Digital School, Kurdistan Iraq unveil ‘10,000 Digital Teachers’ initiative

DUBAI / WAM

The Digital School, one of the initiatives of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government, has launched an initiative to train and build the capacities of 10,000 digital teachers. The programme aims to equip male and female teachers in the region with modern digital teaching skills through an advanced training programme organised in partnership with Arizona State University, USA.
The initiative paves the way for a new phase of strategic cooperation between the Digital School and the Ministry of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government. It builds on the success of the first phase, implemented with the support of Dubai Cares, which saw the training and certification of 2,400 digital teachers, laying the foundation for the expansion to 10,000 teachers.
Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Digital Economy, and Remote Work Applications, and Chairman of the Board of the Digital School, affirmed that building teachers’ digital capacities represents a core focus of the Digital School’s initiatives. These initiatives, he said, aim to support communities with future-oriented learning models that enable students to acquire knowledge and benefit from the capabilities that technology offers in accessing learning resources and solutions.
He added that the partnership with the Kurdistan Regional Government serves as a model for collaboration towards sustainable and innovative education. It marks an important step in developing a generation of digital teachers capable of integrating technology, creativity, and critical thinking into education, thereby enhancing the leadership of the educational model in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Alan Hama Salih, Minister of Education of the Kurdistan Regional Government, praised the Digital School’s initiatives and its commitment to building teachers’ capacities in digital education, as well as its ability to reach students and teachers anywhere. He added that the significance of the Digital School lies in the flexibility of its
operational model and its capacity to overcome geographical and temporal boundaries, as well as language barriers.
This makes the training an effective tool for skill development and rapid update of training content, providing trainees with an interactive and personalized learning environment, while also enhancing self-learning and digital competencies.
The initiative aims to build teachers’ capacities and enhance digital education in the region. It is organised under the Global Academy for Digital Teachers, affiliated with the Digital School, which focuses on developing digital competencies and promoting innovative teaching methods to empower teachers to lead modern classrooms that enrich students’ learning experiences. The academy offers its training programmes in Kurdish, Arabic, and English to broaden participation and ensure inclusivity, enabling all teachers to benefit from world-class educational resources and earn internationally accredited certificates from Arizona State University. The programme is highly flexible to accommodate the needs of in-field teachers and provides incentive packages for the most outstanding teachers, who will be recognised as part of fostering positive competition and professional excellence.
The Global Academy for Digital Teachers represents a pioneering global initiative for teacher development. Launched by the Digital School, it is supported by the Experience Exchange Office of the UAE Government and holds international accreditation from Arizona State University, USA.
The academy aims to empower teachers to use technology effectively, promote interactive learning, and support innovation in classrooms, thereby contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4: (Quality Education for all). The academy offers high-quality training programmes in seven languages: Arabic, English, French, Kurdish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Indonesian. The Digital School, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, in November 2020, is the first accredited digital school of its kind. It aims to empower students with digital learning options, offering a qualitative choice for blended and remote learning in a smart and flexible manner.
The school targets underprivileged communities, refugees, and displaced people worldwide by leveraging digital education and providing contemporary curricula. Digital School continues to grow, having benefited over 750,000 students and trained more than 23,000 digital teacher.