Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance unveils results of its local awards

49 winners out of 177 candidates will be honored March 2023

The Board of Trustees of  Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance approved the results of the competitions of the 25th Cycle of its local awards during its meeting held at Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Center for Giftedness and Creativity, chaired by His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, in the presence of His Excellency Dr. Jamal Al Muhairi, Vice-Chairman of the Board, and His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the Foundation, and each of the members of the Board, His Excellency Issa Al Hai Al Maidoor, His Excellency Abdullah Saeed Balyouha, and His Excellency Suleiman Abdul Khaleq Al Ansari. 

49 distinguished winners out of a total of 177 candidates who underwent final arbitration were approved for the awards “Distinguished Student”, “Distinguished Undergraduate University Student”, “Distinguished Teacher”, “Distinguished Educator”, and “Distinguished School”. The number of participants in the awards reached 134 male and female students in public and higher education, of whom 84 were in academia and 49 students in the non-academic field.

His Excellency Humaid Muhammad Al Qatami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Foundation,  praised the Ministry of Education, higher education institutions, and strategic partners for their support of the Foundation's goals and their dedication to aiding its initiatives to provide opportunities for growth and innovation in the educational system through ground-breaking projects and programs designed to foster educational excellence and nurture creative and gifted individuals who contribute in improving society's educational achievement standards. His Excellency said, "We are delighted with the Foundation's awards 25th cycle's accomplishments, which coincide with its silver jubilee celebration. Thanks to institutional support and the belief of its targeted audience in its vision, the awards have grown in influence and reach."

He further explained that over the course of 25 years, the continuous updating of the Foundation’s evaluation criteria of the awards had resulted in the emergence of models of outstanding educational performance that took into account knowledge, skills, processes, methods, trends, and values. To strive toward institutional integration in the quality of learning and realize sustainable development goals, it is now essential to invest in technical development and get access to global expertise, contemporary innovations, and international partnerships. 

He affirmed that the Foundation is still carrying out its mission as intended by the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, may God rest his soul. The Board is also working to create work paths that will support the efforts of educational institutions and organizations in the field of gifted education, innovation, or educational achievement as directed by Sheikh Rashid bin Hamad Al Maktoum, the organization's supreme president.  His Excellency added that both the World Giftedness Center and Hamdan EFQM International Education Model projects are anticipated to have a positive influence on education both domestically and abroad and to offer fantastic prospects for offering high-quality educational services to students. Concluding his remarks, His Excellency wished the winners further success and advised the participants to keep up their excellent work and participation in the programs. The administrative and technical work teams as well as the  support of the juries’ committees were also appreciated. 

His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of the Foundation, for his part, said that the foundation is pleased with the response from the educational field as well as the participation in the awards and the outcomes of the evaluation, particularly that the process of developing assessment criteria prompted a structural change in the evaluation model, which required the provision of a number of training courses for juries to become familiar with the aspect.

His Excellency added that the foundation, which is wrapping up its silver jubilee, continues its relentless pursuit towards achieving leadership in evaluating educational excellence and appreciating the distinguished winners by offering the best international programs and designing arbitration standards that follow the highest international practices to keep up with the rapidly increasing changes occurring in the educational field. The Foundation has worked diligently over the years to create awards and implement numerous necessary changes and updates in order to keep up with academic advancement and be able to accomplish its objectives by assisting in the achievement of high-quality education, offering support and care for students, and recognizing the efforts of academics and educational institutions in this context. 

According to Al Suwaidi, "Hamdan Foundation has acquired technical and administrative practices and expertise that enable it to provide specialized expertise in fostering educational excellence and assessing the standard of school performance, as well as discovering gifted people, nurturing them, and supporting innovators."  

He added that as the excellence culture grows and evaluation standards are better understood, as he anticipates a continuous increase in the number of students enrolling in upcoming programs. 

Dr. Ali Al Kaabi, General Coordinator of the Juries’ Committees, clarified that the central arbitration of the award was carried out through interviews and virtual visits to ensure that the assessment process was conducted in accordance with international standards. He added that the applications were evaluated by arbitration committees made up of a distinguished elite of experts in all fields and award categories. He also explained that Hamdan Foundation had developed programs to train central arbitrators on evaluation mechanisms and arbitral processes in accordance with the developed model of standards with a focus on the integrity of evaluation processes.

Winners of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance awards at the local, Gulf, pan Arab and international levels will be recognized at a ceremony in March 2023 in Dubai.