• Design thinking approach invites students to be designers, engineers, and inventors
  • IB school seeks to transcend traditional subject silos with a transdisciplinary mindset

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: GEMS International School – Al Khail (GIS) has taken a significant stride toward reshaping education into a dynamic journey of exploration with the launch of its new state-of-the-art Innovation Hub, a centre of excellence designed to nurture creativity, critical thinking, and innovation through the power of design thinking.

Simon Herbert, Head of School/CEO at GIS, said: “We are so fortunate at GEMS International School to have such remarkable facilities. This astonishing Innovation Hub in our primary school allows our younger students to use design thinking and to express their creativity within the most wonderful surroundings. It also links with our secondary design curriculum and provides a smooth pathway through our IB school.”

Design thinking, far more than a buzzword, is a structured framework for addressing real-world challenges. At GIS, this six-stage process empowers students to empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test, and iterate on solutions, breaking down the barriers between various concepts and disciplines to foster transdisciplinary thinking.

Kim Conlin, Head of Primary at GIS, who is at the forefront of this innovative educational approach, explained: “It’s so important to cultivate thinking habits that transcend traditional subject boundaries, aligned with the International Baccalaureate, which seeks to develop inquiring, knowledgeable, and caring young individuals who contribute to a better and more peaceful world.

“The IB mission is also in perfect harmony with the principles of design thinking. The Innovation Hub at GIS invites students to step into the roles of designers, engineers, and inventors. It starts with an idea, and from there, the possibilities are endless.”

The benefits of design thinking are profound. Students gain the ability to seamlessly integrate concepts and disciplines, express their creativity using diverse resources, and think critically and innovatively when problem-solving. The Innovation Hub, which is available to all students in primary, replaces siloed learning with a transdisciplinary mindset, bringing education to life in a real-world context.

The Innovation Hub is equipped with digital music production tools, 3D printing capabilities, coding resources, robotics, product design tools, makerspace materials, and immersive technologies such as Virtual Reality. The centre is designed to nurture young minds with state-of-the-art resources, ergonomic workstations, dynamic seating, and multi-use facilities that together create an optimal learning environment.

The Hub is not just about resources; it’s also about experiences. Through transdisciplinary learning, students can embark on projects that span various subjects – a fact stressed by Javier Lucero, Head of Innovation at GIS.

“We want to provide young students with every resource and opportunity we can in order to place them in an ideal position to take on the issues and opportunities of today and tomorrow,” said Lucero. “We want them to innovate and to be creative.”

Specific examples of this transformative approach include 3D printing, which at GIS becomes a tool for understanding interconnected city systems, transforming a conventional social studies unit into a multi-disciplinary, immersive learning experience.

Glowworm robotics, meanwhile, takes the traditional subject of biology to the next level, enabling students to create their own glow-bug robots that communicate, as well as code their own light sequences. Such experiences empower students to apply their knowledge in practical ways and create solutions to real-world challenges.

GIS’ Innovation Hub joins the school’s existing Centre of Excellence for Aviation, Aeronautics, and Space. It stands as a beacon of change in the world of education, exemplifying the IB continuum school’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of innovators and creators. With design thinking at its core and a wealth of resources and experiences to offer, the Innovation Hub is poised to redefine education and inspire students to make a lasting, positive impact on the world.

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About GEMS Education

GEMS Education is one of the world’s oldest and largest K-12 private education providers. It is a highly regarded choice for quality private education in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a company founded in the UAE in 1959, it holds an unparalleled track record of providing diverse curricula and educational choices to all socio-economic means. GEMS Education now owns and operates 63 schools and educates over 130,000 students in the MENA region; and through its growing network of schools as well as charitable contributions is fulfilling the founder’s vision of putting a quality education within the reach of every child.

For further information about GEMS Education, visit www.gemseducation.com or contact: