Every year, the SABIS® Academic Development Division organizes academic conferences for the SABIS® Regional Centers. Located in the U.S., the Gulf, Egypt, and the Levant1 region, the responsibilities of these centers are to provide academic and operational support to their respective schools within the growing SABIS® Network. The objective of these multiday conferences is to update the regional centers on SABIS® academic and curriculum developments as well as on the latest SABIS® products and services. In addition, these conferences also provide a forum to discuss any feedback, operational changes, and challenges faced with the implementation of the SABIS® Educational System™ during the current academic year.
“In addition to equipping our centers with the latest tools and developments happening within the SABIS® Research and Development Center, these workshops focus on important academic and operational topics, while connecting the different teams together,” commented Roy Bistany, Manager – Academic Operations. “And this has proven to be extremely beneficial in both improving on the products and services provided by SABIS® and the building of relationships.”
The first regional conference to have taken place during the academic year was for the Levant region and was held at SABIS® Educational Services in Adma, Lebanon, on April 13, 2018. The conference brought together 50 members from the Levant Regional Center as well as academic staff from three SABIS® schools in Lebanon (SABIS® International School – Adma, The International School of Choueifat – Choueifat, and The International School of Choueifat – Koura).
The Cairo Regional Conference was hosted by the International School of Choueifat – Cairo during the third week of April 2018. The conference brought together 57 participants from the Cairo Regional Center and the academic leadership teams from the two SABIS® schools in Egypt, the International School of Choueifat – Cairo and the International School of Choueifat – City of 6 October. The conference also included one full day of workshops to discuss specific academic and operational needs for the schoolswithin the Kurdistan region, with particular focus on the SABIS® public-private partnership (PPP) schools.
The U.A.E. Regional Center’s annual conference was hosted by the International School of Choueifat – Abu Dhabi during the first week of May 2018. The conference brought together 45 regional and school heads of departments and school administrators from six SABIS® schools across the U.A.E. for an agenda that included sessions on curriculum items, Exam Generation Systems and Exams Management, and E-learning tools. In addition, a full-day workshop was dedicated for the three Military High Schools (MHS) in the U.A.E. that are members of the global SABIS® Network. Fifteen (15) participants attended the special sessions and discussed the academic curriculum being implemented in the MHS with visibility on external exam requirements, newly developed books, and strategic methods to improve and streamline the communication and operations between SABIS® and MHS staff.
For the U.S., SABIS® organizes two regional academic conferences per academic year, the first in October and the second in March. The October conference this year was held at the Tower Square Hotel in Springfield, Massachusetts, while the March conference was held via teleconference in order to accommodate the participants’ busy schedules. In addition to the objectives of the non-U.S. regional conferences, the U.S. conference also focuses on the latest curriculum adaptations based on policy changes within the states in which SABIS® operates.
As a global network with an active presence in 20 countries on five continents, SABIS® is committed to delivering a high-quality education to all students. Through annual regional academic conferences, the organization can help ensure success across borders and equip students with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in college and life.
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1 The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. Countries in the Levant are generally considered to include Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey.