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

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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.

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ELUVIANT LAUNCHES FRONTIER VIDEO AI MODEL FOR ENTERPRISE SURVEILLANCE TO UNDERSTAND AND AUTOMATE REAL-TIME EVENTS

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AI company Eluviant, today announced the launch of Aurora Flow, a frontier ‘video understanding’ model purpose-built for live, enterprise-scale surveillance. The solution has already been deployed in live environments, and is capable of running fully air-gapped, across multiple cameras and in near real-time.

Aurora Flow represents a significant technical milestone by solving one of the most challenging problems facing scale commercial deployment of video intelligence: the ability not just to analyse what is happening across a sequence of movement over time, but to understand whether further review or action is required. This extends Eluviant’s existing platform that has been proven in production for years; an unsupervised self-learning engine that flags genuinely unforeseen events and a vision language model (Aurora) that has sat inside the live alerting decision for the past 18 months.

By recognising movement patterns and contextualising behavioural sequences as they unfold, Aurora Flow unlocks use cases that were previously out of reach for organisations operating in the world’s most secure and sensitive environments. Equipment tampering, unsafe climbing in dangerous environments, and dangerous driving are just a few of the behaviours that can be more accurately identified as they happen using AI video understanding.

Rafik Lamri, Regional Director, META at Eluviant, said: “We believe Aurora Flow is a frontier AI model in surveillance and a step change in what video intelligence can deliver, moving beyond detection and into genuine understanding and evaluation of behaviours and actions in complex live environments. It addresses a challenge that traditional video analytics has struggled to solve efficiently: the ability to understand what is happening in the moment when a single still frame is not enough. Things like fighting, climbing and theft have typically required human eyes to detect them accurately – now we can help operators focus on what needs their urgent attention by putting AI into the alert decision.”

Founded in 2017, Eluviant has spent nearly a decade proving that existing surveillance infrastructure can be so much more than a security measure. Today, organisations across every sector are recognising the untapped operational value sitting within their existing camera networks, driving a growing market for enterprise-scale video intelligence which is expected to be worth $30bn by the end of the decade. In the Middle East, UAE and Saudi Arabia lead the video surveillance market which is valued at USD 4.3 billion1.

“The Middle East’s enterprise-scale video intelligence market is experiencing high growth due to smart city initiatives, large-scale infrastructure projects and government-mandated security measures,” Lamri added. “With our advances in video AI, we are making it far easier for organisations to manage large numbers of camera feeds. Using Aurora Flow, we were able to reduce 4,000 potential events in a day to just 7 verified alerts – 0.2% of the total volume. But this technology isn’t just empowering operators to reduce control room workloads and respond more quickly to incidents; it is enabling them to harness their existing footage as a rich data source for decision-making across their operations.”

Formerly IntelexVision, the company has also announced a full rebrand, and today steps forward with a new name and brand identity as Eluviant that reflects both the rapid evolution of video intelligence in the age of AI and the company’s ambition to continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in computer vision for video surveillance.

Eluviant’s technology is trusted across a range of demanding operational environments, from retail and critical infrastructure to smart cities. Whether supporting loss prevention, anomaly detection or rapid incident response, its solutions are built to meet the needs of organisations that require reliable, scalable AI across complex, multi-camera environments in real-time.

Eluviant works with enterprise customers representing some of the largest organisations in their sectors, and more than 60 technology and commercial partners. With over 250 deployments across five continents, Eluviant customers include Airbus, DP World, Prosegur and Vodafone.

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PHRMAG AND THE AUTHORITY OF SOCIAL CONTRIBUTION – MA’AN PARTNER TO ENHANCE ONCOLOGY AND RARE DISEASE CARE IN ABU DHABI

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The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association in Gulf (PHRMAG), the region’s leading innovative biopharmaceutical research companies, and the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, the Abu Dhabi Government’s official channel to receive social contributions, has announced a strategic collaboration aimed at enabling access  for oncology and rare disease patients most in need to innovative solutions and modern treatments, within an integrated framework aligned with the national health insurance system.

The collaboration brings together public and private sector to address a pressing issue, with a shared commitment to providing long-term impact, and continued care delivery for targeted patients. It further strengthens family stability resilience when facing health challenges, while contributing to broader social cohesion and supporting the objectives of the Year of the Family.

H.E. Abdullah Al Ameri, Director General of the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, said:
“Our collaboration with PHRMAG represents a strategic step towards establishing a long-term and integrated healthcare system for oncology and rare disease patients in Abu Dhabi, reflecting our commitment to supporting key social priorities that matter to community members, particularly in the healthcare sector.

“At the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an, we are committed to directing social contributions and efforts towards creating tangible impact in the lives of the community members, including patients with complex medical conditions. This collaboration reflects a model of integrated roles between the public and private sectors, by leveraging the expertise of companies within ‘PHRMAG’ and unifying their efforts through the Authority’s platform, which ultimately contributes to enhancing access to specialised healthcare services, improving quality of life, and reinforcing the values of shared responsibility and social solidarity.”

