Connect with us

Tech News

AI-powered personalized learning: The next frontier for Middle East education

Published

on

Pearson

By Isil Berkan, Marketing Director, Middle East, Africa & Turkey at Pearson

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant promise: it’s already reshaping how we live, work, and learn. In the classroom, AI-powered tools are adapting lessons in real-time to each student’s strengths, gaps, and pace. That means less time marking, and more time for teachers to connect, coach, and inspire.

In the Middle East, governments are actively reforming education to build a digital-ready workforce. AI offers a unique opportunity to close skill gaps, increase engagement, and prepare youth not only for today’s jobs but for those yet to come. With thoughtful implementation and the right safeguards, AI-powered learning is reshaping education at an unprecedented scale and speed.

The current state of AI in Middle Eastern education

Across the region, governments are investing significantly in digital transformation in education. In the UAE, AI learning begins from kindergarten, part of its ambition to become a global leader in AI. The country now ranks third globally for attracting AI talent, according to Stanford’s 2024 AI Index report.

Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 includes a bold national strategy for data and AI, aiming to position the Kingdom among the world’s top AI-powered economies. Initiatives like “One Million Saudis in AI” and “Artificial Intelligence Hour” are already equipping hundreds of thousands of students with essential skills. Public-private partnerships are accelerating progress, especially in STEM and bilingual education.

Why AI-powered personalized learning is needed

Many traditional classrooms are constrained by fixed curricula and standardized teaching methods. This can make it difficult to meet the needs of individual students. AI can help close the gap—giving every student tailored support based on how they learn best. It doesn’t replace teachers; it gives them better tools to adapt, support, and engage.

The AI in education market is expected to grow to over $20 billion by 2027. Pearson’s own research found that 76% of teachers spend at least an hour a week planning lessons in their own time. This provided inspiration for innovations like our Smart Lesson Generator, which reduces admin and delivers curriculum-aligned content at the right level, in seconds.

Generative AI can identify at-risk learners early, recommend specific interventions, and dynamically adapt materials for better comprehension and retention. These tools tailor content to each learner’s unique needs by offering personalized explanations, summaries, and practice questions.

How it can be implemented and the benefits

AI needs more than access to devices; it works best when integrated into pedagogy. Tools like Mondly by Pearson let learners practise speaking and listening in realistic, role-based scenarios, powered by speech recognition and adaptive feedback.

This kind of real-time assessment is especially valuable for workforce preparation, where language skills, particularly English, directly influence employability. In Saudi Arabia, Pearson’s research shows a 40% gap in English skills across industries, something AI can help address at scale.

Challenges and considerations

In a world where 60% of educators are already implementing AI in the classroom, concerns around data privacy, digital literacy, and equitable access cannot be ignored.

Many schools still lack the infrastructure or teacher training needed to roll out AI programs effectively, with 61% of teachers indicating they would feel more confident using AI if they were properly trained. However, these challenges present opportunities for regional collaboration and innovation. Ethical frameworks, clear data policies, and inclusive curriculum design can mitigate risks.

AI-powered tools that are built on proprietary standards like the Global Scale of English can ensure precision and alignment with real-world learning outcomes. Rather than replacing educators, AI should be positioned as a tool that empowers them, providing real-time assistance during lessons, answering questions, and offering extra resources.

Government initiatives and national strategies

The UAE’s AI Strategy 2031 and Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 show a clear commitment to integrating AI across all levels of education. Programs like the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) are sending students abroad to study advanced technologies, while EdTech partnerships are multiplying across the region.

By 2030, AI is expected to contribute over $96 billion to the UAE’s economy and $135 billion to Saudi Arabia’s. To realise this, education must lead the way.

The road ahead

To make the most of AI in education, we need more than devices and dashboards. We need collaboration.

Educators need hands-on training. Policymakers need to create regulations that promote safe, equitable use of AI. And technology providers must build tools with—not just for—teachers and learners. That includes embedding AI into curricula and teaching the next generation how to use it responsibly.

The Middle East has momentum on its side. If governments, educators, and tech companies act together, the region can set a global example, building an education system that’s more personalised, more agile, and fit for the future.

Tech News

HONOR Announces Participation at LEAP 2026, Showcasing the World’s First Robot Phone and Its AI Ecosystem Vision

Published

on

Global leading AI device ecosystem company HONOR today announced its participation in LEAP 2026, taking place from 31 August to 3 September in Riyadh, under the theme “Alpha Plan: From Vision to Reality.” The participation highlights HONOR’s commitment to bringing its AI ecosystem closer to families across the Kingdom and demonstrating how intelligent, connected technologies can enhance everyday experiences.

A key highlight of HONOR’s presence will be the world’s first Robot Phone, a groundbreaking AI device and a defining milestone in the HONOR Alpha Plan, representing a new step forward in the evolution of intelligent devices.

