Leading global experts are in Dubai for a major summit that will discuss key issues in the Arab world including the concept of e-learning and how to reduce the rate of illiteracy in various communities through integration of technology in education and training.

The 'Annual Congress 2012,' being held at Hamdan Bin Mohammed e University, will feature three roundtables, 11 workshops and 160 research papers including 22 papers from the UAE, said the organisers.

The event, which runs uptill February 2, will see experts discuss key issues affecting the development and promotion of quality, education and health sectors.

The major highlight at the event are the three conferences on e-Learning Excellence, Health & Environment, and Quality, they added.

The roundtable meetings, which began on Monday, are aimed at enriching knowledge and promoting scientific research in the Arab world besides fostering a culture of creativity and innovation and an integrated knowledge environment.

They shed light on the effective policies and strategies in the promotion of quality, education and health, under the themes “Quality – Policy and Strategy”, “e-Learning – Policy and Strategy' and “Health – Policy and Strategy”.

In addition to the meetings, the Annual Congress, being organized under the main theme “Innovation based Competitiveness”, also discussed 160 papers on quality management, and the state of education and healthcare at the regional and international level.

The first roundtable meeting, held under the theme “Quality – Policy and Strategy”, addressed the concept of quality and its importance in creating and improving the competitiveness of different countries, especially Arab states, where quality has become a pressing concern and a key element in the strategies for improving national productivity and enabling economies to compete globally.

The second meeting, held under the theme “e-Learning – Policy and Strategy”, touched on a wide range of issues related to e-learning and how to improve the quality of education and create intellectual leadership.

The discussions also explored effective ways to obtain new knowledge and learn from experiences of other countries and regions, particularly in light of the emerging concept of distance learning that has been made possible by the internet.

The meeting also focused on the role of Arab countries in developing the concept of e-learning and reducing the rate of illiteracy in various communities, through the integration of technology in education and training.
 
The third meeting, which was held under the theme “Health – Policy and Strategy”, discussed the critical issues facing the Arab world, including water and air pollution, environmental degradation, disposal of hazardous waste and the difficulty of creating new policies addressing these challenges with the limited information available on these issues.

“The congress demonstrated its vital role as a forum for the world's leading scholars, experts and regional and international thinkers in the field of e-education, health and quality, as well as providing a leading interactive platform to promote scientific communication and establishing a culture of knowledge and learning in the Middle East,” said Dr Mansoor Al Awar, chancellor of HBMeU.

“In line with the theme, which is ‘Innovation-based Competitiveness’, we were keen to invite a number of leading experts and researchers from around the region and the world to discuss 160 papers, including 22 from the UAE, that focus on quality, e-Learning and e-Health,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service