JEDDAH, 27 April 2007 — More than 150 exhibitors are showcasing their products and services at the 12th Middle East Education and Training Exhibition and Symposium (MEETES) to be held at the Jeddah International Exhibition and Convention Center on Madinah Road from April 30 to May 3.
A number of institutions devoted to education and training, both basic and advanced, are taking part in the event alongside several local, regional and international companies that are involved in providing education material and equipment, especially computers and computer programs as well as laboratories.
In focus will be higher education, e-learning and distance learning, and training, especially vocational education and training in the context of the ongoing Saudization program. The exhibition will feature a career and recruitment section, providing an ideal opportunity for students, as well as those seeking a career change and wanting to speak directly to potential employers and recruitment agencies, a spokesman for the Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions Ltd., which is organizing the event, said yesterday.
The show will have a wide and varied profile of exhibits covering distance learning, universities and colleges, polytechnics, private schools, language schools and centers, audiovisual and computer training and software, educational equipment and supplies, textbooks and curriculums, and educational furniture and systems.
A number of major official and other agencies will present a high profile symposium that will include a series of lectures, workshops and demonstrations.
The event is taking place at a time when the Kingdom is facing a number of challenges in its social and economic development, the most important of which is the need to create a highly educated and trained workforce that is able to manage an emerging complex and modern economy, he added.
The rapidly expanding population of the Kingdom is placing considerable pressure on the Kingdom’s education system and labor market. The Kingdom’s annual education and training budget for 2006 is SR87.3 billion, a staggering SR18 billion increase over the previous year. The budget includes the building of 2,673 new schools, in addition to over 3,000 currently under construction, and the renovation and equipping of 2,000 schools complete with new furniture, equipment, laboratories and computers.
In the previous years, Meetes received tremendous response from both exhibitors and visitors. Students especially showed interest in the offer of MBA, hotel management and engineering programs.
Like in the past, the exhibition is expected to be a big draw for educationists, students and parents, aside from officials, consultants, specifiers and dealers.