31 universities participate in Kuwait Education Expo

KUWAIT: The fifth Kuwait International Higher Education Exhibition opened yesterday at the Safir International Hotel’s Lulwa Tent. A total of 31 universities and educational institutions from 18 countries are participating in this year’s event, which lasts until Thursday and is being coordinated by the Kuwait Global Center for Organizing Exhibitions. The event is already proving popular, with a number of local schools organizing trips for pupils wishing to find out more about further education opportunities.This year’s exhibition, which is being held under the patronage of Sheikha Fariha Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, is being sponsored by the University of Sharjah in the UAE and Romania’s Bogdan Voda University. A wide range of regional and international universities, some participating for the first time, are taking part in the exhibition, explained Ahmad Shaban, the Executive Manager of the Kuwait Global Center for Organizing Exhibitions, in his introductory speech at yesterday’s launch. “For the first time there are six universities from Jordan participating in the exhibition,” he revealed. “There are also two Saudi universities and a Swiss one taking part. It’s also the first time that some of the Canadian universities have participated.On the reason behind his company’s hosting the event, he explained, “We’re holding the exhibition after having some success in meeting the educational demands of students and participating institutions. This exhibition was held through making great efforts to present the expected services in the education sector and to offer students the opportunity to find out about different programs and curricula. Our main objective is to simplify the registration and admission processes by bringing both parties closertogether. It’s also a great opportunity for parents to choose the most suitable university for their children.Shaban was critical of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Higher Education’s failure to send representatives to the exhibition, saying, “For the past two years, the Ministry of Higher Education hasn’t participated in this event. The students are very upset at this absence and are asking about the ministry as they need to verify some information. We’ve tried hard to communicate with the ministry to convince them to participate, but we didn’t succeed.Students attending the exhibition can find all sorts of universities offering degrees ranging from Bachelor-level to PhDs, Shaban explained, stressing that this means that the event “isn’t just aimed at students newly-graduated from high school. Those who wish to obtain post-graduate degrees also have the chance to find out about universities around the world that offer these degree courses.” The exhibition is open to visitors from 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM – Kuwaittimes