More than 81,000 certificates awarded so far by the Ministry of Education & HBMSU
HE Dhahi Khalfan: “Our country offers the world a model to follow by enabling the education system to respond efficiently & effectively to emerging shifts & challenges”
Mansoor Al Awar: “HBMSU continues to take the lead in providing quality education for all societies, supporting the UAE leadership in serving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”
92,000 affiliates in “How to become an online tutor in 24 hours ” and ” design an online course in 24 hours” in a record time
United Arab Emirates, March 24th, 2020 – Marking yet another achievement in establishing a strong foundation for distance learning initiatives, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, continues to equip teaching and academic professionals from inside and outside of the UAE with skills needed to manage and operate online classrooms via the internet. The University’s courses are receiving an overwhelming response with over 92,000 participants from more than 60 countries registering for the two free online e-courses, which are available in English and Arabic. The success of the two courses titled ‘How to Become an Online Tutor in 24 Hours’ and ‘Design an Online Course in 24 Hours’ led to 6,300 discussion sessions, with more than 81,000 certificates distributed so far. The highly positive response received by the two courses reflect their global impact and success as a first of its kind initiative that has been designed to upskill teaching professionals by enabling them to provide quality distance education, in accordance with international best practices and in less than 24 hours. In addition, the growing popularity of these courses also underscore the UAE’s achievements in establishing distance learning as a strongest pillar to ensure the continuity of education, in view of the developing circumstances around the world.
H.E Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chairman of Police and General Security in Dubai and Chairman of HBMSU’s Board of Governors, pointed out that the UAE offers the world a great model that is capable of redefining the education system and enabling it to respond efficiently and effectively to emerging global changes and challenges. He added that preparing academic professionals to lead education in the digital era remains at the forefront of the UAE’s strategic priorities in order to ensure easy access to quality education. This kind of education will prepare younger generations to achieve academic excellence at the global level and will contribute to shaping the future of the country in line with the insightful vision of our wise leadership.
Comedian and children’s author David Walliams is releasing daily audio stories for children to listen to for free from 24 March to 23 April, 2020.
Every day an audio version of one of David William’s World’s Worst Children is made available to entertain children at home.
The World’s Worst Children book series features short
stories about badly behaved youngsters.
Just click on this link https://bit.ly/AudioElevenses every day for a new free audio story from “The World’s Worst Children” book read by David Williams.
The stories are being posted via the SoundCloud channel of publisher HarperCollins.
UAE, March 17th, 2020 – In line with the UAE government’s efforts to implement precautionary measures aimed at ensuring the protection of public health and safety due to the current situation brought about by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, organizers of the annual Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX), have announced its decision to move the event from April 16 – 18, 2020 to March 25 – 27, 2021 at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre (DICEC).
The organisers of GETEX have also committed to host an abridged version of the Student Recruitment event on 11th and 12th June this year to help Schools and Universities in their student enrollment drive for their respective September 2020 intake. This bespoke event will also be held at the Dubai International Convention Centre during the time when the recruitment of students is at its peak.
GETEX will return in its original format next year with more exciting features that have been designed to further promote student engagement and will include initiatives that are aimed at setting the tone for interaction between leaders of secondary and tertiary education institutions, to benefit a broader spectrum of youth development.
UAE, March 15, 2020 – In line with
the UAE’s efforts to implement a ‘Distance Learning’ initiative, the Ministry
of Education, in cooperation with Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU),
has successfully qualified more than 42,000 affiliates who recently underwent e-training in distance
learning within the last 24 hours. The participants completed the ‘Be an online
tutor in 24 hours’ course that was launched online to provide necessary
training to teaching and academic personnel of various levels about online
education processes, including managing and operating online classrooms via the
internet and helping acquire the necessary experiences related to how to use
modern technology techniques to fully perform their roles. More than 22,000
certificates have been issued, in an unprecedented achievement that serves the
goals of the national agenda for UAE Vision 2021 in developing a high-level
educational system that ensures the investment of human capital in innovation,
leadership and knowledge in line with the requirements of the digital era.
The outstanding results of the
initiative can be attributed to the close cooperation between the UAE Ministry
of Education and HBMSU to launch two online training courses, with an aim to
enhance the distance learning system and ensure its continuity. The initiative
also helped improve the management of online learning in order to overcome
current and future challenges, while also reinforcing the UAE’s leadership in
the transfer of smart learning capabilities, reflecting an educational system
that is among the best in the world. Following the successful completion of the
first course, the second session, titled ‘Design an Online Course in 24 Hours’
is set to begin this week. The free course in both Arabic and English has been
designed to further improve academic professionals’ ability to provide quality
distance education in accordance with international best practices.
Department announces 100% digital transformation during Digital Month launched
UAE, Abu Dhabi, March 12th, 2020 – H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) revealed that the Department has successfully achieved 100 per cent digital transformation of all its services, targeted at customers, businessmen, investors, consumers, suppliers and employees.
On the heels of the Digital Month
campaign launched by the Abu Dhabi Government Media Office (ADGMO), His
Excellency revealed that ADDED recorded high rates of online transactions in
the previous year through the Department’s website and other digital channels.
He added that 119,528 commercial and industrial licensing transactions were
recorded from the beginning of 2019 till February 2020.
H.E. Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED)
His Excellency explained that the
promotional campaigns about the Department’s online services during the Digital
Month are designed to encourage both customers and partners to use online services
that are available via www.added.gov.ae. The campaigns
also create awareness about the services offered through the TAMM website www.tamm.abudhabi, thereby saving customers and partners both time and effort by
eliminating the need to contact customer centers for transactions.
