• Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi: We are aiming to include computer science in all educational stages, starting from kindergarten, to hone students’ computational thinking skills
  • Aim is to raise awareness about the importance of computer science among students, teachers, parents, and various social groups
  • Collaboration will focus on providing the relevant resources and curriculum with content in Arabic language

United Arab Emirates: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Code.org, with the aim of enhancing and expanding computer science education throughout the UAE.

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

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi noted that eradicating digital illiteracy and expanding computer science education to all UAE citizens is one of the key goals of the ministry. His Excellency also mentioned that the ministry is aiming to include computer science in all educational stages, starting from kindergarten, to hone students’ computational thinking skills. The ministry will also improve the digital capabilities of teachers to be effective contributors to building a knowledgeable society and to qualify today’s generation to meet current and future labour market requirements.

His Excellency Dr. Al Falasi said: “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.”

“It is critical to modernise primary and secondary education curriculum, to include computer science and AI, to prepare the next generation for the foundational skills of tomorrow,” said Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org. “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 to use it.”

The collaboration will focus on four aspects of promoting computer science education in the country. These include raising awareness about the importance of computer science among students, teachers, parents, and various social groups; providing the relevant resources and curriculum with content in the Arabic language; training teachers at all stages and ensuring their competence in teaching computer science; in addition to allocating time for computer science during and after school hours.

During WGS2023, the MoE announced that the United Arab Emirates was one of the first countries in the world to begin charting a path for embedding AI tools across its education system. This is by integrating GPT-powered AI tutors into the education system, in partnership with Microsoft OpenAI.

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