SEK International School Qatar is excited to take part in the Global Education Forum (GEF), challenging the topic around “The future of Higher Education”.

The SEK Global Education Forum is an alliance between SEK Schools and our University and was created as a movement that proposed changes and alternatives to the traditional education systems.

Yesterday, we at SEK-Qatar had our first kickoff event and over the next three weeks our students will be part of the SEK-Qatar teams competing against schools and universities from all over the world.

They will be competing in either a Hackathon (MYP) or a Challenge (DP) debating the following questions:

“What does today’s university need to be better? What 3 things should it keep, 3 things should it add, and 3 things should it eliminate?”

“How can digitalization transform the current educational model?”

In addition, GEF will be holding online “microevents”. The first microevent will be on 28^th September all about entrepreneurship. 

Eventually, from 13th – 15th of October, all participants will be able to join the vitual “Global Education Forum 3rd Act” where the results of the Hackathon and Challenge will be revealed. Participates will come together and get the opportunity to discuss key issues and conclude the debate.

For more information and registration please follow this link Home – GEF (globaleducationforum.org)

“The future of higher education is in our hands. Let’s reimagine it and redesign it together.”

Today, 9th of September – is The International Day to Protect Education from Attack

In honor of this day, our Grade 5 students were inquiring into our understanding of why #educationforall is important. After reading the first few chapters of The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis, and learning about the plight of children not having access to education in other countries around the world, our G5 students had a discussion about why they think access to education is important.

They spoke about how education of some children around is world is under attack due to reasons such as their race, gender or political/economic status to name a few. We used online collaborative tools to capture all students’, at home and at school, understanding of this issue.

We are proud of being awarded this recognition for the 4th time in a row. Requirements for the award continue to remain very strict, hence only five other schools in Qatar have been recognized as Microsoft Showcase Schools.

325 schools spread across 58 countries, we are part of an exclusive global network of schools and educators who support the culture of learning, innovation and continuous improvement. The community offers space to connect and share ideas as school life is moving towards a new area of digitalization.

As Microsoft likes to put it:

“Showcase Schools create student-centered, immersive, and inclusive experiences that inspire lifelong learning, stimulating development of essential future-ready skills so students are empowered to achieve more.”

And at SEK-Qatar we live and breath this quote daily. We are committed to school-wide digital transformation to improve learning outcomes of our students and focus on future-ready skills.

From Grade 4 every student has his/her own laptop, as the device is being used in almost every single class. IT is not only a single subject once or twice a week, IT is the foundation for our every day teaching and learning. Leaders and educators in Showcase Schools thoughtfully consider the role of technology as they explore new ways to redesign learning spaces, restructure curriculum, reinvent pedagogy and reimagine what 21st Century leading and learning looks like across diverse contexts.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, we have become even more alert to inquire and learn about the digital potential in our school. Thanks to various MS applications, remote learning has been made smooth, accessible and fun. This has increased our appreciation of the critical work educators and school leaders do to help every student achieve more.

As we start this academic year, we are excited to share our experiences with our community to finding innovative ways to equip our students with the tools needed for success inside and outside of the classroom.