The 20th edition of GETEX Dubai, the Middle East's leading education fair, is witnessing strong growth with its three concurrent platforms responding to market trends. The 2008 iteration of GETEX Dubai, being held from April 1st - 5th at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC), is attracting some of the world’s leading universities, education providers, education equipment and technology suppliers, human resource recruiters and vocational training providers to construct the region’s largest education forum.

The 20th GETEX Dubai will allow national and expatriate students access to more than 2500 secondary and tertiary education options from over 500 education providers through its GETEX- Student Recruitment event. Concurrently, GETEXEducation Equipment and Technology will host an extended line up of education equipment suppliers, inviting buyers and educators to take advantage of a forum for technology in education.

Anselm Godinho,Managing Director of show organisers IC&E, said, “Educators and learners are realising the benefits of deploying technological solutions as a means of improving the standard of instruction, ensuring higher student participation in the learning process and reducing operational and infrastructure costs. As a result, more investments are being made in technological tools and methods that will enhance education delivery, knowledge management and control processes in their institutions. This year, GETEX – Education Equipment and Supply will provide a unique forum for manufacturers and dealers in education technology and equipment to interact with the region's education providers, professionals and buyers.”

GETEX- Education Equipment and Supply will also host the GETEX- ISTE Global Conference on Technology. The conference programme is under the direction of the International Society for Technology in Education, the U.S. based society that annually hosts the NECC Conference in the U.S, attracting delegates and presenters from more that 60 countries. The GETEX - ISTE global forum will offer an opportunity for educators, school leaders, and policy makers to interact with and learn from education researchers, thought leaders and expert practitioners from the Gulf region and around the world.

Responding to exploding demand for qualified human resources within a highly mobile labour market, GETEX Dubai has expanded GETEX – Careers & Training 2008. A natural progression of GETEX’s education focus, GETEX- Careers & Training offers employment opportunities for senior students looking for access to the job market, experienced employees climbing the career ladder and also caters to professionals wanting to acquire new skills through targeted qualifications. In the UAE, GETEX is hosted under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan Bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The event is supported by Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV), Dubai International Academic City (DIAC), Knowledge & Human Development Authority (KHDA) and all the universities affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Researchincluding the Higher Colleges of Technology, UAE University and Zayed University.

“GETEX has evolved from a student recruitment show to a complete networking forum for the education industry. GETEX is involved with, and actively facilitates, a number of education related activities including student recruitment, professional placement, didactic technology introduction, and training. GETEX will also be hosting discussion forums, workshops, seminars and conferences that bring together expert knowledge with new ideas to generate new schema, paradigms and networks in education,”Godinho concluded.