About Edarabia
Edarabia.com is the region’s largest education site; founded in 2005 (formerly known as IQEA.org)
With over 9,000 web listings, the site attracts thousands of visitors daily and covers the entire Middle East and North Africa region, including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE and Yemen. It can be viewed online in almost 30 different languages, has a presence on all major social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Foursquare and is accessible on iPhone, Blackberry & other handheld devices.
It has become a trusted source in the education industry where visitors can find the latest industry news, upcoming events, job listings, research updates, add ratings & reviews and engage with others in the community forum. Edarabia visitors are affluent, experienced and are very likely to use the Internet in making comparisons between institutions and are highly influenced by user reviews & ratings.
Board Members
Ali Alsaloom
Ali Alsaloom is one of the rising media stars and public speakers in the Gulf. He has delivered intercultural awareness talks to hundreds of business groups. His TV show, Ask Ali, reaches thousands, as does his column in the magazine M and Emarat Alyoum newspaper. Schooled in the U.S. and Canada, Ali has called various countries home, including France, Hungary and the UK. With a Master’s in Branding & Cross-Cultural Management, Ali augmented his training with a flair for communication and an undeniable sense of showmanship. His portal www.ask-ali.com answers questions on various topics related to the Gulf, UAE culture and in his Embrace Arabia events he helps people of different cultures to connect. His first book “Ask Ali: A miniguide to Abu Dhabi” sold more than 12.000 copies within less than half a year. Ali Alsaloom was honored with the Khalifa Fund Business Award 2010 by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Asma Maladwala
Asma holds a B.Sc in Child Development and Family Relationships from The University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in Special Education with a specialization in Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Spectrum Disorders from Columbia University (New York). She is a teacher at heart and by profession and has spent much of her career in the classroom. Asma has worked with children with and without disabilities, from early childhood through adolescence, both in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. She has undergone extensive training in child development, teaching pedagogy, behavioral modification, Applied Behavioral Analysis, development of individualized programs, and diagnosis and assessment.
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After teaching for some years, Asma’s passion for education led her to transition into the public sector with the goal of impacting inclusion from the top-down. Her work at the Knowledge and Human Development Authority included engaging with stakeholders, conducting research, developing programs and strategies for education reform, with much time spent focusing on the development of early childhood education and inclusive education opportunities and policies, including standards for service, practice and professional development
In March 2009, Asma left the public sector to develop an early childhood education center that could truly claim to support all children, in line with international best practice. Launched in January 2010, Inspire Children’s Nursery strives to adhere to quality standards set forth by the US based National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). The nursery serves children from 3 months to 4 years, through the provision of an individualized, child and family centered approach, following a play-based curriculum – The Creative Curriculum
Asma’s passion towards achieving education for all continues to drive her. She continues to work with families and educational institutions in the UAE to provide advice on supporting and promoting opportunities for students with exceptionalities. She hopes to one day be a part of an educational landscape in Dubai where all educators speak the same language and families of children with exceptionalities no longer have to fight to provide their children with the most basic of rights – the right to education.
Rema Menon
Rema Menon is the Founder and Director of Counselling Point Educational and Social services, the first educational advising and counselling centre of its kind in the Middle East. She holds a Masters Degree in Medical and Psychiatric Social Work from University of Madras, Stella Maris College and a Bachelors Degree in Home Science from University of Madras, Women’s Christian College, Tamil Nadu. She has over 24 years of experience in the fields of education and child welfare.
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A prolific writer and sought after speaker, Menon is a regular contributor to Gulf News, the most widely read newspaper in the UAE and writes about Education and Training for the weekly ‘Campus Notes’ section. Additionally, she is a visiting Counsellor at DPS Sharjah and used to be an adjunct lecturer at the Sharjah Women’s College (HCT), teaching courses in Counselling skills and Job search skills for their B. Ed program in Career Advising and Counselling. She serves as a Consultant Counsellor for the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition and coordinates workshops for them. She has in the past facilitated the British Education Suppliers Event for two years. She is also listed as the UAE representative for EDCIL, India for the highly sought after DASA (Direct Admissions for Students Abroad) scheme
For the past twelve years Ms. Menon has been working in the areas of Personal and Career Counselling in Dubai, U.A.E. She began her career in Dubai as a Counsellor at the Indian High School, Dubai, one of the largest not-for-profit schools with over eight thousand students and gained valuable experience working with students of grades 5 to 12. She has also worked as a private consultant and education adviser before setting up Counselling Point. In 2004, Ms. Menon founded Counselling Point, as a counsellor and reporter, her center is a social enterprise that has a student-centric approach and does not accept commissions from institutions for students placed.
Some of the students placed by Ms Menon are now pursuing higher education in institutions in UK, USA, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, India and Australia. She has strong ties with the Consulates and Embassies and facilitates talks, exhibitions and workshops in the interest of students. Every year, to mark International day of Peace, (21st Sept) she organizes a very successful seminar called ‘Head start for studies abroad’, facilitated by the consulates of Australia, America, Canada and the British Council. More than 600 people from two locations, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, benefit from these events
Before going to the Gulf, she worked for over a decade in the area of non institutional support services for children at organisations like the Indian Council for Child Welfare, TN and Indian Assn. for Promotion of Adoption and Child Welfare, Mumbai. She was the Convenor of the Mumbai Voluntary Coordinating Agency, a network of adoption agencies and served as a liaison between the Government and adoption agencies in Mumbai. She is a life member of both organizations.
Ms. Menon is also the founder President of the Stella Maris Alumni Assn., UAE Chapter and one of the founder members of Counselling Arabia, a network of Counselling professionals in the Middle East Region and has helped organize the annual conference for seven years. She is a member of NAFSA, for International Educators and OACAC (Overseas Assn. for College Admission Counselling). Widely travelled, she has represented UAE in the Linden group’s Washington Program, been a special guest at University of Miami’s International graduation (2002), visited Libya at the invitation of the Gaddafi Foundation along with several UAE universities and led a delegation of UAE institutions to Muscat. She attended the British Council’s ‘Going Global’ conference in London in March this year. The Nova Scotia Govt.’s education wing – Edunova invited Menon to visit all their education institutions in June this year. She also attended the OACAC conference in Boston in July this year and served on a panel on ‘Education in the ME region’. After the conference, she visited universities in Rhode Island at the invitation of the Rhode Island State department.
Sanjeev Verma
With over twenty five years in the Gulf, Sanjeev fosters incredible knowledge and relationships with institutions and people in the region. Having started his Career with Ernst & Young, Sanjeev has progressed to set up and head the Gulf Operations of IDP Education Pty, and transformed it into a very successful entity from scratch. As an entrepreneur and an extremely rich source of experience and knowledge, Sanjeev now leads Intelligent Partners developing a wide range of solutions in areas of international education, teacher recruitment and educational consultancy. Sanjeev is a graduate in Economics and is also a qualified Chartered Account and Management Accountant. As Director, Sanjeev oversees the operations of the entire organization and is focused on strategic issues and partnerships.
