The
Ministry of Education (MOE) in the United Arab Emirates and Alef
Education, the leading UAE-based education technology company, signed today an
Agreement to implement Alef’s education system in ten Abu Dhabi public schools.
The Agreement was signed in the presence of H.E. Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi,
Cabinet Member & Minister of Education, Jassim Alseddiqi, Chief Executive
Officer of Abu Dhabi Financial Group and Alef Education Board Member, and was
signed by H.E Lubna Ali Al Shamsi,
Deputy CEO of School Operations and Geoffrey Alphonso, Chief Executive
Officer of Alef Education.
This
landmark Agreement follows the success of Alef Education’s implementation at the
Al Asayel Abu Dhabi public school in 2017. Results of that one-year utilization
at the school showed a remarkable increase in student engagement and learning
outcomes. Teachers, parents and the school leadership at Al Asayel expressed
satisfaction and appreciation at these results.
This
new Agreement expands on that initial collaboration by extending Alef
Education’s reach into 10 public schools, and covering over 6,000 students in Grades 6, 7 and 8 starting
this coming Academic Year in September 2018. The list of the ten schools that
are part of the Agreement includes Al Suqoor School, Al Asayel School, Fatima
Bint Mubarak School, Sa'ad Bin Mo'ath School, Atika Bint Abdel Muttalib School,
Makkah School, Al Dhaher School, Al Khair School, Qatr Al Nada School, Al
Nokhba School.
H.E.
Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Cabinet Member & Minister of Education
confirmed that the transition to a knowledge-based economy requires dynamic
education that keeps pace with the best global systems founded upon a new
technology-based and artificial intelligence (AI) driven reality where smart
and digital learning play a major role in contributing to raising the levels
and outcomes of teaching and learning and enhancing student interaction. This
is one step towards achieving an enriching education that will have a great
impact on students in terms of their skills set and knowledge. In this context,
the Ministry has decided to move forward with this vision through the
implementation of “Alef System”, the innovative educational system which
revealed good, clear and distinctive results upon its implementation in one of
the schools, and which inspired us to expand the scope of the targeted schools and
to take the implementation process to an advanced stage with 10 more schools in
Abu Dhabi.
His Excellency said that the
Ministry seeks to provide a leading educational platform based on a rigorous
system that provides both
technology and educational content, fosters the student’s motivation to learn,
provides space for creativity, critical thinking, thought analysis and making
conclusions, based on a real time digital database in line with the curriculum
and latest teaching methods.
H.E.
Hussain Ibrahim Al Hammadi said that the transition to a knowledge-based
economy is part of the priorities and agenda of the government and its Vision
2021 and the UAE CENTENNIAL 2071. The transition is based on future foresight
which has become a significant national industry in the UAE. His Excellency
pointed out that the UAE translates its future vision into development
approaches as well as advancing and fostering creative visions, projects,
initiatives and programs. In this context, education stands as a priority for
the leaders of the UAE, and we are engaged in setting up and deploying the
various capabilities and potentials to make the UAE education system the best
in the world. For this purpose, our reliance on modern technology is an
inevitable and pertinent reality that accelerates the pace of reaching our
ambitions and goals to reach an innovative competitive education system.
His
Excellency indicated that the Ministry of Education seeks to strengthen its
strategic partnerships with the parties concerned with providing modern, model
and interactive education content which is in line with our aspirations in the
Ministry of Education to achieve the integrated, holistic UAE school in terms
of the education aspects and methods in place and which enhances the curriculum.
He pointed out that cooperation with Alef Education is the result of a
constructive collaboration with a leading technology education company that is
expected to achieve the best educational outcomes in the near term.
Jassim
Alseddiqi, Board Member of Alef Education and Chief Executive Officer of Abu
Dhabi Financial Group said: “We extend out great gratitude to the Ministry of
Education for the trust it has given to Alef Education to achieve this
partnership opportunity. We are committed at Alef Education to supporting the
educational objectives of the UAE as well as the UAE Future Foresight Strategy
which is based on short, mid and long terms stages driven by a future national
vision and proactively and sustainably in an agile way. Also, this landmark
Agreement re-enforces our dedication to participate in the global presence of
the UAE as the new world center of innovation, learning and science, through
our vision at building the future of education in the UAE and beyond in the
world. The 21st century calls upon alert, capacious, innovative and
skilled individuals, and those are the students Alef works hard at preparing
for careers in a global world and for leadership in a multi-disciplinary
knowledge economy. Through this Agreement with the Ministry of Education, Alef
will pursue its mission to build the minds of learners and empower them with
the tools, methods and knowledge necessary to stimulate their minds and
imagination and enhance their participation, engagement and creativity not only
throughout their learning journey, but also to prepare them to advance the UAE
strategy and enable them to take leading responsibilities and roles in all
economic, scientific and technological sectors, thereby influencing the world
in a more, responsible and distinct manner.”
Commenting
on the Agreement, Geoffrey Alphonso, Chief Executive Officer of Alef Education,
said: “We are honored that the Ministry of Education has chosen Alef Education
to leverage our resources and strategies for the benefit of the ten public
schools in this great nation. Alef Education is committed to working closely
with the schools and their leadership where our educational system will be
implemented to provide the students, parents & teachers with a truly
engaging and digital experience. We also look forward to partnering with the
Ministry of Education to expand our footprint to include other schools in the
UAE and beyond.”
This
close cooperation between Alef Education and the Ministry of Education is very
much in line with the UAE Vision 2021 which emphasizes the development of a
first-rate education system and which will require a complete transformation of
the current education system and teaching methods. The Vision aims for all
schools to be equipped with smart systems and devices as a basis for all
teaching methods, projects and research.
Alef
Education’s ecosystem brings together a blend of the latest technology and pedagogical
approaches geared towards learners of today. The ‘Alef Platform’ has three main
pillars: (1) A fun and easy-to-use digital learning environment, developed
by leading technology experts based in Abu Dhabi. (2) High
quality hypermedia content developed to engage and stimulate learning
with a blend of videos, interactivities and games all linked to the Ministry of
Education curriculum and learning outcomes across three grades (Grade 6,7 &
8). (3) Real time data provided within each lesson to truly enable educators to
support personalized learning and identify student strengths and weaknesses. Additionally,
Alef Education’s onsite implementation team which is scheduled to
be located within the schools covered by the agreement will complement the
learning experience by providing support services to the schools’
infrastructure change process, allowing parallel work with the schools’ leaders
to enable digital transformation.
The
key areas outlined in the landmark Agreement are built upon providing the
students with the scaffolding necessary to achieve the 21st-century learning
outcomes through Alef Education’s holistic student-centered, self-paced and
self-directed education system, and transforming the teachers’ role by
providing them with the technology that will allow them more time to tailor
their teaching towards individual students while taking care of the
administrative aspects of their role.
The
Agreement also includes the transformation of the 10 public schools into
centers of technology excellence based on Alef Education’s tiered support and
technology ecosystem.
