French Edtech to meet the UAE education sector During Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE

December 8-12, 2021, United Arab Emirates

 As part of France's economic program for Expo 2020, a delegation of 15 French EdTech companies are travelling to the United Arab Emirates from 8 to 12 December 2021. Organized by Business France and France EduNum International at the France pavilion, the objective of this visit is to build technical and commercial partnerships with local and international representatives of the EdTech sector in the United Arab Emirates as well as to share French expertise in this field.

A delegation with a major objective: to strengthen digital learning in local schools

In line with the UAE's vision of digitizing its education sector in order to train the talents of tomorrow; discussions between French entrepreneurs, UAE authorities and experts will be organized around a tailor-made program including meetings and site visits such as the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai, a school of  GEMS group or the ETISALAT Academy, a training center of the telecommunications company, with the objective to better understand the inner workings of the local education and training system, as well as its expectations.

This Edtech & HR delegation has been selected according to a thoughtful process in order to match with the market’s expectations. Amongst these sectors, we find applications for school performance, artificial intelligence solutions for inclusion to fight against the isolation of vulnerable pupils at school, vocational trainings thanks to augmented reality tools, entertaining language learning solutions for youths or even dedicated platforms to evaluate the performance of senior executives.

Digital technology to serve initial, higher education, and vocational training

A full day of conferences dedicated to EdTech will be held on the France pavilion of the Expo, centering discussions around a main focus: digital technology to serve the initial education, higher education, and vocational training. Many panels will take place in the presence of the Director of Digital Education, part of the French Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, Audran Le Baron,  and will address major issues identified, such as:

• Developing the DNA of tomorrow's schools and how technologies are opening new paths for pedagogy ?
• How do technologies reduce the gap in the access to knowledge? 
• Between resilience and rapid change, the mutations of French higher education and research post Covid. 
• Creative destruction ? How have universities and schools coped with the crisis? 
• How is Edtech shaping continuing education ?

Whereas the UAE Ministry of Education is expected to increase its spending on e-learning initiatives by 60%, estimated at $7.1 billion by 2023, the EdTech mission aims to promote the French and European vision of digitalization and to partner with local entities by providing cutting-edge learning technologies that also facilitate the spread of distance learning in the UAE.

The development of a relatively young sector of excellence in France

While half of the EdTech companies were created less than 5 years ago, the sector will reach a significant stage of maturity in 2021, with tested and proven solutions. Currently, French EdTech ecosystem is a key player and designated as a national champion in both the French market, and internationally.

Bringing together no less than 550 companies, this booming sector mobilizes a wide range of skills such as online educational resources, management tools for education and training, collaborative tools, services enabling the development of digital skills, as well as the development of specialized technical and professional skills.

Accelerated growth outlook since the pandemic

With the pandemic, which has been a true catalyst for the Edtech sector, three business segments became essentials, namely: schools, higher education and vocational training. Indeed, in 2020, the vocational training market in France accounted for nearly 60% of the sector's turnover, ahead of schools (20%) and higher education (20%). Schools and universities have had to adapt their learning and communication methods in record time, and as a matter of fact, educational training became increasingly based on interactive, entertaining and online content, having long-lasting effects on the education

The richness of the French expertise is thus being highlighted during this EdTech mission while the various talks with the parties involved tend to strengthen existing synergies and develop future UAE-French & international partnerships.

About Business France :

Business France is the national agency supporting the international development of the French economy, responsible for fostering export growth by French businesses, as well as promoting and facilitating international investment in France.

About France EduNum International:

The France EduNum International initiative (FENI), which brings together public institutional actors (the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Recovery, the Ministry of National Education, Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, their directorates and operators, the General Directorate of Enterprises), and national and regional associations representing the EdTech sector, aims to promote a national and European vision of digital education and to increase the competitiveness of the French offer on the global market.