Global mental health consultant maintains bioenergetic science to further improve health treatment outcomes in Arab region
UAE, Dubai, March 11th, 2020 – Renowned motivational speaker and mental health consultant Dr. Ahmed Emara was honoured in Dubai recently by H.E. Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), at the 8th Women’s Health Congress in recognition of his groundbreaking contributions to physical wellness and healing in the emirate.
Dr. Ahmed Emara was honoured in Dubai recently by H.E. Humaid Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority (DHA)
Dr. Emara was one of the distinguished lecturers at the Congress organised by the Dubai Women’s Association. The event was held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, wife of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Award featured 114 winners in the local and gulf categories
United Arab Emirates, Dubai, March 9th, 2020 – The Board of Trustees of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance chaired by H.E. Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, announced the results of the 22nd Cycle of the Foundation’s Awards. The Award featured a total of 114 distinguished winners from the education sector, with 95 winning the local competitions and 19 winning the GCC competitions. The winners will be honoured at the end of April 2020 at the closing awards ceremony to be held at the Dubai World Trade Center.
The Board of Trustees of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance
The 22nd cycle of the award, received 420 entries. The entries were evaluated by 53 judging committees during the period between December 2019 and February 2020. The committees comprised six committee chairs for the following categories: Distinguished Student, Distinguished Teacher, Highly Distinguished Teacher, Distinguished School, Distinguished Family, Distinguished Educator, Best Scientific Innovation, Best Implemented Project, and Education Supporting Institutions. In addition, a preliminary screening committee was formed to qualify the local and GCC entries, and another committee was established to audit and review winning applications.
Dr. Jamal Mohammed Al Mehairi- Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Secretary- General of the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance said, “Through the years, the award has proved its leadership locally and regionally, in supporting the efforts to develop education, raise the bar of the education sector, and honour the distinguished to advance and enhance the education industry in the UAE and other Arab countries. With the support of the leadership and the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai – Minister of Finance, the award continues its pursuit to establish innovation as a key pillar for a robust national foundation that will define a bright future for the coming generations.”
H.E. added: “The award plays a pivotal role in boosting the governments’ efforts in developing the elementary and university education, in addition to scientific research, as well as supporting national institutions through pioneering educational international initiatives. We pledge to continue on the steps of our wise leadership to improve education and lead by example in the field of investing in human.”
Dr. Sulaiman Al Ansari, CEO of the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance stressed that the 22nd cycle of the award was exceptional and showed quality progress in entries, which reflects its significance of in the UAE, GCC and the Arab world. Since its establishment two decades ago, the award has been a stepping stone to advance all the elements of the educational system.
Al Ansari said: “Through the years, Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance has witnessed several developments at all fronts including opening the door for participation, presentation and judgement, and has also expanded its footprint with participation from a number of international organizations concerned with education, foremost of which is The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). In the current cycle, the award witnessed distinguished contributions and we are confident that it will be a great addition to the education system in the Arab world and a new start towards more participation in the upcoming cycles.”
He further added: “We look forward to hosting the award ceremony in April to honour the distinguished winners in the current cycle. Additionally, we encourage all the participants who did not succeed in this cycle to participate again in the upcoming cycles, because their efforts will certainly represent a great addition to the award. I would also like to extend my gratitude to all our partners and key members who have contributed to making this award a success and showcasing the distinguished winners in education as an honourable model in order to cultivate hope and foresee a prosperous future for all the Arab World.”
Dr. Ali Saeed Al-Kaabi, President of Judging Committees explained, “The current cycle witnessed the participation of prominent experts from the region and the world in the judgement committees, who worked as per the highest international standards in assessing entries and selecting the best ones to contribute to a positive change in the educational systems locally, regionally and internationally.”
The current cycle saw the adoption of electronic systems for all the local categories, -two winners in the category of ‘Institutions Supporting Education’, including Abu Dhabi Police for tackling the crime scene management and Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA). In the GCC categories, the electronic systems were applied for the first time and interviews for the ‘Distinguished Student’ category were conducted through “Skype”. About the level of participation, the Board of Trustees indicated that the 22nd cycle witnessed the participation of 336 participants in the local awards, 84 in the GCC awards, and 113 in the Arab awards.
As for the Hamdan-UNESCO Award for Rewarding Distinguished Practices and Efforts to Improve Teachers’ Performance, Dr. Khalifa Ali Al Suwaidi, member of the Board of Trustees of Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance and Technical Consultant at the Award, indicated a 27 percent increase in the participation number in the current cycle compared to the fifth cycle held last year. The participation entries recorded this year were 193 and the winners will be honoured next October at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. The number of participants in the award since its kick off in 2009/2010 until this year’s sixth cycle of 2019/2020 reached 724 participants, while the number of winners in all award cycles was 14 winning institutions.
On a separate note, Al-Suwaidi explained that the first session of this year’s Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum – ISESCO Prize was completed with the participation of 44 participants from 18 different countries, with three winning institutions which will be honoured next April at the headquarters of The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) in Rabat, Morocco. The award was judged in Dubai by an international three member panel. It is rewarded every two years to three winners, and each individual award is valued at $ 100,000.
The current cycle of the award was won by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud International Foundation for Charity and Humanitarian Deeds for building 172 multi-purpose model schools by the Islamic Development Bank in Bangladesh, the schools project in the Emirati-Jordanian camp, in addition to the inception of 495 schools around the world by the Emirates Red Crescent Authority. Other winners included the Faculty of Information Technology in Birzeit University and Munib R. Masri Development Foundation for educational projects developed in Palestine and other countries.
