JEDDAH, 15 March 2008 — Higher education courses showcased at the four-day education expo, which ended on Thursday night, attracted an overwhelming number of students and parents.
The 13th Middle East Education and Training Exhibition and Symposium (Meetes ‘08) had more than 150 national and international participants exhibiting their courses for basic and advanced education, as well as the latest teaching and learning equipment.
Mohamed Nasser Mohamed Noor, a director at the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education, said the response of students and parents to the expo in general and the Malaysian pavilion in particular was “overwhelming.”
Addressing a symposium, which was also organized as part the exhibition, Noor said that he was confident that many more Saudi and expatriate students would seek higher education in his country.
“One thousand Saudi students are studying in Malaysia under the scholarship scheme of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah,” Noor said.
These students, who study for up to three years, pursue engineering, IT, science and language courses, he added. Malaysia had the largest contingent comprising 20 universities among international exhibitors at the show. Eleven thousand other students from the Middle East have been studying in Malaysia, which currently has 75,000 students from 150 countries.
There were also major groups from the UK, Cyprus and Canada and individual participants from Australia, New Zealand, France, Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, India and the Arab world who took part alongside Saudi organizations and educational institutions including Technical and Vocational Training Corporation-TVTC (formerly the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training-GOTEVOT), King Abdul Aziz University, Batterjee Medical College, Effat College and Saudi Japanese Automobile High Institute.
Among the other exhibitors were the Dubai Campus of Manipal Academy of Higher Education,Dubai-based Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Institute of Optics Training, the European University of Lefke, a nonprofit organization established in 1990 by the Cyprus Science Foundation, Cyprus International University and Education First International Language Schools which conducts courses worldwide.
British Educational Suppliers Association’s international manager, who was more than satisfied with the quality of turnout at the show, said the association offered free advice and access to 300 of its member-suppliers.
Amyn Lalani, director of academic programs and business development at the American Graduate School of Business of Switzerland, said that its business management course had attracted inquiries from a number of visitors.
Germany showcased its study and research opportunities. DAAD is the German Academic Exchange Service that provides international master programs. Ireland’s Morgan Institute exhibited its summer and pre-medicine programs, which drew the attention of many students.
ATEICO Education and Marketing Services is offering English language courses at Indira College of English in western Indian city of Pune, Riaz Mulla, general manager of ATEICO, which represents the Indira Gandhi National Open University’s distance education program in the Kingdom, said.
“The show is impressive and the new technologies exhibited by major overseas participants will immensely benefit our school, college and university students,” Muhammad Abdul Majid, a Saudi educationist, said.
“The number of registered visitors at the show this time was much more than last year,” a spokesman for Al-Harithy Company for Exhibitions, which organizes the annual event, said.
