Dubai Internet City Executive Director Malek Al Malek Highlights Role of Technology in Education

Dubai: 18 June, 2009 - Educators need to embrace technology and bring new capabilities into education curriculums to match the stimulation that young people are exposed to in their digital world, according to Malek Al Malek, Executive Director, Dubai Internet City, a member of TECOM Investments.

Al Malek's comments came as part of his keynote address 'The Role of Technology in Education" at the one-day interactive SkillsInvest forum held recently at the Dubai Knowledge Village.

Al Malek said: "Technology and education need to form a partnership to facilitate a life cycle of skilled resources and talent that stimulates innovation and creates a vibrant community of people and minds.

"Technology has advanced enormously allowing us to witness and experience the most extraordinary things. Mass access to information today, for instance, means that a larger number of people are becoming more knowledgeable as they take vastly informed decisions in their lives. Technology has opened up the flood gates of opportunity for people with a common set of interests to come together and share ideas."

In his address, Al Malek examined how technology has enabled the permeation of information to all levels of society through the Internet. Al Malek continued and highlighted the importance of nurturing the local talent in the region to identify their strengths as future leaders and skills to drive a fast-developing knowledge-based economy particularly in the IT sector.

He added: "Geographical borders are a thing of the past. Instead, the Internet allows people to reach out and accomplish things that make them the incredible people they are today.

"Dubai has developed the fastest in the region being the first to create a diverse knowledge-based economy. Technology is the core for other sectors to grow and I have confidence that by working with the education and the IT sector will make technology the most powerful and positive force in people's lives today."

Afif Ben Yedder, Founder and Group Publisher of IC Publications, stated: "This is the first of a series of SkillsInvest Forums. A policy report including the outcomes of the presentation and debates will be sent to one thousand policy makers, industry leaders and academics in the region."

He added: "We were delighted to have Dubai Internet City as our ICT partner. The ICT sector is key to the growth of the region and will play a major role in creating the jobs of the future."

Following Al Malek's key note address, Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager Gulf Region of Microsoft concluded the session sharing firm beliefs that technology was an enabler in education that will continue to define the knowledge economy as people become knowledge producers. He added that education brings social inclusion and thanks to technology, it has allowed everybody at all stages in their lives to continue learning.

Fakhoury also emphasized the need to encourage the younger generation to take an interest in math and science as figures reveal that there is an increasing decline of students who are turning their backs on subjects he believes to hold the key to further innovation and major breakthroughs.

As part of its efforts to partner with local educational institutions, Dubai Internet City recently introduced an induction programme for promising graduates interested in joining the team. The region's leading managed ICT cluster will also be present at the TECOM Investments Career fair which was held this week and designed to facilitate UAE national talent in the work place.

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About Dubai Internet City
Dubai Internet City (DIC), a member of TECOM Investments, was established in 2000. It is currently regarded the Middle East's largest information and communications technology (ICT) cluster. Built as a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in several neighbouring regions, DIC's core focus area extends from the Middle East to the Indian Subcontinent, and from Africa to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), covering nearly three billion people with a GDP of over US$10 trillion. As a knowledge-oriented business model, DIC has created a dynamic international community of IT companies hosting business partners that include some of the Fortune 500 brands, as well as a number of small and medium enterprises and ventures. In 2008, 140 new companies joined the DIC cluster. For more information, please visit: www.dubaiinternetcity.com  

For further information, please contact:
Angelina Wong
Senior Account Executive
JIWIN Public Relations
Tel: + 971 4 369 2834
Email: Angelina.wong@jiwin.ae

© Press Release 2009