The third edition of the Education Show will be held at Expo Centre Sharjah from November 12-15, 2007.

The show, an event that features a host of undergraduate, postgraduate, and other higher study options from across the globe for UAE-based students, will be sponsored by the Emirates Nationals Development Programme (ENDP) and supported by the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia) and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI).

The coming edition of the show, a joint initiative of the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Expo Centre Sharjah,  will occupy a total exhibition area of 4,000 sq m and feature over 70 institutes of higher learning from both within the UAE and overseas.

Among them will be universities, colleges, polytechnics, IT institutes, business schools, technical management training centers, medical schools, hotel management institutes, fine art schools, language centers, aviation colleges, distance learning institutes, and other tertiary institutions.

Besides institutes of higher learning, the event will also showcase student publications, banks engaged in providing loans for educational purposes, professional examination bodies, and immigration consultants.

A majority of the participating institutes at this year's Education Show are from Oman, Malaysia, Germany, Pakistan, and the UAE. Some of the major institutes participating in the event are Heriot-Watt University, University of Windsor, Petroleum Institute, Sites Power Institute, Paris Sorbonne University, Sharjah Institute Technology, UAE University, Zayed University, Higher College of Technology, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah University, Al Ghurair University, University of Wollongong in Dubai, British University- Dubai, Skyline College, ETQM College, Dubai Medical College for girls, Dubai Pharmacy College for girls, Emirates College for Management and Information, Middle East Centre, Al Mihad Institute, and the Baghdad Institute.

Other notable participants at the Show include Tanmia, ENDP, National Admissions and Placement Office (NAPO), Online Trading, and Loop Face.

Other than individual participation from various countries, the Education Show will also be hosting national pavilions from India and Russia.

The Indira Gandhi National Open University, Birla Intitute, Amrita Vishwaa Vidyapeetham, and the Datta Meghe Institute are among the participants in the Indian pavilion.

“The higher education sector in the region holds tremendous potential and is poised for very strong growth in the coming years,” said Expo Centre Sharjah director-general Saif Al Midfa.

“The rapid expansion of the region’s higher education arena may largely be attributed to the booming economies of the GCC States coupled with the fact that the regional governments have placed the sector on the top of their priority list for development. In this regard, the UAE occupies the centrestage. Years back the Government in UAE had realised the importance of providing quality education to its youth and had accepted it as a strategic challenge. Today, the UAE, with advanced institutes of higher learning, highly experienced faculties, and some of the most talented students, is considered to be the region’s education hub,” he said.

“The coming edition of the Education Show, which is the UAE’s most comprehensive and premier education platform for higher studies, will throw open a window of opportunities for UAE-based students wishing to pursue undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational courses in some of the leading educational institutes, both foreign as well as UAE-based,” said Saif Al Midfa.

The show will not only help visiting students opt for the right course as per his aptitude and aspirations but also facilitate his selection of the right institute taking in to consideration his budget, eligibility, course of study, campus facilities and