Dubai: A total of 248 students, teachers and educators have won awards in the 18th edition of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance, the Minister of Education announced on Monday.
Hussain Ebrahim Al Hammadi announced that out of the 375 people who applied for the award this year, 248 winners were chosen. This is an increase of two per cent as last year 244 winners received the award.
The award was established in 1998 after a decree by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, as a way of recognising excellence in educational performance and fostering talent.
“The award recognises excellence and encourages students to continue working hard. What is special about this award is that it constantly evolves to ensure that all students, teachers, educators and institutions that elevate education are recognised,” he said.
The majority of the winners came from the Sharjah Education Zone with 67 winners. It was followed respectively by Dubai (60 winners), Abu Dhabi (40 winners) and Fujairah (24 winners).
The majority of the winners, 88 per cent, were students who applied for the distinguished student category (204).
Other categories included distinguished university student, where 17 students won. The distinguished teacher category had nine winners, distinguished counsellor (one winner), best implemented project (three winners), best scientific innovation (two winners), distinguished school (one winner), distinguished family (five winners) and institutions that support education (three winners).
The winning students, teachers and educators will be honoured in an award ceremony on April 20, where they will be given a trophy and a Dh25,000 prize to encourage them to continue to excel in education.
The student winners include student Amnah Al Hammadi, who won in the people with disability category.
Three institutions will receive an award for supporting education. They are Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which was awarded for its initiative ‘Conservation Award: For a Better Tomorrow’; Majid Al Futtaim Charity Foundation, which will be awarded for its health awareness initiative; and the Ministry of Interior which won for the initiative that aims to develop the skills of youth.
A total of 26 winners are from the GCC, 10 from Saudi Arabia, seven from Kuwait, six from Bahrain and three from Qatar. More than 30 per cent of the GCC participation was in the distinguished student and teacher category.
Meanwhile, a research project from Dr Sa’ad Al Haaj from Algeria won the Arab educational research award.
The award ceremony will also include a Unesco-Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum prize for outstanding practice and performance in enhancing the effectiveness of teachers, which is granted every other year.
This year, See Beyond Borders, Development Aid from People to People and Malaya University in Malaysia were declared the winners.
Dr Khalifa Al Suwaidi, member of the Board of trustees and chairman of the Central Arbitration Board of the award, said Unesco reassessed some of the awards it supports and even droped some international awards but chose to keep the Hamdan award due to the impact it has on the education scene
Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance
- 375 candidates applied for the award this year
- 248 won in the 18th edition
-The majority of the winners came from the Sharjah Education Zone with 67 winners. It was followed respectively by Dubai (60 winners), Abu Dhabi (40 winners) and Fujairah (24 winners).
-The majority of the winners, 88 per cent, were students who took applied for the distinguished student category (204).
