RIYADH: Designed to support Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation through smart learning, the LEARN 2025 conference opened on Tuesday, shaping the future of the knowledge economy and showcasing the latest tech solutions in training and education.
The conference, held at the Mohammed bin Salman Nonprofit City in Riyadh from Oct. 7-9, was organized in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.
On its opening day, it attracted global experts in enhancing digital skills and capabilities, who participated in sessions addressing capacity development and the adoption of innovative methods for empowering human capital.
Speaking to Arab News, Solveig Nicklos, senior adviser to the CEO and chief transformation officer at Zayed University, said: “Saudi Vision 2030 is shaping the future of education. (The) LEARN conference and similar events are all critical for us to have. People talk about the fourth industrial revolution and (its) impacts in education, but simply nothing is going to impact teaching, learning and student development the way that technology is now.
“Vision 2030 has for a long time been setting the platform for a mindset shift that is required in the whole world, but certainly in Saudi Arabia, and developing individuals with the creativity and the agility necessary to pivot at this critical time…
“While the leadership is embedding technology into the classroom, there is a generation of teachers that have to be trained on how to think, learn and teach with innovative technology.”
On supporting the rise of women in digital and technology-driven careers, Nicklos said: “Education for all is hugely fundamental, and women in particular. In the age of AI, we are already seeing women using technology 20 percent less than men because they feel guilty in a situation where there is already a monumental divide between the access to education for many women and access to technology for many people in general.
“We cannot be further stifled by self-imposing limitations on a technology that is going to be ubiquitous very soon,” she added.
Abdulaziz Al-Suayri, chief product officer at Tatweer Educational Technologies, spoke to Arab News on the importance of proper nutrition for students: “I talked about the impact of nutrition on the students’ learning behavior and performance … It is important to identify current challenges in nutrition programs in our schools and education system.”
Tatweer Educational Technologies, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, developed the Masroof app, which connects parents, schools, and students to set spending limits, track nutrition, and make cashless school purchases.
At Masroof-enabled schools, parents can set flexible spending limits to encourage healthy financial habits and track their child’s nutrition, making the spending experience more transparent.
“Masroof was launched this year and in a short span has more than 250,000 students already using it. We have more than 220,000 parents, we have more than 30 qualified suppliers and operators, and we have more than 1,350 schools already using the app,” Al-Suayri said.
The conference also featured specialized workshops highlighting how to use modern technologies to continue the journey of development and training, alongside an exhibition showcasing local and global entities offering products and services in the field.
Mays Al-Salah, product manager at Experts Academy and Knowledge Pathway and an exhibitor at the conference, told Arab News that this was their second time participating in the conference: “We connect with a lot of people in the same edutech industry. We are here with solutions and (to) answer the questions of the visitors and exhibitors. It’s a good networking opportunity.”
The LEARN conference is a unique opportunity to foster influential partnerships, drive innovation in training, and strengthen integration across the government, private, and education sectors, crucial for equipping national talents with the necessary digital skills.
The effort supports the digital economy and stimulates innovation, especially by encouraging artificial intelligence skill adoption, and accelerates the shift toward a knowledge economy committed to inclusive, sustainable, lifelong capability development.