Visitors will have the opportunity to discover explore HONOR Robot Phone, discover new products, innovative technologies and immersive experiences, with HONOR’s growing ecosystem brought to life through a range of real-life scenarios that demonstrate how connected devices can work together to enhance everyday life.

As part of HONOR’s participation, HONOR Regional CMO Lei Kunming will deliver a keynote speech on the LEAP mainstage titled “HONOR Alpha Plan: From Vision to Reality,” sharing HONOR’s vision for the future of AI and how the company is working to bring its AI ecosystem into everyday life.

Discover What’s Next from HONOR

At LEAP, HONOR will showcase new products and technologies, giving visitors a first look at the latest innovations shaping the brand’s expanding ecosystem.

The HONOR booth will bring this vision to life through real-life scenarios, demonstrating how smartphones, tablets, wearables and other smart devices can work together to deliver more seamless, intelligent and connected experiences.

Beyond product showcases, visitors will also have the opportunity to explore interactive demonstrations and engagement activities, providing a closer look at HONOR’s latest technologies and the experiences they enable.

LEAP: A Global Hub for Technology and Innovation

HONOR’s participation underscores the importance of Saudi Arabia as a growing global hub for technology and digital innovation. For HONOR, LEAP provides an important platform to connect with consumers, technology enthusiasts and industry leaders while showcasing its vision for a more connected, intelligent and human-centric technology ecosystem.

As HONOR continues to expand its presence and ecosystem across the region, its return to LEAP reflects the company’s commitment to bringing meaningful innovation closer to consumers and the technology community. Through its latest technologies, connected experiences and the world’s first Robot Phone, HONOR will give visitors a closer look at how its AI ecosystem

-END-

About HONOR      

HONOR is a global leading AI device ecosystem company. It is committed to revolutionizing human-to-device interactions to bridge the AI ecosystem with all consumers in the agentic AI era and beyond. The company endeavors to open industrial boundaries through open, seamless collaboration to co-create a value-sharing ecosystem with industry partners. With an innovative product portfolio spanning intelligent phones, AI PCs, tablets, wearables and more, HONOR aims to empower every human, enabling everyone to embrace the new intelligent world.

Continue Reading

Tech News

Redington Brings 400 Technology Leaders to Singapore as a Technology Ecosystem Orchestrator

Published

on

Redington Limited, a technology ecosystem orchestrator, today announced Global NEXT 2026, its flagship, invitation-only leadership summit, taking place from 2–4 September 2026 in Singapore.

The three-day forum will bring together approximately 400 leaders representing global technology companies, channel partners, enterprise customers, independent software vendors, innovators and policymakers from across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

More than a technology conference, Global NEXT is designed as a working ecosystem-connecting the organisations creating breakthrough technologies with the partners who can localise and implement them, the enterprises seeking measurable outcomes, and the leaders shaping the future of high-growth markets.

The summit comes at a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence. Enterprises, SMBs and Public Sector are moving beyond experimentation and asking a more consequential question: how can AI be deployed securely, governed responsibly and scaled to deliver meaningful business, economic and societal impact?

At the centre of the programme will be the Global NEXT AI Summit, addressing sovereign AI, national technology infrastructure, data governance, cybersecurity, enterprise adoption and the partnerships required to build locally relevant technology capabilities at scale.

From Fragmented Innovation to Orchestrated Outcomes

The next phase of AI adoption will require much more than access to individual technologies. Infrastructure, cloud, data, cybersecurity, applications, skills, services, financing and implementation capabilities must work together around clearly defined outcomes.

Redington’s role as a Technology Ecosystem Orchestrator is to make those connections work-linking global innovation with local market intelligence, specialised capabilities, partner reach and execution across more than 40 markets.

V.S. Hariharan, Managing Director and Group CEO, Redington Limited, said:

“The next chapter of technology will not be shaped by one product, one platform or one company. It will be built by ecosystems.

“Customers need infrastructure, cloud, cybersecurity, software, data, skills and specialised partners to come together around the outcomes they want to achieve. Redington’s role is to orchestrate these capabilities-reducing complexity, connecting global innovation with local execution and creating a clearer path from possibility to adoption.

“This is especially important across high-growth markets, where ambition is immense but access to technology, capabilities and skills can remain fragmented. Global NEXT brings the ecosystem together to turn that ambition into secure, scalable and measurable progress.”

Participants will experience this orchestration model through technology demonstrations, enterprise use cases, leadership exchanges and visits to centres of excellence in Singapore, including the Redington AI Launchpad.

The programme will also showcase emerging technology companies and specialist ISVs across AI, cloud, cybersecurity, data infrastructure and enterprise applications. Redington’s wider ecosystem-including its AI Exchange, digital platforms, skilling capabilities and partner enablement programmes-will demonstrate how innovation can be discovered, evaluated, localised and taken to market more rapidly.

