India willing to partner with UAE to make it global educational hub: Indian diplomat

DUBAI: India will be happy to be a partner with the UAE in its efforts to make the Emirates a global educational hub besides being a financial hub, an Indian diplomat here has said. Tadu Mamu, Consul (Press Information, Culture and Labour) of the Indian Embassy, who was the chief guest at a global education conclave here, said that the pandemic had unleashed the potential of online learning in a big way that was attracting students.

She said there was a need to bring a balance between the physical mode of learning with edu-tech. She said the UAE leadership is striving to make the Emirates a global educational hub besides being a financial hub. “We are seeing many big universities have made Abu Dhabi and the UAE their hub, and we see it progressing. India will be happy to be a partner in these arrangements,” Mamu said.

She also said that India and the UAE share exceptionally close relations across the cultural and political sectors and the ties had strengthened under the leadership of the two nations. The Dubai conclave on Thursday saw educators, experts, edu-tech leaders and students from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region and beyond brainstorm over critical issues revolving around education, with a special focus on digital technology and its potential in aiding learning.

The two-day conclave, titled ‘Schools for the Future’, was organised by Kyra Global, a company founded in Dubai by veteran Indian publisher KPR Nair, in partnership with The American University in the Emirates (AUE), one of Dubai’s premier universities. It was attended by around 250 participants in physical mode and thousands of others from across the world virtually to brainstorm on potential solutions to redesign and build schools for the future.

“Our push towards innovation and growth of younger minds is always a focus, and this is one field where we are very interested in; and anyone who has ideas and is willing to collaborate with the Indian Consulate is most welcome,” the Indian diplomat said. She said that the setting up of an IIT campus in Abu Dhabi, announced last year as part of the trade deal, would give a fillip to bilateral cooperation.

Nair, the founder and chairman of Konark Publishers, in his remarks, said his passion for books and always seeking new and innovative ways to spread learning led him to form Kyra Global last year as a platform for the healthy exchange of ideas and knowledge on key issues that affect humankind globally.

Muthanna G Abdul Razzaq, the founder and President of the American University in the UAE, said that the future of schools lies in the efficiency of its teachers who need to be equipped with the tools to aid the learning process of students in every way.

Indian-American entrepreneur and philanthropist, Frank Islam, a member of the US Commission on Presidential Scholars, in his remarks in the opening session said that the schools of the future should be multifaceted to maximise the potential for 21st-century education. Participating virtually, Islam focused on the roles and responsibilities of the ‘edupreneur’ in shaping studies, students and society.