Riyadh, Saudi Arabia:– Anthology, a leading provider of education solutions that support the entire learner lifecycle, is hosting their annual conference for clients in the Middle East for the first time in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

More than 150 instiutional leaders, industy experts and instructors from 56 institutions across the Middle East are expected to attend the the two day conference on 13 – 14 November. The event is hosted by senior executives of Anthology, including Chief Executive Officer Bruce Dahlgren; President of Global Markets Joe Belanardo; and Senior Vice President of EMEA, Oleg Figlin.

Anthology Together Middle East will feature keynotes by Anthology leaders and panel discussions on the most important issues facing higher education today, including the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Executives from Anthology will be joined on stage by leaders in their fields from universities across the Middle East.

“Saudi Arabia is home to some of the world's leading higher education institutions,” said Anthology Chief Executive Officer Bruce Dahlgren. "We believe that these institutions, with their commitment to academic excellence, are at the forefront of shaping the future. Our choice to host this conference in Riyadh reflects our commitment to our clients in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and across the Middle East, and our dedication to building solutions in direct partnership with our clients and the learners they serve.”

Product and Report Launches at Event

Anthology will launch their latest AI-facilitated feature, Authentic Assessments, at the event. Set for release in December, the feature in Blackboard Learn Ultra utilizes learning objectives and course material to develop prompts aligned to Bloom’s Taxonomy that promote critical thinking like analysing, creating, and evaluating. The feature addresses the evolving challenges of academic integrity in the era of artificial intelligence.

News at the event also includes the results of a global survey conducted by Anthology on the use and perceptions of AI in higher education. More than 5,000 higher education leaders and current students from countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States, Brazil, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, participated in the survey.

Key findings of the report highlight the positive approval of AI in Saudi Universities:

  • 49% of students in Saudi Arabia feel that artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionise education.
  • Students in Saudi Arabia are among the most frequent users of generative AI tools like ChatGPT, with 32% saying they use the tools weekly.  
  • Students in Saudi Arabia reported the highest likelihood that their use of generative AI tools will increase significantly in the next six months.   

Download report: AI in Higher Ed: Hype, Harm, or Help, Spotlight on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  

View press release: AI use and perceptions in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Anthology Together will conclude with an awards ceremony, recognizing excellence in education. The following institutions will be honoured on Tuesday, 14 November:

  • Saudi Electronic University: Excellence in Inclusion and Diversity
  • King Faisal University: Excellence in Innovation
  • Al-Qassim University: Excellence in Innovation
  • King Khalid University: Excellence in Community Engagement
  • Al-Baha University: Excellence in Community Engagement "Rafed"
  • Tabuk University: Excellence in Training and Development
  • Najran University: Excellence in Training and Development
  • Ha'il University: Excellence in Advancement and Transition
  • Shaqra University: Excellence in Advancement and Transition
  • Board Middle East: 2023 Strategic Channel Partner

Visit www.anthology.com/together-middle-east to learn more.

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About Anthology

Anthology offers the largest EdTech ecosystem on a global scale for education, supporting more than 150 million users in 80 countries. With a mission to provide dynamic, data-informed experiences to the global education community through Anthology Intelligent Experiences™, we help learners, leaders and educators achieve their goals by offering over 60 SaaS products and services designed to advance learning. Discover more about how we are fulfilling our mission for education, business and government institutions at www.anthology.com.