26 - 29 January 2010 Riyadh International Exhibition Centre
Organized by:
Under the auspices of
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques
King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
Introduction The Ministry of Higher Education in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is presently working on a major qualitative shift. Launched The Ministry’s program seeks to keep pace with the developments in the area of higher education at the global level. Objectives include meeting the growth requirements with respect to population and development witnessed by the country in various areas. In order to achieve this target, the Ministry launched an expansion program to establish more universities and colleges in all regions and provinces of the kingdom. The number of government universities jumped from eight to more than twenty universities and hundreds of colleges all over the regions of the kingdom. This quantitative expansion has been accompanied with quality enhancement by launching pioneering projects for upgrading higher education. Examples include developing of evaluation and quality standards, introducing a scheme for developing of innovation and excellence at the level of faculty staff in Saudi universities, establishing more research and excellence centers and encouraging universities to establish important partnerships with wellestablished international universities that contribute to transfer of knowledge and stimulate spirit of competition with international institutions. Endeavors to probe and utilize international experience have not been limited to international cooperation programs between our local universities and their counterparts abroad. A further step has been taken by launching out-of-thecountry scholarship program under auspices of The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques. The program is designed to effectively develop, educate, train and qualify thousands of Saudi human resources so that they can compete globally in the labor market, research and provide an essential pool to support Saudi universities, government and non-government universities with highly qualified resources. As a result of this qualitative shift witnessed by higher education combined with an interest to achieve integrated knowledge awareness of higher education issues and institutions among staff and students in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Ministry of Higher Education considers establishing an international exhibition for higher education to host various international higher education institutions. The exhibition is intended as a positive communication channel between educational institutions in the kingdom and higher education institutions all over the world. It will contribute to awareness of all categories of the community in general and particularly individuals seeking scholarship programs and educational courses offered by those institutions.
Vision The International Exhibition for Higher Education in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia is intended as a pioneering international exhibition for introducing of local, regional and international higher education institutions. It will be an effective tool in transforming the Saudi community into a competitive knowledge oriented community.
Mission The International Exhibition for Higher Education seeks to host international universities and higher education institutions under one umbrella in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to introduce them as well as provide an environment for scientific cooperation between international and Saudi higher education institutions in both the public and private sectors.
26 - 29 January 2010 Riyadh International Exhibition Centre
Objectives The International Exhibition for Higher Education seeks to achieve the following objectives: • Provide opportunity to the community with its various institutions, categories and individuals, particularly those interested in out-of-the-country scholarship programs, to become aware of international higher education institutions, including review of their respective educational and academic systems and procedures and interact with them. • Encourage higher education institutions in the kingdom to upgrade their academic and professional capabilities to reach the levels enjoyed by their well-established counterparts. • Provide access of local universities and faculty staff to international expertise and resources. • Open positive communication channel between educational authorities in the kingdom and international higher education institutions and stimulate them to make academic agreements. • Provide opportunities to review cutting-edge technologies in the field of e-learning and distance education.
Target Audience Participants in the exhibition include: • Leaders and decision-makers in the field of higher education. • Students at all levels. • Interested groups in e-Learning and distance education. • Businessmen and investors in higher education.
Reasons to Participate The International Exhibition for Higher Education provides you with ample opportunities; namely: • It provides you the opportunity to come into direct contact with a large number of secondary school graduates, university students, educators, academics, planners and decision makers in the field of higher education. • It affords you the opportunity to present your academic programs to a variety of visitors, including individuals as well as educational and academic institutions, and all others concerned with higher education. • It will give you an opportunity to sign agreements for international cooperation with institutions and organizations in the realm of higher education both inside the Kingdom as well as abroad. • It provides you an opportunity to attract large numbers of Saudi students being sent abroad for study, in that King Abdullah’s Program for Foreign Study currently provides scholarships for study abroad to around 62,000 Saudi students. • It affords you the opportunity to meet partners and clients who are licensed to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
26 - 29 January 2010 Riyadh International Exhibition Centre
Exhibitors The idea of the International Exhibition for Higher Education is to attract the most prominent international as well as Saudi institutions of higher education as follows: • International Higher Education Institutions, namely, international universities and colleges, international associations and organizations of higher education, embassies, consulates and cultural attachés, and foreign language institutes. • Saudi Higher Education Institutions, namely, public universities and colleges, private universities and colleges, colleges of technology and military, and research centers. • E-learning and Distance Education, namely, e-learning and distance education support centers at international and Saudi universities, e-learning companies, IT companies that are interested in e-learning, as well as training centers that are interested in e-learning. • The Ministry of Higher Education, namely, some of the projects, programs and centers that are run by the Ministry of Higher Education which reflect the efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education in the development of education to compete globally.
Proceedings in Association with the Exhibition Although the exhibition represents the core basis for this event, the activity will be exploited to achieve more benefit by arranging some proceedings, most prominent of which include arranging the following activities:
Academic Lectures A selected group of experts will deliver general lectures on higher education. Arrangements will be made with Saudi universities to host lecturers to deliver lectures at the premises of the respective universities. Priority will be given to hosting existing or prospective Nobel laureates as well as holders of international awards in their respective areas of discipline. Lectures will concentrate on the following issues: • Prospects of higher education • Upgrading of universities and higher education institutions • Quality of higher education programs • Academic program and institutional accreditation • Development of decision making in higher education • Educational technologies and e-learning
26 - 29 January 2010 Riyadh International Exhibition Centre
Academic Visits Some Saudi universities and colleges will host representatives of international universities. The most prominent guests of the exhibition include senior officials and scholars. Such visits are of great importance in creating a high level impression of the kingdom. Foreign guests will see the real status of higher education in the kingdom.
Cultural Attaches’ Forum The cultural attaches’ forum will also be hosted as part of the proceedings in association with the exhibition. This forum is of great importance in discussing all issues of out-of-the-country scholarship programs and higher education. It is a valuable opportunity for interested students and their families to communicate with the cultural attaches and inquire about many issues on education and procedures at the scholarship hosting country. Open meetings are expected to be arranged between students and cultural attaches such that the meetings will be attended by the Saudi cultural attaché and the cultural attaché of the scholarship hosting country. Students will be able to discuss each and every issue with respect to the hosting country.
Scholarship program students’ forum The scholarship program students’ forum will also be arranged as part of the proceedings in association with the exhibition. This forum is of great importance in discussing all issues related to scholarship, universities and programs. It will be a valuable opportunity for interested students and their families to communicate with scholarship students and inquire about issues related to education and regulations in the hosting country.
The Venue The International Higher Education Exhibition will be held at Riyadh International Exhibition Centre, a modern international exhibition complex consisting of four halls offering 15,000m2 of indoor exhibition area in addition to 5,000m2 of outdoor area, ample car parking with a capacity of 1500 cars and buses, conference hall, support services, VIP reception lounge, business and press centers, restaurants and cafeterias, organizers offices.
How to reserve & book space In order to reserve space, kindly fill in the enclosed form and fax it to the indicated address, or register on the website. In return you will receive the required information.
Organized by:
Riyadh 11153, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966 1 4415555 • Fax: +966 1 4414224 Website: www.mohe.gov.sa
Executed by:
P.O. Box 56010, Riyadh 11554, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tel.: +966 1 2295604 • Fax: +966 1 2295612 E-mail: iehe2010@recexpo.com Website: www.recexpo.com
www.iehe.mohe.gov.sa