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CIS MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE ON INTERNATIONAL ADMISSION & GUIDANCE
Date: 21–22 February 2025
Time: 08:30–18:00 Arabia Standard Time (AST)
Location: Northwestern University in Qatar, Doha, Qatar
Regionally focused topics, trends, learning & networking
Join us in Doha for regionally focused professional development, networking, and small group discussions in a highly collaborative environment, all in the pursuit of supporting students in the Middle East seeking university opportunities worldwide.
It’s an excellent opportunity for admission professionals from CIS member colleges and universities worldwide to unite with international school guidance counsellors to connect and learn together.
A power-packed 2-day experience, a lot to learn and share. An enriching experience overall.
What you can expect to:
- Expand your network of guidance counsellors at CIS and BSME schools in the Middle East
- Establish or reconnect with key regional contacts and professional partnerships
- Raise the profile of your international school, college or university
- Boost your knowledge & skills as you exchange ideas to support international student mobility and guide them on their future pathways
- Share & learn: Regional developments, trends and current issues, effective practices, and innovative approaches related to students in the Middle East who aspire to study internationally
- A schedule maximized for networking opportunities for counsellors to explore the many exciting worldwide study prospects for their students, guided by the latest admissions information.
- Counsellors will learn about global university options for students in the Middle East, including admissions requirements plus financial aid and scholarship possibilities
- University representatives can connect directly with students and parents from Qatar at the student fair
- Explore Doha in an optional evening sightseeing and networking activity, included in the registration fee: cisqatar-tours.com
- We plan the event in collaboration with the British Schools of the Middle East (BSME)
How you will learn & connect:
- Be inspired by the keynote session (speaker announced soon!)
- General sessions for our university and school community to learn and share together
- Workshops and small group discussions focused on university admissions relevant to students and schools in the Middle East
- A student fair for registered universities to meet students in the region
- A school and university fair for registered schools and universities to represent and showcase their institutions
Keynote Speaker
SPENCER STRIKER
Spencer Striker, PhD is an associate professor of digital media design at Northwestern University in Qatar, specializing in innovative digital learning experiences, interactive media, and game-based education. His work sits at the intersection of interaction design, mobile media, digital storytelling, and education technology entrepreneurship.
Striker's flagship project, History Adventures: World of Characters, is a groundbreaking, cross-platform digital learning series that reimagines history education for the digital age. It combines immersive technology with narrative design to bring historical events and characters to life. The series includes multiple installments covering different historical periods, including Empires & Interconnections (1450-1750); Revolutions & Industrialization (1750-1900); and the forthcoming Generation Revolution (1770-1800), which explores revolutionary-era New York City. Each product engages learners through choice-driven narratives and interactive multimedia content, fostering an empathetic understanding of pivotal moments in world history.
His Global Pandemics series—including Plague of Athens Chromebook, Black Death Interactive, and Plague of Athens Virtual Reality—leverages interactive storytelling and immersive technologies (web animation, mobile UX, and VR design) to enhance understanding of historical health crises. These projects, along with the mobile game Dr. Sara: Disease Detective, showcase Striker's innovative approach to science education and public health awareness. Striker also spearheads projects that address contemporary issues, such as Chaos Corp., a mobile game that teaches digital literacy in global contexts. His work extends to podcasting with the Digital Doha Podcast, exploring emerging media trends in Qatar and the Middle East.
His creative scholarship has garnered numerous accolades, including Anthem Awards, Reimagine Education Awards, and Webby Awards. His projects have received competitive funding from prestigious institutions, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Oxford Research Institute, HBKU Innovation Center, the Qatar National Research Fund; Northwestern's Innovation & New Ventures Office, the Qatar Research Development & Innovation Council, the Alumnae of Northwestern, the NU Office of the Provost, and the Institute for Advanced Study of the Global South.
Before joining Northwestern,. Striker worked in Silicon Valley as the founding creative director of Galxyz, an ed-tech startup that raised millions in venture capital based on his original concept. Bridging academic expertise with technology innovation, Striker pushes the boundaries of digital media design in education, fostering innovative approaches to learning and storytelling in the digital age.
Striker holds a Ph.D. in digital media from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, a masters in new media production from Indiana University at Bloomington, and undergraduate degrees in radio-TV-film (B.S.) and history (B.A.) from the University of Texas at Austin.
Who is going?
This regional event is for university guidance counsellors and future pathways advisors at CIS member schools in the Middle East plus university admissions professionals at CIS colleges and universities worldwide who want to keep up to date on developments and effective practices within international admission and guidance.
Extend your stay for additional opportunities in the region:
Meet more students and counsellors in the Middle East by attending CIS fairs shortly before the Institute in Muscat on 17 February and Abu Dhabi on 18 February.
Plus, CIS Supporting Member Wren International offers comprehensive student recruitment tours on dates around our events. Check their website for information.
As our community unites and connects at events worldwide, we welcome your suggestions for speakers who have made a lasting impression on colleagues' professional development in our community. Submit speakers' details using this form.