Thursday: Abu Dhabi, May 08, 2025
Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Award for Education, the Award’s General Secretariat is organizing a ceremony to honor the winners on May 29 at the Mandarin Oriental Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi. The ceremony will be attended by several academic and educational leaders and decision-makers from within and outside the country.
Initially, the Distinguished Educational Personality of the Year Award was granted to His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in the Al Ain Region, in recognition of His Highness’s outstanding efforts and contributions to supporting the education sector locally and globally. Furthermore, the Award has recognized 48 winners, including three distinguished Emirati families who won this year in recognition of their efforts to support their children’s excellence.
The winners of the Khalifa International Award for Early Learning Field, a criteria of the Award that is first in its kind globally aimed to highlight the most prominent scientific and practical practices in early childhood care and empowerment, in the Best Research and Studies category at the global level, were: Dr. Alexander Ebel, Associate Professor of Economics and Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, USA, for his research entitled “The Case for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy in Low-Income Countries.” Dr. Filipa de Castro, Senior Advisor in the Research, Evidence and Learning Department at Save the Children USA, for her research entitled “Ten Years of Building Brains: Synthesis of Uptake and Impact to Date.” In the Best Programs, Curricula, Teaching Methodologies and Practices category, the winners were: Stephanie Selle, Founder of Planète Enfants & Développement, France, for the project “Community Based Childcare Center Cambodia for Garment Factory Workers,” funded by the Japan Social Development Fund through the World Bank. Nisreine Inn Abdeljalil, General Manager of the Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Early Childhood Education, Kingdom of Morocco, for the project “Moroccan Foundation for the Promotion of Preschool Education.”
Humaid Al Houti, Secretary-General of the Khalifa Award for Education, stressed that His Highness’s great support goes toward education. These are the esteemed members of the UAE government who are going above and beyond to cater for excellence in academics: Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President; His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court; and their brothers, Their Highnesses the Sheikhs, Members of the Supreme Council of the Union, and Rulers of the Emirates. Al Houti highlighted that education has been a crucial rock since its establishment, only under the guidance of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Union’s foundational leader. Since then, the education sector has made great strides in developing competencies, and cadres take great pride in their country’s history and identity.
According to Al Houti, the Khalifa Award for Education carries out the orders of His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Development and Fallen Heroes affairs, Chairman of the International Humanitarian and Philanthropic Council, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation. The Khalifa Award is one of the Zayed Humanitarian Legacy Foundation organizations.
The Award’s Secretary-General lauded the wide-ranging intellectual and field engagement in the 18th edition (2025) of the Award as nominations for the Award came in from over 48 nations, including the USA, UK, China, Argentina, Egypt, Morocco, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, Tunisia, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, USA, Portugal, Ireland, Canada, Algeria, Afghanistan, and many more.
AL Houti stated: “The Award is proud to honor His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler’s Representative in the Al Ain Region, in recognition of his unlimited efforts and contributions to supporting and developing the education system at all local, regional, and international levels.” In particular, he highlighted the Distinguished Educational Personality Award as a cornerstone of the Khalifa Award for Education. Nominees must have made significant contributions to the improvement and modernization of the educational system to be considered for this honor. The following is a list of the current session’s winners: His Highness Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Ain Region, for the Distinguished Educational Personality category.
The list of local winners from within the United Arab Emirates also included:
General Education Field:
Shaikha Saeed Rashed Alsereidi in Mathematics from Masafi School for Basic Education C2,3 – Al Fujairah, Shamsah Ahmed Aldhanhani in Arabic Language from Zayed Education Complex -Al Badiyah- Cycle 1,2 – Al Fujairah, Nourah Mohamed Abdulrahman Almadhaani in Arabic language from Zayed Education Complex- Al Fujairah, Dr. Omar Husein Al Naoursi in English language from Tahnoun Bin Mohammed Educational Complex -Al Ain under the Institute of Applied Technology, Mohamed Elsayed Abdulwahab Tarabai in Arabic language from Al Qoua C2 –Al Ain, Raeda Faisal Shafiq Saleh in Arabic language from Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Girls -Abu Dhabi , Firas Ahmad Shawakh in Arabic language from Emirates National Schools -Ras Al-Khaimah, and finally Yasmine Marwan Zahra in English language from Al Nokhba Private School.
When it comes to brilliant contributions in the same field under the Institutional Education Performance Category, there are four winners: Atika Bent Zaid School C1 – Sharjah, Al Tomouh School C1,2,3– Al Ain, Mohammed bin Khalid Generation School – Al Ain, and Khalifa City School – Abu Dhabi.
