Dubai Knowledge Village (DKV), a member of Tecom Investments, highlighted Dubai’s growing status as a leading destination for learning and HR management at the ASTD 2008 International Conference and Exposition in the US.

Held each spring, ASTD is a premier event for workplace learning and performance professionals, drawing delegates from more than 70 countries. The 2008 edition of the conference, which ran from 2-4 June in San Diego, US, featured over 200 educational sessions.
Dr Ayoub Kazim, executive director for Dubai Knowledge Village and Dubai International Academic City, said: “ASTD 2008 provided an ideal platform to network with the industry’s leading training suppliers and experts for sourcing advanced products. Our participation helped strengthen our status as the regional hub for human resource management (HRM), with a keen mission to support the growth of business professionals.
“Leveraging the profile of the event, we successfully generated knowledge transfer opportunities that will accrue substantial benefits for the region. We greatly look forward to enhancing the scope of the training initiatives offered at the cluster through industry-specific information on the latest products and tools that we acquired at this year’s edition of ASTD.”
Dubai Knowledge Village has established partnerships with support learning services and HRM institutes that complement the Vision 2020 initiative of the Dubai government. The initiative has highlighted the importance of education in ensuring the country’s future progress.
The cluster also seeks to continuously develop innovative methods for learning and HR management across the Mena and Indian subcontinent regions by launching innovative training initiatives.
Ibrahim Moosa Jamel, director of business development at DKV and a panellist in one of ASTD’s conference sessions, showcased and presented Dubai Knowledge Village as a unique HRM-dedicated cluster, while reiterating the importance of establishing a strong partnership between the government and the private sector to develop and train the talent pool in the Gulf region.
Jamel said: “Dubai Knowledge Village was formed in 2003 to create an HRD hub for the region.  Our growth has taken us from the concept of developing an education incubator to finding innovative ways for collaborating with industry experts on behalf of our community. With an increasing number of companies seeking to establish operations at the cluster, we continue to reinvent our offerings to remain at the forefront as a top-tier service provider.”
As the world’s only free zone totally dedicated to human resource management,  DKV is home to over 400 professional training centres specialised in HR development and professional testing, as well as management training and consultancy services.
DKV’s 1-km-long picturesque campus provides a ready environment for a variety of knowledge-based entities including training centres and learning support entities. This thriving knowledge community was founded as part of a long-term economic strategy to develop the region’s talent pool and accelerate its move into a knowledge-based economy. 
Benefits for Dubai Knowledge Village partners include 100 per cent foreign ownership, 100 per cent freedom from taxes, 100 per cent repatriation of assets and profits and effortless visa issuance procedures. DKV has over 400 partners which include training centres, professional centres and HR companies.