GETEX 2025: Connecting FOSS in Global Education

As a representative of Linux Professional Institute (LPI), I found it a pleasure to attend the 41st edition of the Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX), held from April 30 to May 2, 2025, at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

GETEX remains one of the most vibrant and diverse higher education platforms in the region. With pavilions from Malaysia, India, Pakistan, and the CIS countries, the event brought together a wide variety of institutions, academic experts, and future-focused education leaders.

Our focus at LPI was to promote high-quality, accessible open source education and to build new partnerships that help learners prepare for future opportunities in technology. The need for inclusive, globally recognized certifications is stronger than ever — and Linux and free technologies sit at the heart of this shift.

A Platform for Partnership and Progress

At GETEX, I had the opportunity to meet with a variety of institutional leaders, including:

• Dr. M. Krishnamurthy, Professor and Head of the Department of AI & Data Science, KCG College of Technology
• Enid Verghese Jacob, Deputy Director, Hindustan Group of Institutions
• Tanya Mokle, Project Director of GETEX

The enthusiasm for open source education among both public and private institutions is deeply encouraging. One particularly promising outcome from these discussions was a follow-up from Professor Luis Ramón Rojas-Solórzano and Dr. Elaine Sharplin of Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. Representing the university’s Center for Innovation in Learning and Teaching (CiLT), they expressed interest in exploring synergies between LPI’s certification pathways and CiLT’s professional development programs.

As part of their commitment to advancing innovative teaching and learning, they see the integration of Linux and open source education as a potential asset for both faculty development and student preparedness. This kind of dialogue, sparked through personal connections at GETEX and deepened through institutional follow-up, reflects exactly the kind of international collaboration LPI strives to support.

A Regional Hub for Future-Ready Learning

The UAE’s commitment to establishing itself as a global education hub was visible throughout GETEX. With over 900 programmes represented — from engineering to cybersecurity, finance to medical technology — it was inspiring to see how well Linux-based technologies fit into this expanding landscape.

New features at GETEX 2025, such as interactive workshops in AI and robotics, underscored the urgency of equipping students with real-world skills. Our message was simple: open source matters. And Linux is not just an operating system — it’s a foundation for opportunity, resilience, and innovation.

Why LPI Wanted to Be There

At LPI, we believe education is empowerment. Attending events like GETEX helps us stay aligned with regional needs and global challenges. Whether it’s training educators, supporting institutions, or empowering young learners with certification pathways, our goal is always the same: to make open source accessible, valuable, and recognized.

If you are a university or training centre looking to expand your tech education offering, LPI is ready to collaborate. Together, we can shape a learning ecosystem rooted in freedom and flexibility — one that opens doors for the next generation of developers, engineers, and innovators.

Let’s Keep Talking

I would like to thank the organizers of GETEX for their warm welcome and professionalism, and the many visitors who took the time to speak with us. To all the students, educators, and institutional leaders we met — let’s stay connected. The journey continues.

Explore the official GETEX 2025 photo gallery here.
Learn more about GETEX.