The ICEF World Student Scholarship Education Programme launches in February 2023 and will bring together education providers recruiting international students with the heads and key decision makers of global scholarship programmes from across the Middle East, in the public, private and government sectors.

With many countries and private organisations investing heavily in scholarships for overseas education, this rapidly emerging market segment offers a significant boost to the education industry as it continues its recovery from the global pandemic. 

“The increase in funding for overseas scholarships is a global phenomenon, which is resulting in a surge in student mobility. As just one example, Saudi Arabia is expected to fund over 70,000 overseas scholarships by 2030. The ICEF World Student Scholarship Education Programme is a unique platform bringing education and scholarship professionals together under one roof”, notes Markus Badde, CEO of ICEF.  

This new joint venture is a collaboration between two of the industry’s leading facilitators: ICEF - the global market leader in business-to business events, and Gulf Conferences - the creators of the World Student Scholarship Education Programme (WSSEP). 

Partnership contracts were signed on May 26th, 2022, during the 2nd Middle East Thought Leadership Forum in London. Signatories were Abdelkhalig Mohamad, CEO of Gulf Conferences, and Tony Lee, Chief Visionary Officer of ICEF, in the presence of HE Professor Amr Ezzat Salama, Secretary general of the Arab Universities Association and David Lock, Chairman of Gulf Education. 

“World Education Student Scholarship is born out of knowledge, insights, intellectual thinking and close relationships with government funding providers. GC and ICEF will together provide effective and enjoyable meetings.“ says Abdelkhalig Mohamed CEO Gulf Conferences.

Taking place over two days, 16 - 17 February 2023, the event immediately follows the 16th edition of ICEF’s annual Middle East and North Africa networking event, ICEF Dubai. With both events being hosted at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, delegates have a rare opportunity to connect with different segments of the international education community, over one week, in the same location.