People of Determination Field also has a key UAE winner in the Individuals Category; Dr. Khaled Mohamed Barakat Ali Hasan, an Autism Specialist working for Hemam for Inclusive Education Services, however, the winner chosen for Institutions & Centers Category under the same field is Abu Dhabi Autism Center within Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural Center won the Education and Community Service Field – Institutions Category for its project in Green Innovation Curriculum for a Sustainable Environment: “Together towards Environmental Awareness for Sustainable Education.”
The Distinguished Emirati Family Category in the same field consisted of 3 distinguished families that have supported their kids indefinitely throughout all educational phases, helping them achieve excellence: Khalil Sahako Sultan Al Dhuhoori family, Abdalla Mohammed Al Naqbi family, and Ahmed Salem Al Kaabi family. All three families reside in Sharjah.
Innovation in Teaching Arabic Language Field – Innovative Teacher Category “The United Arab Emirates Level”: Mahra Masoud Al Nuaimi from Alhosoon school – Al Ain is the winner.
Prof. Saif Al Dien Taha Al Fuqara, an Arabic Language and Literature Professor at Sharjah University, scored in the Innovative University Lecturer Category.
As for the Higher Education Field – Distinguished University Lecturer Category locally:
Prof. Fathalla Ali Fathalla Rihan in Mathematics from UAEU, Prof. Jamal Eldin Abubaker Abdalla in Civil Engineering from the American University – Sharjah, Prof. Zafar Saeed Nadar Sheir in Advanced Materials for Energy Systems from UAEU, and Prof. Riyad Aly Mohammed Eid in Marketing from UAEU.
Innovative Educational Projects and Programs Field – Secondary & University Students – Individuals Category “The United Arab Emirates Level ”
Ahmad Ghandi Al Qawasmi for their project: 3D Green from American University – Sharjah.
Furthermore, regarding Educational Research Field – Educational Research Category:
Aysha Saeed Al Ghfeli has won as the lead researcher as did Farah Gouda Ibrahim Khalid, secondary researcher on the research title: The Effectiveness of an Educational Program based on Self-Regulated Learning and Interactive Learning Strategies in Enhancing Motivation and Academic Achievement in Mathematics among 2nd Cycle Students: An Experimental Study within the Vision of ‘We are the UAE 2031’
The final category winner at the United Arab Emirates level is Educational Authorship for Children Field -Educational Innovations Category: Musab Yousef Biroutieh: Shade Your Imagination – “A book of Verse” – United Arab Emirates.
As for “The Arab World Level”, the Award proudly announces the following winners, starting with:
General Education Field – Creative Teacher Category:
Taghreed Masoud Abdul Raheem Bajneaid in Mathematics from Fifth High School for Girls – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Zakiah Saleh Muhsen Allahayani in English Language from The 134th Primary School -Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Isa Husain Ali Mohammed as a Class teacher from Abu Saiba Primary Boys School – Kingdom of Bahrain, Huda Al Mutairi in Psychology from Awatif Al-Athbi Al Sabah High School for Girls State of Kuwait, Hossam Hassan Ibrahim Asal in Science from Hamza Bin Abdul Mottalib Preparatory School for Boys -State of Qatar, Mustafa Ali Salim Al Yahyaaimi in Biology from Alsinina Sultanate of Oman, Dr. Fatima Ali Wazan Al Sarhan, Class teacher, from Hay Alarkoub Elementary Mixed School -The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Hafsa Hadj Boulenouar in English Language from Mahi Boumedienne School – People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
Innovation in Teaching Arabic Language Field – Innovative University Lecturer Category
Dr. Saber Lahbacha, Ph.D. in Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Sousse -Republic of Tunisia.
Higher Education Field -Distinguished University Lecturer Category:
Prof. Hassan Mohamed El Badawi in Biochemistry from The American University in Cairo- Arab Republic of Egypt, Prof. Swellam Wafa Ali Abdullatif Sharshir in Mechanical Engineering from Kafrelsheikh University -Arab Republic of Egypt.
Innovative Educational Projects and Programs Field – Educational Institutions Category:
Khaira Boukhari with creative work titled: “Reading City and Distinguished Reader’s Kit”, Ministry of National Education – The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria.
Educational Research Field – Educational Research Category:
Dr. Nesreen Mohammad Al Jaafreh, with Prof. Sana Mahmoud Salem al Dharhiri, co-authored a research titled: The Impact of Employing Educational Applications-Based on Artificial Intelligence on Improving the English-Speaking Skill of Jordanian Basic Stage Students and the Opinions of Teachers and Students about them – The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Educational Authorship for Children Field – Educational Innovations Category:
Najoua Abdullah Ahmed Al Daraaoui authored: A Voyage to the Northern Realm – “Story” from Sultanate of Oman.