine."

Dr Al Dhaheri said: "The UK is known in the Gulf as having effective educational standards. The UAE has a long standing relationship with Britain. Many faculty members at the UAE university are graduates of UK universities."