Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance concludes its 25th session by honoring 72 outstanding winners in various categories

Under the Patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum: 

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan Al Maktoum, Supreme Chairman of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, honored the winners of the 25th session of the Foundation's awards at the closing ceremony, which was held on Wednesday, March 1st, in the Theater Hall of Mohammed bin Rashid Library in Dubai.

His Excellency Humaid Mohammad Al Qutami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, and His Excellency Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary General of the Foundation, alongside many officials, attended the graduation ceremony of the 72 winners.

In his speech at the closing ceremony, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan Al Maktoum, Supreme  Chairman of the Foundation, said: “Today, we celebrate together twenty-five years that the Foundation has dedicated to serving education and supporting the educational renaissance under the generous patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and  Prime Minister of the UAE, Ruler of Dubai and Their Highnesses the Rulers of the Emirates, and in pursuit of the vision of the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum - may God rest his soul - who always believed that education is the foundation of human development, and that encouraging creativity and academic excellence contributes to preparing a generation capable of driving sustainable development, achieving stability, and prosperity for humanity. His initiative to establish an award for distinguished academic performance in 1998 marked the beginning of the journey of excellence. 

Together, we have witnessed its stages of development, achievements, and transformation from a program of training, motivation, and recognition, to a prestigious institution that contributes to supporting education locally, regionally, and globally, and presents itself as a model of successful initiatives capable of supporting and enabling education to be more responsive to global challenges.”

Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan added: “It is a journey of twenty-five years of giving, during which a group of ministers of education in the country led the march and headed the board of trustees of the Foundation, thus contributed sincerely to achieving the foundation’s goals. Also, the administrators and specialists, pioneers of education, took part in implementing and developing its projects and programs, as well as our partners, especially international, regional and local organizations and institutions. All of them, without exception, deserve our appreciation and respect as partners in success in this blessed journey.”

At the conclusion of his remarks, Sheikh Rashid bin Hamdan expressed his congratulations and appreciation to all the Foundation’s staff members for their extraordinary efforts that helped to highlight a portion of the UAE's cultural philosophy and its responsibility to humanity around the globe.

His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Al Qutami, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of   Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, said: “Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance Awards have become instrumental in supporting and guiding talents towards broad creative and innovative spaces. They have helped to discover, support, and encourage talents to develop their skills and utilize their innovations for the benefit of society, and to enhance the country's status and progress towards sustainable development by investing in human capital and building a knowledge-based economy. Undoubtedly, developing education to meet the requirements of development plays a pivotal role in driving the wheel of progress and prosperity by graduating qualified generations capable of assuming responsibility and facing challenges, supported by the wise leadership of the UAE, which is exerting all efforts towards the development and renaissance of education.”

In his comment on Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation's celebration of its silver jubilee during the closing ceremony, Dr. Khalifa Al Suwaidi, Secretary-General of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, said: “As we celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance, we celebrate the great achievements that the Foundation has made over the past twenty-five years, drawing inspiration from the vision of the founder of the United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan (may God have mercy on him), that education is the cornerstone of the development and progress of societies. Since its establishment, the Foundation has continued to work in collaboration with its partners from other government entities concerned with education and leading local and international institutions to launch initiatives and organize programs aimed at developing the education sector, refining students' skills, providing them with knowledge and science, and supporting the talented.”

Dr. Al Suwaidi added: “We congratulate the award winners and hope that their victory will serve as a springboard for further work toward success.”

The number of winners in the 25th cycle of Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Educational Performance Awards has reached 72. Four research papers won the Hamdan-ALECSO Award for Distinguished Educational Research out of a total of 72 participating research papers from thirteen 13 Arab countries. Additionally, the number of winners in the Gulf competitions reached 14 winners in various categories. Saudi Arabia won nine awards, while Kuwait won three awards, and Qatar and Bahrain each won one award out of the total awards.

At the local level, the number of distinguished winners reached 49 out of a total of 177 candidates who underwent final judging in the awards for ‘Distinguished Student’, ‘Distinguished University Student’, ‘Distinguished Teacher’, ‘Distinguished Educator’, and ‘Distinguished School’. The number of participants in the awards was 134 students from both general and higher education, including 84 students in the academic field and 49 students in the non-academic field.