UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) took part in the 11th edition of Innovation Arabia Conference organized on 11-13 March 2018, in Dubai, UAE. The Conference was held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and President of Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre, under the theme “Innovate, Disrupt and Transform”.
Innovation Arabia provides a platform to exchange leading-edge ideas, discuss challenges and explore solutions for the development of sustainable economies and societies through innovation. In line with this year’s theme “Innovate, Disrupt, and Transform”, the Conference Organizing Committee was seeking contributions from institutions as well as individuals focusing on theories, paradigms, policies, practices and tools to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in a cross-section of organizations. Innovation Arabia 11 featured specialized discussions on 4 parallel tracks that included “Quality and Business Management”, “Health and Environment”, “Smart Learning” and “Islamic Banking and Finance Track”. At the press conference, Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU and Chair of the UNESCO IITE’s Governing Board, highlighted that: “The upcoming edition of the conference will focus on innovation as a pivotal tool for bringing about the change required within the business, health, environment, smart learning and Islamic economic sectors in the Arab world, led by generations empowered with knowledge economy tools and qualified innovatively and knowledgably to create and explore the future meeting requirements of the 21st century”.
Among keynote speakers of the Conference were Prof. Hsueh-Yung Benjamin Koo, Director of International Relations of iCenter at Tsinghua University (Beijing), Dr. Fengchun Miao, Chief of the Unit for ICT in Education at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, and other prominent experts in the field. Mr. Tao Zhan, Director of the UNESCO IITE, participated in the Panel Discussion “Smart OER: Bridges for Sustainable Education”. Participation in the Conference Innovation Arabia 11 on Education Innovation enabled UNESCO IITE to extend and promote its activities in the region focusing on ICT competency building, learning materials and ICT in Health Education. At the conclusion of the Conference, UNESCO IITE and the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University agreed that the Institute will participate in the Innovation Arabia 2019 as a co-organizer for Smart Learning session. Moreover, the Director of UNESCO IITE became a member of Advisory Board of the Conference.
More information about the Conference is available at Innovation Arabia 11.