ABU DHABI - The General Secretariat of the Khalifa Award for Education launched its eighteenth session, 2024-2025, encompassing ten fields at the local and Arab levels.

These fields include Distinguished Educational Personality, General Education, Education, and Community Services, People of Determination, Innovation in Teaching Arabic Language, Higher Education, Educational Research, Educational Authorship for Children, Innovative Educational Projects and Programs, as well as the launch of the third course of the Khalifa International Award for Early Learning Field, which includes two categories: (Best Research and Studies) and (Best Programs, Curricula, Teaching methodologies, and Practises).

The General Secretariat of the Award has officially opened the window for receiving candidates’ applications for various fields from 1st July until 31st December. The application process is simple and can be completed electronically on the Award’s website. Once submitted, the candidates' files will undergo a rigorous screening, evaluation, and arbitration process administered by field-specialised scientific committees.

The Award's online platforms and intelligent apps have been comprehensively developed for the current session, enhancing the mechanism for better interaction with candidates. The winners of this upcoming session will be announced at the local, regional, and international levels next April 2025.

Secretary-General of the Khalifa Award for Education Amal Al-Afeefi said, “Today, we launch the Khalifa Award’s 18th session, a testament to the award’s commitment to the progress of academic excellence at local, Arab, and international levels.” She further elaborated, “We are proud of the leadership, outcomes, and overall excellence the award has achieved since its inception, as it highlighted teaching and administrative cadres and distinguished community institutions who have all made outstanding contributions to the education process at various levels.”

Al-Afeefi added, “The award succeeded in bridging and exchanging experiences and expertise among the various elements of the educational process, hence the widespread interest in participating in and submitting for the Award through its multiple sessions."

The award provided a top-notch educational platform inducing innovation and creativity, and today, we look forward to launching a new session in this course, supported by a series of events, induction programs, and applied workshops; we invite professionals and institutions in education to take part and interact via submitting to the available fields. After all, the mission, objectives, and role in supporting the advancement and future of the education sector is all that this award strives to achieve.

The Secretary-General stressed the vitality of this session to the Khalifa Award for Education's long legacy since its tender beginnings in 2007. This session is a continuation of the mission, objectives, and operational programs that aim to motivate educational personnel to stand out and launch initiatives and projects that enhance the advancement of education, the quality of performance, and the excellence of academic outputs.

Throughout 18 years, the award brought about a qualitative shift in the culture of excellence in general and higher education through the fields offered. It supported the culture of excellence and motivated education professionals to leap creativity, innovation, and leadership, which has had the most significant impact on the award's issuance of educational awards at the local, regional, and international levels.

Al-Afeefi stated that the current session's timetable began today with the receipt of candidate applications electronically via the website developed by the Award's General Secretariat by the highest applied standards of intelligent platforms, thereby improving the quality of services provided to candidates while reducing the time and effort required.

The timeline also includes the screening of candidates' applications by the Secretariat for the Award as a priority phase from 1st to 10th January 2025; the Executive Committee of the Khalifa Award for Education, as well as the Screening Committee of the Khalifa International Award for Early Learning Field, will then hold the screening phase of the nominated works from 11th January to 9th February.

Specialised committees conduct arbitration and evaluations of candidates' performance. Finally, the winners will be recognised in May.