Under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, Bett Middle East & Africa (MEA) is back with a two-day education technology summit and expo in partnership with Abu Dhabi Department for Education and Knowledge (ADEK) and in collaboration with their Worldwide Partner Microsoft. The event will be held on 22 and 23rd of April 2019 and will be hosted at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center “ADNEC”. After a successful event last year which saw a 45% year on year growth of visitors, and more than 60 exhibitors and 150 speakers representing 36 countries, this year the theme of the event is ‘Building a successful change culture to meet the evolving needs of 21st-century citizens’.
One of the main highlights of the fourth edition of Bett MEA is the increased focus on real-life case studies and practical presentations showing how edtech is making an impact in practice. The introduction of both educator and leadership workshops is a response to the needs of the region and will offer educators and leaders skills that can be quickly implemented in educational institutions to help solve some key challenges they are facing. Main topics to be covered include online and personalised learning, how AI is being used in practice, along with how to build a change culture and ensure professional development plans are in place to support educators with implementing new methods of teaching. Reinforcing creativity and smart education.
Commenting on ADEK’s strategic collaboration with Bett MEA, Dr. Najla Alnaqbi, Educational Technology Expert, Innovation and eLearning Manager at ADEK emphasized, “We are happy to collaborate with Bett MEA as it outlines the fundamental principles on which the future education methods reply on creation of critical thinking abilities among students, creativity, collaboration, communication and conceptualization of the issues concerning education. The summit highlights the fact that education sector must be prepared for both unprecedented challenges as well unparalleled opportunities for innovation and creation of new-age’ knowledge.”
Dr. Alnaqbi clarified, “Our main priority at ADEK is to sustain the UAE’s leading position as a socio-economic hub with emphasis on nurturing future leaders via high quality STEAM based teaching and learning methods which incorporate eLearning and technology, while promoting a culture of creativity and innovation. That’s why, we duly support Bett MEA as being the leading platform aiming to sustain education technology in the region.”
“With Bett MEA, we strive to achieve our ultimate goal to help the education sector in preparing future citizens and also contribute towards achieving the human development objectives of countries in the Middle East and Africa, where youth forms the majority of the population and the demand on high quality education is vital for economic and social development” said Rachel Brodie, Global Portfolio Director, Bett Global Series. “It is important not just to know how to learn, but more importantly how to explore the creative learning methods. This will come by keeping minds open and having a clear vision towards innovative learning. While knowledge is becoming obsolete, it is wisdom that will prevail and education will flourish where innovation is not stifled and respond in a way that helps the society,” she adds.
This year’s Bett MEA will expand into 2 exhibition halls hosting around 3,000 educators, government officials, thought-leaders, stakeholders and technology specialists, who will share their views on how to improve learning outcomes across the region. The event will also provide an opportunity for the visitors to listen to a mix of local and international speakers, leaders and society influencers in addition to gaining knowledge about the best practices in education sector through case studies, workshops, and discussions.
Brodie explained, “The summit topics will be centred around the following themes which have come from Bett’s extensive research; 21st century skills and knowledge, Institute Tech and Solutions, Teacher Training and Development, New Models of Learning and Integration of Technology into Teaching and Learning.”
A few of the 2019 prominent speakers at the summit include Dr Nafez Dakkak, CEO – UK, Queen Rania Foundation, Professor Martin Spraggon, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Mohammed bin Rashid School of Government and Phil Redhead, Director of Strategy, Future Gate – Saudi Arabia.
Awarding educational technology excellence
This year Bett MEA will also announce the awards for creativity, innovation and leadership throughout the MEA region’s education sector. These awards showcase inspiration and solutions to everyday challenges, which help students to achieve educational excellence. The awards will be judged by a prestigious, independent panel of education thought leaders from across the MEA region. The awards will be given in four categories — collaboration, game changer, innovation and leadership. These categories are for individuals, projects, institutions, companies and education stakeholders from across the board.
Elaborating on the awards, Brodie said, “For the past four years, we have had the unique opportunity to recognize the education leaders who are inspiring and mentoring the future generation. Our approach is considered as an incentive for the continued pursuit of excellence and creativity in education. We encourage the qualified candidates to start submitting their profiles now through https://mena.bettshow.com/Bett-MENA-Awards as last year’s award recipients set the bar high with their achievements. ”
