Reflecting the growth in the Middle East market, the ICEF Dubai educator-agent workshop was bigger than ever this year, with an 8% increase in agent participation.
The event, January 30 to February 1, welcomed more than 120 educators from all over the world and 215 agents, predominantly from Turkey, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia. In total 407 international education professionals took part.
“The Middle East is quite a new market for us,” said Brian Burns of iStudy International language school, Ireland. “ICEF Dubai has provided us with an excellent introduction to the region.”
Institutions at the Dubai Workshop were well represented in the region’s two main areas of interest, higher education (43% of participants) and language study (41%), but all education sectors were covered.
One of the highlights was a ceremony recognising the 100th ICEF Trained Agent Counsellor (and first from Saudi Arabia). Yousuf Aleemuddin from Data Education Destinations Adventure Tourism Agency joins counsellors from 38 countries in providing ICEF-approved advice to other education agents. “He sets a precedent for other agents,” said ICEF’s agent relations manager, Nabil Najd.
The conference also provide extensive opportunity for networking – a vital component of doing business in the Middle East – with two major evening receptions. “We met a range of quality educators from around the world. Simply put it, it does not get any better than this,” said Asghar Aftab Khan of AK Consultants, a Pakistani agency.
