Arabia Conference

Middle East Growth Fueled by Innovation

Dubai (UAE), March 2014 - Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University's seventh Innovation Arabia Congress, held in Dubai 03-05 March, was a platform to discuss key topics, to engage in debates of relevance to the region, to present innovative ideas, and to share best practices. Every year, the congress attracts over 600 participants and merges academicians and professionals from more than sixty countries worldwide.

This year’s event was a hotbed of new ideas. Everything from eLearning to mobile health and renewable energy was up for discussion. It hosted a dynamic audience of innovators, policy-makers, and scholars.

Under the subtitle "Leading Transformation to Sustainable Excellence", the gathering sought to advance the work of Arab innovators. The Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University - the first Smart University in the UAE - succeeded in its ambitious attempt to address some of the most pressing issues facing the business, healthcare, eLearning and traditional education fields around the world.

The Congress, which took place at Dubai’s Atlantis - The Palm Hotel, convened the region's most important startup summit and was attended by key tech investors. It hosted experts and visitors from the Middle East and worldwide, and the accompanying trade show also attracted exhibitors from all around the world.

The seventh Innovation Arabia encompassed three international meetings: the Quality Conference, the eLearning Excellence Conference, and the Health and Environment Conference. The meetings featured prominent names like H.E. Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Founder and Chairman of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization; H.E. Saeed Al Tayer, Managing Director & CEO of the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority; Dr. Larry Johnson, CEO of the New Media Consortium in the US; and H.E. Prof. Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz-Al-Mosa, President of the Saudi e-University.

"The 2014 Congress offered an important opportunity to initiate a healthy scientific debate in the fields of eLearning, eHealth, and quality while throwing a spotlight on this year's theme of sustainable excellence," according to University Chancellor Dr. Mansoor Al Awar. The event featured a series of policy and strategy roundtables, plenary and scientific sessions, and post-conference workshops.  At the closing event, awards for "Best Paper" and "Best Presentation" during the course of the three days were granted.