HE Sheikha Hind highlights the need for the transformation of global education ecosystems through systematic innovation
HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, Vice Chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation (QF), has called for global education to take a ‘quantum leap’ driven by innovation, as she addressed the Education World Forum in London, this week.
The Forum is the world’s largest gathering of education and skills ministers. Delegates representing over two-thirds of the world’s population gather in the UK in January each year to debate future education policy. The 2019 theme focused on What we should do with what we know: Developing education policy for implementation, impact, and exponential success.
World-Class Education in a Local Context
QF’s participation in this year’s edition of the Forum reflected how, in its mission to support the development of Qatar and its people, it has created a pioneering model of education that is constantly evolving and innovating.
By offering world-class education within a local context – with eight international partner universities standing alongside QF schools and its own research-focused university, Hamad Bin Khalifa University – and a diverse, experiential and specialised learning experience, QF is nurturing lifelong learners equipped to make their mark on Qatar and the world, as active global citizens.
In her speech before an international audience, HE Sheikha Hind emphasised QF’s commitment to provide quality education, and the importance of innovation in shaping its unique education ecosystem, which began with the establishment of Qatar Academy Doha more than 20 years ago.
She explained how the ‘ecosystem’ has since been expanded and advanced through the development of Education City and QF’s own lifelong learning model, and how they are now focused on identifying and deploying innovative approaches to addressing gaps and opportunities in Qatar society. According to her, QF have never stopped looking to innovate education and they’ve already seen what this makes possible.
But globally, education has not experienced a truly major transformation in my lifetime – a lifetime that has seen the cutting-edge of technology go from fax machines, to personal computers, to mobile and nano technology. Education, rather than remaining earthbound, has to make the sort of quantum leap that technology and communication have made many times in a single generation.’
Innovation at the Heart of QF Ecosystem
Innovation is at the heart of the ecosystem of education built by QF, which spans the full spectrum of learning from pre-school and K-12 education to undergraduate and postgraduate study. The academic template pioneered by QF Qatar Academy model ensures pre-university students receive an education that is both following international-standard and grounded in the Arabic language and cultural identity. Meanwhile, QF’s investment in personalised, inclusive learning has seen it develop a number of specialised schools, designed to help every student achieve their full potential.
Through its ‘multiversity’ model – where multiple higher education institutions are integrated within a single location, Education City – QF gives its students the unique opportunity to cross-register for classes at different partner universities, extending and enhancing their learning experience. QF has also created a culture of multi-dimensional learning, as the proximity of schools and universities to hubs of research and innovation enables hands-on learning and access to expertise, equipping students for the future.
For more information about Qatar Foundation and its unique education ‘ecosystem’, visit qf.org.qa.