Under the patronage of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) will host on Tuesday the 7th Education Without Borders under the theme \"Bridging the Gap: Innovative Solutions to Global Educational Challenges\". More than 400 students from 60 countries around the globe will join their peers from the UAE and experts from countries around the world in active dialogue about global challenges and enable them to create and implement solutions. Organisers say today, globalization and technology have changed the international landscape and have served as the catalysts for social institutions to reinvent themselves to respond to new challenges. Education is no exception and it must reinvent itself in order to respond effectively to the immense challenges facing the international community. This will leverage greater capacity and innovation by educational institutions to meet the growing demands of a global economy and reduce the disparity between developing and developed nations, the have and have-nots; and to bridge the digital divide. Recognizing that education\'s successful transformation is essential to our capacity to address global social, economic, political and cultural issues, the theme for the Education Without Borders 2013 conference will be: \"Bridging the Gap: Innovative Solutions to Global Educational Challenges\". The event provides networks across cultures in order to understand, and generate solutions for some of the world\'s greatest challenges such as global warming, sustainable development, and renewable energy. This is achieved by engaging the world\'s most innovative students and leaders of business, technology, education, and the humanitarian sector in a collaborative forum that culminates with commitment to action. To celebrate the Higher Colleges of Technology\'s 25th anniversary, the Education Without Borders 2013 conference will be combined with the HCT\'s biennial Festival of Thinkers conference, with both conferences running back to back in the week March 25-28, 2013 in the United Arab Emirates. That week will result in a synergistic combination of some of the world\'s brightest and most talented students collaborating with world leaders, thinkers and Nobel Laureates to discuss and propose solutions to the issue of education and educational technology in the 21st century. Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, will give the keynote address at the event.