Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation joins hands with GEMS Education to launch School of the Future report

Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation in cooperation with GEMS Education introduced the 'School of the Future' report during the Global Education & Skills Forum, arranged in Dubai under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on 12-13 March 2016. The detailed file showcases the broad trends and features of education for the 21st century, and stresses the have to achieve a major shift in the function and nature of education in view of the complex realities of the contemporary world.

The file states that the existing schools and curriculum are based on the structures of the 20th century requirements to prepare a commercial labor force. It points out that the 21st century, with its technological and communication innovations, is changing the 'factory style' work requirements, and recurring manual tasks are being quickly replaced with automation. The report likewise highlights the need to sustain, enhance and utilize the development chances offered by the understanding economy.

The report was launched in the presence of His Excellency Hussein bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Her Excellency Jameela Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education and Saif Al Aleeli, CEO of Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation, as well as to Sunny Varkey, Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, Arne Duncan, Former Secretary of Education, United States; Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); Justine Cassell, Associate Dean, Technology, Strategy and Impact, School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University; and Geoffrey Canada, founder of Harlem Children's Zone and Chair of The Education Partners Global Advisory Council.

Commenting on the credit report, His Excellency Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Managing Director of Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation, stated: "The world is experiencing rapid weather changes driven by hectic developments in innovation and development. Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation is happy to sign up with hands with GEMS Education to release the 'School of the Future' report that will contribute to the strategic development of the education sector in line with the UAE's position as a global centre of development and quality. The credit report offers a fancy structure for the education system of the future and will serve as a driver to prepare the best know-how and abilities for the knowledge economy of the 21st century.".

He added: "The launch of the file comes as part of the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation's efforts to create a value added knowledge content for the future. The file aims to offer a future perspective of the education sector in the brief and long term to add to the advancement of techniques that support the sector in line with the Foundation's function to establish the UAE's tactical sectors and establish practical collaborations to attain the objectives of the future.".
Sunny Varkey, Founder and Chairman of GEMS Education, stated: "We are proud to be releasing the report for the 'School of the Future' in collaboration with the Dubai Museum of the Future Foundation at Global Education & Skills Forum. However, this report should be viewed as more than simply a term paper. The aspects of change recognized in the file are necessary and needed if we are to enhance the state of our world through education.".

The 'School of the Future' file is based on 3 primary pillars-- Practice, Partnership and Environment, which are essential to working of each school.
The Practice pillar describes the curriculum of the future, offering a structure for the skills and tools required by students and instructors of the 21st century. It also stresses skills beyond the conventional 3Rs of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic to new areas such as financial and entrepreneurial education, which form key elements in the knowledge economy.

The Partnership pillar explains the relationships in between schools and their stakeholders, and stresses on efforts to allow students to pursue their interests and enthusiasms by customizing the finding out experience. The School of the Future will make it possible for and establish these collaborations to produce a learning system that can educating the people of the future.

The Environment pillar deals with the physical facilities and social systems developed to support future students. The credit report mentions that the physical facilities of the schools of the future must be flexible sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the students by providing areas which enables partnership, development and personalization. It also underlines the need to enable schools to quickly react to the growing needs of resource restrictions, technology addition and the changing nature of knowing.

The credit report visualizes that the School of the Future will meet national requirements such as creating and sustaining a cohesive society as well as sustaining a competitive understanding economy. It likewise contains insights by leading thought leaders on the role and types of learning technologies in the future, and talks about the role of design and its implications in the School of the Future. The file aims to inspire discussions and drive policy decisions on framing the instructional systems of the future to serve the residents of the 21st century.

Now in its 4th year, the Global Education & Skills Forum is convened by the Varkey Foundation to debate how education can be made everyone's company. The Forum will feature pioneering debates and conversations led by worldwide decision makers and experts in the field of education to explore new strategies to education and launch brand new efforts to boost learning opportunities around the globe.