Thousands of students and parents turned up for the first day of the KT UniExpo that brought together over 35 educational institutes from the UAE and abroad. Participating universities were offering a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses ranging from medicine and engineering to aviation and fashion design.
The event, which was held at The H Dubai, was inaugurated by Mohammed Galadari, Group Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman and Ibrahim Galadari, Group Chief Investment Officer and Director of the Galadari Group
Groups of students from various schools across the UAE as well as parents could be seen lining up as early as 9am to visit the various stalls and learn more about educational opportunities and new career paths. Held on April 16 and 17 from 8am to 6pm, KT UniExpo has come back for its eighth edition and has been a top choice for school students to learn more about future education opportunities.
Mohammed Abdullatif Ibrahim Galadari, Co-Chairman and Group CEO; Ibrahim Abdullatif Ibrahim Galadari, Group Chief Investment Officer and Director; Saghir Ahmed Khan, Chief Financial Officer Khaleej Times during the opening of UniExpo Dubai. KT Photo: Shihab
IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi – the first international campus of the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) group of universities, was one of the participants at the fair. Considered to be one of the best engineering colleges in the world, noted alums of IITs include Alphabet Inc. CEO Sunder Pichai and Indian industrialist N. R. Narayana Murthy.
Visitors to the event were able to engage directly with universities and education providers and receive personalised guidance on higher education choices.
Live question and answer sessions, seminars, and career counselling sessions were held to assist students with local and international sponsorships and financial aid options.
For Shaurya, a Grade 11 student of the Credence High School, the event was a golden opportunity to explore future education opportunities. “I am looking to pursue a career in psychology and I hunted for courses in that field,” he said. “I am looking at options in both India and the UAE and I thought this was a great place to get more information. I felt like not many universities were offering courses in psychology but I have a few options that I will go home and research more about.”
For 17-year-old Emirati students Abdulla Alshammar, Essa Mohammed and Mohammad Khalid, this was the first university expo they had attended. Students of the Hamdan bin Rashid boys school, the youngsters said they found some interesting courses. “I am looking for undergraduate studies in electrical engineering,” said Abdulla. “I found some good courses here. My friends are still deciding what they want to pursue, so we looked at the various stalls and collected brochures from there. It is an important decision so we have a lot to think about.”
Other participating universities at the event included Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Emirates Aviation University, Middlesex University, Canadian University Dubai, Rochester Institute of Tecnology Dubai, University of Birmingham Dubai, London South Bank University, Dubai College of Tourism, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, IBTE, Ajman University, CEECO International, Caucasus University, Dubai institute of Design and Innovation, BITS Pilani Dubai, Gul Medical University, Kean University, Phoenix Financial Training, Global College of Malta, City University Ajman, Symbiosis International University Dubai, De Montfort University, Swiss Business School, Kings cornerstone International College, University of West London, University of Europe for Applied Sciences, Demont Institute of Management and Technology, Shiv Nadar University Chennai.
IMG Worlds of Adventure entertained students with various characters from the theme park. Jebel Jais, the beverage sponsors, handed out water to all visitors while Almarai gave out juices. HP computers put up their latest gadgets on display at the event.
With the onslaught of artificial intelligence and machine learning, picking the right course for undergraduate and postgraduate studies has become more important than ever. Experts have suggested that millions of jobs will be displaced by automation, but AI will create over 97 million new job opportunities, including never-seen-before positions.
Earlier this year, a QS World Future Skills Index found that the UAE was the most prepared Arab country to meet future job market demands in the green, AI, and digital sectors.
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