UAE: AED6 million prize pool announced for Abu Dhabi’s top educators and schools

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge has unveiled its first awards scheme – the ADEK Awards – to recognize outstanding achievements by individuals, schools and initiatives within the Abu Dhabi education ecosystem.

Open to all public, private and charter schools in the emirate, the ADEK Awards will celebrate and inspire school achievement, innovation and best practice, while fostering a cycle of continuous improvement through healthy competition among schools.

Winners will receive recognition and cash prizes worth more than AED 6 million in total, and the prize money from school awards will be used for the improvement programs of the winning schools.

“The ADEK Awards will recognize outstanding individuals who have contributed to building an educational ecosystem that nurtures the next generation of lifelong learners,” said Sara Awadh Issa Musallam, Minister of State for Early Education and Chairman of the Federal Early Education Agency, Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge .

“This new awards scheme will recognize schools and individuals who improve and adopt best practice, and help realize Abu Dhabi’s aspirations for a world-class education system where every student – ​​regardless of their background and learning needs How — can reach their full potential and become active and active. Productive global citizens.”

She added: “These aspirations would not have been possible without the tremendous efforts of dedicated teachers, passionate educators and tireless support staff, who improve every day their chances of supporting improved quality of learning and higher standards of education commitment. These are the people we want to honor and these awards will support diversity in education initiatives, highlight the outstanding work of education professionals and recognize their critical role as role models for the wider industry.”

The School Awards category consists of 11 subcategories; namely: Best Parent Engagement Award, Best Inclusion Practice Award, Best Professional Development Program Award, Best Progress Award, Best Student Wellbeing Program Award, Best Literacy Program Award and Best Arabic Language Project Award. The School Awards also recognize outstanding progress across four standardized assessments, each with a different cycle and subject.

Individual awards, on the other hand, will cover three subcategories, including Principal of the Year, Outstanding Teacher and Unsung Heroes.

ADEK has confirmed that the range of awards will be expanded in the future.

“As categories grow over time, we hope they continue to inspire meaningful initiatives that further improve the quality of education and encourage educators to continue working to enhance the learning experience across our ecosystem,” Musallam said.

Next year’s edition will introduce international assessment categories, including the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Research (TIMSS), and Advances in International Reading Literacy Research (PIRLS).

Submissions for awards will remain open until September 29th. An expert jury will evaluate each submission to verify its compliance with established criteria and criteria before announcing the winners in a special ceremony.