ABU DHABI – The Ministry of Education (MoE) and Code.org have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance and expand computer science education throughout the UAE.

Dr. Mohamed Ebrahim Almualla, Under-Secretary for Academic Affairs at MoE, and Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org, signed the MoU during the MoE’s participation in the World Government Summit 2023 (WGS2023). The signing was attended by Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, along with senior officials from both parties.

Dr. Al Falasi noted that eradicating digital illiteracy and expanding computer science education to all UAE citizens is a key goal of the ministry. He added that the ministry is aiming to include computer science in all educational stages, starting from kindergarten, to enhance students’ computational thinking skills. Additionally, the ministry will improve the digital capabilities of teachers to build a knowledgeable society and prepare the current generation to meet current and future labor market requirements.

“The Ministry of Education works in line with the leadership’s directives to build the future education system in the country. As such, we work with our partners from government, private, and nonprofits to improve various aspects of the education system, including the dissemination of computer science education and the integration of artificial intelligence within the education system. We are certain that this strategic cooperation with Code.org will help in serving these goals and aspirations,” said Dr. Al Falasi.

Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org, emphasised the importance of modernising primary and secondary education curricula to include computer science and AI. He said, “We look forward to partnering with UAE’s Ministry of Education to ensure all students in the country learn how to create technology and not just use it.”

The collaboration between the MoE and Code.org will focus on four aspects of promoting computer science education in the country, including raising awareness about the importance of computer science, providing relevant resources and curriculum in Arabic, training teachers, and allocating time for computer science during and after school hours.

The MoE also announced during WGS2023 that the UAE was one of the first countries to begin charting a path for embedding AI tools across its education system. This is through integrating GPT-powered AI tutors into the education system, in partnership with Microsoft OpenAI.