BUA participated in the MEETES 2025 Education Expo in Saudi Arabia
BRICS+ Universities Association successfully participated in the 6th International Exhibition MEETES 2025 in Jeddah.
From October 5 to 7, 2025, the BUA took part in one of the top educational events in the Middle East – MEETES 2025 (Saudi Arabia). Over three days, the exhibition was visited by more than 20,000 people, with around 150 educational institutions and companies from 20 countries exhibiting.
Event Highlights
The MEETES 2025 exhibition can be divided into four key segments: Governmental education organizations from various countries (10%), higher education institutions (40%), student recruitment agencies (30%), and preschool and K12 educators (20%).
Exhibitor Geography
BRICS+ countries were represented by Russia, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The exhibition featured strong participation from Saudi Arabian and other Arab institutions (UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, etc.), as well as from Asia-Pacific countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc.). European and American universities were represented only by their overseas campuses in Dubai. A notable trend was the mass participation of student recruitment agencies, which typically rarely exhibit due to high costs.
Prospective Students: Inquiries and Trends
Vera Matveevskaya, Customer Relations Executive at BUA, identified clear trends in student preferences:
Target Audience & Event Organization
In spite of the wide range of education levels presented at the event, the most visitors were interested in higher education. School seniors were brought to the event by organized groups in the morning, showing active interest in their future. Parents visited in the afternoon to gather information about studying abroad, focusing on costs, safety, living conditions, visa procedures, and university application processes.
From October 5 to 7, 2025, the BUA took part in one of the top educational events in the Middle East – MEETES 2025 (Saudi Arabia). Over three days, the exhibition was visited by more than 20,000 people, with around 150 educational institutions and companies from 20 countries exhibiting.
Event Highlights
The MEETES 2025 exhibition can be divided into four key segments: Governmental education organizations from various countries (10%), higher education institutions (40%), student recruitment agencies (30%), and preschool and K12 educators (20%).
Exhibitor Geography
BRICS+ countries were represented by Russia, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The exhibition featured strong participation from Saudi Arabian and other Arab institutions (UAE, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, etc.), as well as from Asia-Pacific countries (Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, etc.). European and American universities were represented only by their overseas campuses in Dubai. A notable trend was the mass participation of student recruitment agencies, which typically rarely exhibit due to high costs.
Prospective Students: Inquiries and Trends
Vera Matveevskaya, Customer Relations Executive at BUA, identified clear trends in student preferences:
- IT dominance: The vast majority (around 90%) of inquiries from high school students were for IT programs. Among these, up to 85% were exclusively interested in Cybersecurity.
- Language of instruction: Most applicants asked about English-taught programs.
- Other fields: Medicine was another strong interest, primarily among expatriates living in Saudi Arabia (e.g., from Egypt, Pakistan). There were also some inquiries for Economics, Management, and other Business sciences. Interest in Master's programs came from adult visitors, with diverse requests ranging from Engineering to Management.
Target Audience & Event Organization
In spite of the wide range of education levels presented at the event, the most visitors were interested in higher education. School seniors were brought to the event by organized groups in the morning, showing active interest in their future. Parents visited in the afternoon to gather information about studying abroad, focusing on costs, safety, living conditions, visa procedures, and university application processes.
"MEETES 2025 was the first student recruitment fair we participated in Saudi Arabia. And it was very interesting and exciting experience for us. Prospective students and their parents demonstrated a deep interest in study abroad opportunities. To my mind the universities from BRICS+ countries can benefit a lot from Saudi market. Student recruitment market of KSA has a high potential for BRICS+ educators due to a few factors such as relatively low tuition fees, wide range of available programs, opportunity to study in English, TOEFL or other exams are not required (in some countries), and completely new cultural experience of living in non-Arab country," – Vera Matveevskaya, Customer Relations Executive at BUA, said.
Conclusions & Recommendations
- MEETES is an education exhibition worth considering for foreign student recruitment from the Gulf region. The market capacity is significant, and competition in our price segment is virtually absent. Universities with ready English-taught IT programs (especially Cybersecurity) can enter this market immediately.
- The Saudi student recruitment market offers significant potential for BRICS+ universities due to low pricing competition and high demand, especially for English-tought IT programs like Cybersecurity.
- The event was well-organized, providing good accommodation and transfer packages, with steady visitor flow and an engaging environment for school students.
- Saudi high school students are open and communicative, mostly speaking English, but having an Arabic-speaking team member can increase outreach.
- Developing international relations between Saudi Arabia and other BRICS+ countries (such as Russia, China, UAE and others) strengthens educational ties, fostering academic cooperation, strategic partnerships, mutual recognition of qualifications and creating new opportunities for exchanges, joint research and innovations.