Dubai Knowledge Village Open Day attracts 3,000 professionals

The First Annual Training and Human Resources Open Day organised by Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV), a member of Dubai Holding and TECOM Investments, attracted nearly 3,000 professionals.

The three-day event held at the Dubai Knowledge Village conference centre was aimed at local and regional organisations keen on sharpening their competitive edge. A total of 21 seminars and workshops were organised from diverse sectors to reflect the current industry trends.

Dr Ayoub Kazim, executive director of DKV and Dubai International Academic City, said: "The overwhelming number of attendees was a clear indication of the demand for training in this region.

"Professionals are realising the significance of acquiring core skills needed in the workplace in order to stay ahead of competition. DKV is proud to organise such events to provide an opportunity for these professionals to get together and share information."

The event proved beneficial to participants, who were mostly CEOs, HR directors, IT managers, sales managers, proprietors, engineers and customer care managers, to exchange ideas and knowledge of the industry.

David G. Reay, managing director, Gibson Consulting FZ LLC, said: "I was pleasantly surprised by the number of attendees during my two presentations. They were willing to take an active part, providing a great deal of feedback and asking a lot of relevant questions. I found the interactive sessions lively, interesting and rewarding."

Samar Salameh, HR and administration manager from Al Safwa Islamic Financial Services, said: "The workshops provided a set of useful tools that could be integrated into a training programme to make it highly effective for our company. The huge number of attendees enabled participants to engage in lively discussions, highlighting issues that identified core personal skills necessary to succeed in business."

Hasan Makansi, partner development manager at Dubai Knowledge Village, said: "As part of its strategy to drive growth and quality in the HR sector in the UAE and the Middle East, Dubai Knowledge Village plans to develop more such programmes and initiatives.

We plan to achieve this through our Partner Development department, which was initiated to add value to business partners and position Knowledge Village as the hub for human resources development and management.

"Such initiatives include the Dubai Knowledge Village Small Business Incubator, which took place on Thursday, and the Dubai Knowledge Village Training & HR Breakfast Club, to be held on June 21."

The 26 participating companies were Dale Carnegie Training Gulf, Gibson Consulting, Innovative Human Resource Solutions, Synergy Professional Services, Mawaride, Paradigmz, Leading Concepts, Potential, Center for Executive Education, Global Evolve, SUKAD, X-pert Group Middle East, HDI-MEA, Australian Council for Education Research, Academy of Complementary Medicine, Career Enhancement Opportunities, Carizma, Excellence in Education, International Institute of Coffee & Barista Training, JSS Education Foundation, Lotus Educational Institute, Privity, Eton Education Institute, Applied Digital Media Solutions and Xpert Learning.

Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV), launched in 2003, places the Middle East on the map as a destination for learning excellence. Its one-kilometre-long picturesque campus provides a ready environment for a variety of knowledge-based entities, including training centres and learning support entities.

This thriving knowledge community was founded as part of a long-term economic strategy to develop the region's talent pool and accelerate its move into a knowledge-based economy. Benefits for Dubai Knowledge Village partners include 100 per cent foreign ownership, 100 per cent freedom from taxes, 100 per cent repatriation of assets and profits and effortless visa issuance procedures.