Creating New Pathways to Growth

For global technology companies, Global NEXT provides direct access to enterprise priorities, partner capability and growth opportunities across diverse markets.

For partners and ISVs, it creates pathways to new technologies, skills, use cases, customers and routes to market.

For enterprises and governments, it brings together an ecosystem through which complex technologies can be evaluated, secured, financed, implemented and scaled.

Puneet Chadha, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Redington Limited, said:

“Global NEXT is where global innovation meets local ambition. It puts the people shaping technology, building capability and solving real-world problems in the same room.

“The measure of this platform will not simply be the conversations it hosts, but the partnerships it starts, the use cases it advances and the opportunities it unlocks. We want participants to leave Singapore with more than inspiration-with new connections, actionable possibilities and a clearer path to what comes next.”

The Global NEXT programme will combine strategic conversations with practical engagement, including technology demonstrations, enterprise success stories, ecosystem panels, leadership exchanges and visits to technology centres of excellence.

Discussions will span artificial intelligence, hybrid cloud, cybersecurity, software-led business models, responsible technology adoption and the evolution of routes to market. Together, these sessions will explore how the technology industry can move from selling individual solutions to orchestrating integrated outcomes.

With operations across more than 40 markets, relationships with 450+ technology brands and a network of over 70,000 channel partners, Redington sits at the intersection of global technology innovation and local execution.

Through Global NEXT 2026, Redington aims to strengthen that intersection-creating a platform where technology providers, partners, innovators, enterprises and policymakers can collectively shape the next phase of technology adoption across Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Continue Reading

Tech News

NETSCOUT EXTENDS ADAPTIVE DDOS DEFENSE PROTECTION TO ADDRESS THE RISING BUSINESS COST OF WEAPONIZED BROADBAND AND IOT DEVICES

Published

on

NETSCOUT® (NASDAQ: NTCT), a leading provider of observability, AIOps, cybersecurity, and DDoS attack protection solutions, today announced an extension of its Adaptive DDoS Protection (ADP) solution enabling service providers to automatically detect and mitigate outbound DDoS attack traffic. By extending protection from the attack target towards its source, NETSCOUT helps operators prevent compromised subscriber devices from disrupting their own networks, consuming costly capacity and attacking customers and organizations across the internet.

Consumer broadband routers, cameras and other IoT devices are increasingly being weaponized by Turbo-Mirai class botnets capable of generating multi-terabit attacks. These outbound attacks have already caused costly service outages, reputational damage and customer loss, and damage to peering relationships risking a large increase in transit costs at service providers around the world. By detecting and mitigating malicious traffic generated by compromised device populations before it leaves their networks, service providers can reduce abuse complaints and infrastructure costs while protecting their own networks and services and helping lower subscriber churn and regulatory risk.

“The combination of higher-speed broadband connectivity and vulnerable IoT devices has been weaponized by a new class of massive DDoS botnets,” said Patrick Donegan, founder and principal analyst, HardenStance. “Source-side mitigation, or attack suppression as it’s sometimes known, is a critical part of the equation. NETSCOUT’s approach, backed by its ATLAS Intelligence Feed (AIF) and ASERT analysts, gives service providers the tools they need to detect and stop attacks before they have an impact, protecting their customers and the broader internet from the large-scale DDoS attacks we have seen.”

Using AI-powered threat intelligence and automated detection and mitigation, NETSCOUT’s ADP solution, an addition to its Arbor Sightline and Arbor Threat Mitigation System:

  • Automatically detects and mitigates ever evolving attacks through dynamic detection, intelligent redirection and adaptive mitigation.
  • Extends these capabilities to outbound traffic, combining enhanced, customized detection with comprehensive threat intelligence tailored for each ISP.
  • Uses NETSCOUT’s proprietary AI/ML-powered DDoS detection to analyze massive volumes of outbound internet traffic to uncover attacks designed to hide within legitimate flows.
  • Draws on unique global real-time intelligence of DDoS activity covering approximately half of all internet traffic to rapidly detect and mitigate DDoS attacks and pinpoint the responsible, compromised devices.

“We are extending DDoS defense from the target to the source,” stated Darren Anstee, CTO, Security, NETSCOUT. “By using our internet-scale visibility to derive localized threat intelligence for our customers, NETSCOUT can identify and precisely suppress attacks at their origin, before they cause problems locally or at their target. This capability gives our customers a new level of comprehensive defense across their peering, transit, cloud and customer edges.”

This expansion of capabilities demonstrates how NETSCOUT is applying its global threat visibility and proven ADP solution to meet emerging service provider challenges. By extending an established inbound DDoS workflow to outbound and cross-bound threats, NETSCOUT enables operators to improve network-resilience, cost-controls and revenue protection through its proven Arbor Sightline and Arbor TMS solutions.

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2023 | The Integrator