HBMSU, UNESCO launch 2nd batch of Curriculum Diploma Programme

The second batch of the ‘Curriculum Diploma in the Arab Countries’ hosted by Hamdan bin Mohammed Smart University, HBMSU, in cooperation with the International Bureau of Education, IBE, of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, has been launched.

The move is part of joint efforts to develop educational competencies and teaching staff in Arab countries and contribute to the achievement of the fourth of the 17 goals of the UN Sustainable Development Plan 2030 which aims to provide inclusive high-level education characterised by equality and quality and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The programme is sponsored by the Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance. It offers a training experience using HBMSU’s smart educational systems developed by the university to re-engineer the future of teaching and learning based on creativity, innovation, scientific research. The second batch follows a highly successful inaugural edition and will accommodate 41 participants from 16 Arab countries. It aims to meet requirements for training and development of competencies responsible for the development of curricula in Arab countries according to a comparative international perspective that paves the way for delivering high-quality education.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar, Chancellor of HBMSU, emphasised the importance of the diploma as being the first of its kind in the Arab World to target developers of curriculum, education policy-makers and teaching staff in promoting a culture of smart learning, which he said has become a pillar for reshaping the future and providing education for all. He said that this programme is an intellectual and systematic tool for delivering high-level education characterised by equality, innovation and quality, in line with the Sustainable Development Goal of 2030 to ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.’ "The second batch of this programme is being participated in by 16 Arab countries, which reflects the growing regional and international confidence in HBMSU as a leader in knowledge and scientific research and a pioneering academic institution committed to shaping the future of education based on research, innovation and knowledge. We will continue to prepare the young generation to drive the growth process and keep pace with the requirements of the 21st Century," he concluded.

The programme incorporates a training methodology that combines self- and smart learning and direct education and targets developers of curriculum, education policy-makers, department heads, supervisors, teachers, university professors and education quality assurance specialists. It aims to improve the ability to analyse, review, evaluate, design and develop curricula at all levels of the education system. The first batch of graduates achieved a high success rate of 97.4 per cent out of 38 participants from 11 Arab countries, 14 of which were from the UAE.

The latest batch will span eight months through September 2018 at HBMSU’s campus with the participation of several Arab academics and UNESCO experts. The programme agenda’s various major themes presented in Arabic include ‘Curriculum Development: Concept, Trends, Issues and Challenges’; ‘Curriculum Development: Systems and Processes’; ‘Curriculum Design: Outputs? and Models’; ‘Curriculum of Smart Education and Custom Learning’; ‘Smart Learning Technology’; ‘Education Evaluation’; and ‘Inclusive and Creative Education Systems’.