JEDDAH — GESS Dubai organizers are optimistic visitor turnout will be higher at this year's edition of the event that is already considered the region's leading education exhibition and conference. Over the past three years the show has grown visitor numbers with an average 20 percent increase per annum and by 33 percent compared to last year, has this year added another hall at the Dubai World Trade Centre in anticipation of a bigger attendance. Already the number of exhibitors have now increased to 400 (from last year's 350) representing companies from more than 30 countries, including country pavilions such as the US, Finland, UK, Germany, Korea, and China, while visitors have turned up from over 70 countries from around the world.
Some of the more well-known brand showcasing their latest educational products and solutions include Microsoft, Sharp, Lego Education, LG, Casio, Obeikan Education, Festo, Lucas Nulle, Findel, TTS, Kit for Kids, Digirobotics, Roycan and Mozaik Education, among others. “During the last seven years, the show has become the leading platform for showcasing the latest educational products and solutions from around the world, giving educational institutions from all levels the chance to acquire the latest innovations and advances that will help improve the quality of learning and teaching in GCC classrooms,” said Matt Thompson, Project Director, F&E Group, organizers of GESS. Among the highlights of this year's show include an interactive showcase of the latest educational products who have qualified for the Product Innovation Award of the GESS Education Awards, as well as live demonstrations of the applications of 3D technologies relevant to the educational sector. Meanwhile, the Digital Education Space will host leading international experts who will share insights on the latest advances in digital education and how apps and other technology tools can be harnessed towards better teaching and learning in classrooms. The Global Education Forum (GEF) is taking place simultaneously with the conference. The theme of year's forum, Modern Education Strategy to Improve Economic Growth, and features a high-caliber line up of speakers that includes Harry Patrinos, leading education economist, World Bank. World renowned education specialist Stephen Heppell, CEO, Heppell.net, will present a futuristic overview of the education sector as he speaks on the topic, “Getting Ready for 2025: A New World of Learning”, which will provide education decision makers in the Gulf a chance to leverage the insights learned from the session to prepare schools throughout the region to become leading and world-class centers of learning. At the request of the UK government, Heppell has been revisiting many significant education projects worldwide with a view to offering a consensual vision of what learning will look like by 2025. Enrique Gabriel Legaspi, the head of the I.Am.Angel.Foundation (established by Will.I.Am of the popular Black Eyed Peas group), will also shed light on how to successfully replicate a STEAM program implemented by the foundation in a US high school that has powerfully harnessed new technologies to improve student learning abilities in science, technology and mathematics. All in all, there will be over 200 sessions and over 100 speakers discussing the developments, innovations and concerns facing the education sector in the region and the rest of the world over the three-day event. In addition to gaining a wealth of information on new approaches to teaching using traditional and non-traditional methods, educators attending the conference will also gain CPD credits, ensuring that they get valuable professional credits for coming to the show. GESS and GEF will again host the UAE SPARK (Sharing Pedagogy and Refining Knowledge) initiative, a free CPD program that is based on teacher collaboration. SPARK follows the hugely successful TeachMeet concept which is fast becoming globally renowned – it involves teachers sharing their best practices and discussing practical innovations that work in the classroom. With an influx of attendees from all over the world, GESS Dubai encourages interested visitors to register for free via the website at www.gessdubai.com — SG