The Authority will oversee allocation of contributions in line with agreed project milestones. A dedicated committee will also be established to monitor the initiative’s progress through monthly meetings aimed at assessing developments, providing the necessary strategic guidance, and reviewing progress achieved, ensuring effective collaboration and continuous knowledge exchange between both parties throughout the duration of the project.

H.E. Mohammed Abdullah Al Awadi, Executive Director of the Health System Financing Regulation Sector at the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, said: “We are thrilled to witness the collaboration between the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an and PHRMAG, which will contribute to supporting our mission of ensuring accessible, world-class healthcare for community members, accelerating innovation and research within the healthcare sector, and advancing the early detection and treatment of rare diseases. This collaboration contributes to building a healthier society with longer, better wellbeing for individuals, while further strengthening Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading destination for innovation in life sciences.”

Sameh El Fangary, Chairman of PHRMAG, added: “As an industry association representing innovative pharmaceutical companies, we are committed to partnering with Abu Dhabi’s health and social authorities to ensure continuity of patients having access to treatment and care when needed. This collaboration with the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an reflects our shared ambition to co-create sustainable solutions that improve access to high-quality medical care for those who need it the most from oncology and rare disease patients.”

The partnership reflects Abu Dhabi’s ongoing commitment to strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors, as an effective approach to addressing complex healthcare challenges.

-END-

About the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an

Established in 2019 by the Department of Community Development Abu Dhabi (DCD), The Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an is the Abu Dhabi government’s official channel to receive social contributions, dedicated to uniting community efforts and fostering a culture of giving by collecting contributions, directing them towards social priorities, empowering social enterprises, and promoting volunteering to build a cohesive community.

The Authority supports projects that address social priorities in health, education, environment, infrastructure, and social services, aiming to nurture a collaborative and active community by connecting individuals and entities in the public, private, and civil society spheres to support their communities.

Contributions made to the Authority of Social Contribution – Ma’an are transparently deployed in full to social projects led by key partners meaning benefactors can maximise the impact their funds have in driving community engagement and providing access to essential resources, programmes, and funding for organisations across Abu Dhabi to achieve their Corporate Social Responsibility and sustainable development goals.

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UNGOVERNED AI AGENTS AND SOPHISTICATED DEEPFAKES POSE CRITICAL THREATS FOR THE UAE & SAUDI ARABIA ORGANISATIONS, NEW KNOWBE4 RESEARCH WARNS

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KnowBe4, the global leader in digital workforce security, securing both AI agents and humans, today announced the launch of its new research report, “From Agentic Risk to Human Wins: Building a Culture of Security in the Era of Agentic AI.” The findings expose a dangerous reality for modern organisations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia: autonomous AI tools are expanding the corporate attack surface faster than security teams can implement guardrails.

With agentic AI now widely embedded in day-to-day work, 84% of cybersecurity leaders in the UAE & Saudi Arabia report that AI agents are already taking actions within organisational workflows. However, a lack of governance is leaving organisations exposed; the report shows that around 1 in every 4 organisations (24%) report their use of AI is unapproved or ungoverned. This unmanaged “Shadow AI” effectively operates as an invisible layer of shadow employees handling sensitive organisational data without oversight.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • 88% of employees in the UAE & Saudi Arabia say that deepfake voice and video content is now so realistic it is impossible to know what to trust and 52% openly admit they could be tricked by a deepfake scam at work.
  • More than half (54%) of cybersecurity leaders in the UAE & Saudi Arabia report that mistakes during everyday work have had the greatest impact on their organisation’s cybersecurity in the past 12 months. Compounding this, 44% of employees acknowledge that time pressures and workplace distractions actively drive them to make critical security mistakes, even when they know the safe protocol.
  • 36% of cybersecurity leaders in the UAE & Saudi Arabia identify AI-enabled attacks as a key driver of future human-related cybersecurity risks.
  • 41% of employees reported that they commonly source their own agentic AI tools where options are unavailable or restrictive, leaving organisations vulnerable to cyberattacks. Concurrently, 52% of cybersecurity leaders report that the use of unsanctioned software and AI apps has actively impacted their security posture over the past 12 months.
  • Although 76% of security leaders feel “very well prepared” to handle unexpected or emerging AI-driven threats over the next year, 84% of them confirmed that improvements are still needed to ensure AI tools and agents operate within organization’s security policies and approved risk limits.

The report shows that organisations making progress are those who prioritise cybersecurity as a culture over a mere function, seamlessly incorporating secure behaviours into daily work. These organisations are creating environments where employees feel safe reporting mistakes, with 82% of employees agreeing.

“Cybersecurity has entered a volatile phase where organisations are trying to secure a hybrid human and AI workforce that’s changing more quickly than security leaders can keep up,” said Dr. Martin Kraemer, CISO Advisor at KnowBe4. “Attackers are moving at machine speed, using attacks such as deepfakes to target employees and prompt injections to hijack AI agents. Leaving almost a quarter of your corporate AI usage ungoverned is a massive open invitation to threat actors.”

The “From Agentic Risk to Human Wins: Building a Culture of Security in the Era of Agentic AI” report concludes that achieving “Wins” requires organisations to design systems that guide behaviour, build supportive cultures, and shift from tracking failures to reinforcing positive actions, and extending a security-first mindset across both AI agents and humans.

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