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Students hail KT UniExpo for valuable career guidance

As the curtain comes down on another successful event, participants applaud the valuable time spent between students and educators

KT UniExpo 2024, one of the most sought-after education exhibitions in the UAE that brought together leading educators from the vast academic landscape, was hailed a huge success by both exhibitors and visiting students after the two-day event.

Over 2,000 higher secondary school students from leading education institutions in Dubai visited the interactive fair held at the Millennium Hotel, the popular host of the academic showcase.

KT UniExpo, which is in its sixth edition, has become a valuable resource solution provider for students seeking to advance their education in the ever-changing world of learning. Most of the 23 universities exhibiting at the event had the common goal of gaining traction with the students who need their guidance and services at this crucial juncture in their lives. The expo provided varied opportunities for young adults, both boys and girls in their early teens, the chance to get their game-changing questions answered by the right educators at the right time.

Rakesh Rajendran and Anubash Renu, who have just graduated from Springdales School Dubai were singing the praises of the event which they said provided invaluable insights into the higher education atmosphere that they are approaching.

“Physics, chemistry and science all interest me. I want to become a computer scientist like my dad,” said Rakesh. “I even thought I wanted to do engineering but I did not have a clear mind on what course I would like to pursue. So events like this organised by Khaleej Times helped me to reflect on the options available and helped clear the air.

“I feel a lot more confident on what I want to do to further my education and will always be grateful to KT UniExpo for helping shape my personality.”

Anubash felt she was at a vulnerable phase in her life to make major decisions but KT UniExpo came to her rescue.

“We are at an age when we are too young to make tough decisions about things like higher education and events like this help significantly,” she said.

“It’s really helpful because the representatives from the universities help open our minds to education.

“Day by day the world is changing and so is the education landscape. There are so many increasing career options unlike in the old times in my parents’ days when there were just a few career options to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. But now there are many wonderful courses on offer,” she added. “It feels great to be growing up in such a vibrant education environment and I just can’t wait to chase my dream and become the person that I always wanted to be.”

Sakina and Mahek said that they felt empowered by the university staff they interacted with at the expo which allowed them to forge valuable connections and explore innovative career options to improve their lives.

“KT UniExpo is a very good opportunity for me to explore what are the options for my higher education,” said Mahek.

“It allowed me to understand better what career I want to pursue further.

“I am leaning towards business and I have visited stalls of several universities to see what they have to offer and what kind of programmes are available.

“Canadian University has caught my attention because they have really good programmes that interest me,” Sakina said.

One thing is abundantly clear — KT UniExpo is at the forefront of driving positive change for educators and students through the forum it presents twice each year, with the second edition scheduled for September 2024.

Jyothi, assistant manager, recruit and admissions department at De Montfort University, a multidisciplinary British university which offers foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate courses, said that most of the students who visited the stall knew what career they wanted to pursue.

“Sometimes students come to us with an open mind and want to explore career options. But in most cases, by now, they know what they are looking for,” Jyothi said.

“This is because many schools radically prepare their students for the next phase in their career growth. They want to keep the momentum going from higher secondary education to the post-graduate stage. This is good because we are then in a position to offer them advice on the course options we can offer,” she said.

“The whole idea is to create clarity and not confuse their thinking. But the bottom line is to make them understand that we have the right courses and facilities that they are seeking.”

Nayomi Rodriges, education assistant at Heriot-Watt University, a leading British University offering world-renowned research degrees in an international study environment, said it was always an ‘enriching experience’ to participate in educational fairs like KT UniExpo.

“Nothing beats meeting young students and helping them to shape their minds and their future by recommending career options through our courses,” she said.

“It is not our job to convince them about what course to do but more about offering them options that we at Heriot-Watt specialise in.

“We try to educate them about our ranking and give them information about what materialises at the campus during a semester. We leave it to them to make the decisions. Which is how they like it.”

Most people we spoke to were in consensus that KT UniExpo was a successful global gathering of the education community in the UAE which offered a common platform for teachers and leaders in education an excellent opportunity to offer career guidance to the heroes of tomorrow.