Riyadh, 14 February 2016: In a move towards becoming knowledge driven economies, the Middle Eastern countries are increasingly investing in new and innovative education technologies. These countries are attempting to find better ways of efficiently imparting education.

“There is no doubt that advanced technology that is available in many countries showed that education can and will be improved if these latest technology can be utilized to allow the learners to learn more and better” said Dr. Talal H. Maghrabi, General Manager - IT Infrastructure at Ministry of Education, KSA.

Academia Arabia is being organized to gather the leaders and innovators in the Middle East education industry, with an aim to discuss and brainstorm the key trends, latest technologies and the pressing challenges for the region.

Dr. Maghrabi, who is a panelist in a government panel discussion on “Reforming Education in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, further said “Creating programs that are dedicated to education enhancement and improvements will result in innovating more methods and techniques in improving the education.”

Speaking about the role of technology in education, Dr. Osama A Mohamed, Associate Dean,College of Engineering at Abu Dhabi University said “Today's technology places a lot of power in the hands of learners, enhances their visualization skills, information gathering from across the world, and offers innovative ways to present their concepts.”

The conference, being held on 10 – 11 April 2016 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, will explore new strategies for the region and innovative education technologies such as virtual and e-classrooms, blended learning, smart campuses, adaptive technologies, simulation in education and much more.

Over a course of 2 days, over 20 speakers from leading organizations in the region will engage the audience through intriguing presentations, real-life case studies and interactive panel discussions. These experts include CEOs, Dean, Directors and other senior experts from University of Dammam, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Umm Al-Qura University, Tatweer Company for Educational Services, Abu Dhabi Education Council and UNESCO among other organizations.

“I believe that exchanging experiences and new ideas is the most effective way to save time and expenses of trying ideas that (were already proven) are not working in our country - The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, said Dr. Mohammed Salem Alzahrani, College of Engineering,Vice-Dean for Development and Quality at Umm Al-Qura University. Dr. Alzahrani will share insights on “Blended learning: Implications, Impact and Implementation” at the event.