DOHA: The third edition of the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), to be held in November, will see more educational experts participating following a relaxation of rules. Beside the participants sponsored by Qatar Foundation, 200 paying places are available for the conference to be held between November 1 and 3 in Doha. “In the past two years all participants and attendees were only invited and sponsored by the Qatar Foundation, but for the third edition of the summit new category of non-sponsored attendees has been introduced,” said a source. According to the website of WISE, the growing success of the conference has led to exceptional demand for places at the 2011 event and non-sponsored attendees have been asked to register in advance. “Two hundred non-sponsored places are now on sale and pre-registration,” says the website. The 200 non-sponsored attendees will be charged approximately $2,500 each as registration fee, which will not cover accommodation and air travel expenses. The applications will be studied and approved by WISE officials. The non-sponsored attendees will be allowed at the entire summit, including more than 40 sessions and a series of workshops and demonstrations that will feature more than 120 top-level speakers. In addition, the attendees will have the opportunity to network with 1,000 innovators from the public and cooperative sectors, NGOs, social enterprises and the academia from all over the world. Qatar Foundation has sent invitations to the sponsored attendees through public relations agencies. “I have received the invitation for this year’s summit. Travel and accommodation costs will be covered by Qatar Foundation and all other related arrangements will be done by them,” said Aditi Issac, who attended the summit in 2010. A highlight of this year’s summit is the WISE prize for education, which will be awarded to an individual or a team of up to six individuals working together for an outstanding, world-class contribution to any level or area of education in any part of the world. The third edition of the WISE Summit will also enhance virtual attendance by increasing the number of sessions that will be broadcast live on the WISE website and develop new possibilities of participation in the discussions via MyWISE and Twitter. THE PENINSULA

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