Kuwait’s Ibn El-Ameed Secondary School receives Microsoft Showcase School recognition

KUWAIT: Microsoft announced that Ibn ElAmeed Secondary School, an academic institution under Kuwait’s Ministry of Education; has joined the Microsoft Showcase School community, a program dedicated to excellence in education sectors around the globe. The Microsoft Showcase School program is designed to identify innovative leadership and teaching in classrooms around the world. Showcase School leadership teams are part of a global professional community that embraces technology as a key enabler of institution-wide transformation.

“It is inspiring to see Ibn El-Ameed Secondary School receive much-deserved recognition for the part its leaders and educators have played in bringing 21st-century methodologies into our classrooms. This is the kind of progress we have in mind - bold, progressive changes to learning that will cement the future of our youth and allow them to enter the workforce as innovators,” said Khalid Al-Rushaid, Assistant Undersecretary for Public Education, Ministry of Education, Kuwait. “Technology is a central component in our vision for the development of our young people, and Microsoft has been an invaluable partner in the pursuit of that goal.”

Microsoft’s work with Kuwait’s Ministry of Education includes implementation of Windows devices, Office 365 and OneNote, to support the ministry in its own digitaltransformation journey. “We have a long history of collaborations with Kuwait’s Ministry of Education, through our many programs designed to enhance teaching and learning,” said Charles Nahas, General Manager, Microsoft Kuwait. “Ibn El-Ameed Secondary’s inclusion in the Showcase School program is indicative of how far Kuwait’s education sector has come in embracing digital transformation. We believe technology has an integral part to play in making lessons come alive. We at Microsoft are not teachers, but we have always been proud to play a supporting role, as enabler, in transforming classrooms around the world.”

Microsoft Gulf’s Education Team visited Ibn El-Ameed Secondary School, to present the Showcase School Banner to School Principle Fahed El-Mudahkaand Microsoft Innovative Educator Fellow, Ahmed Ashour. The school’s newly appointed principle; Dr. Ali Salem Edreis now takes over the reins from Fahed El-Mudahka in carrying forward its vision of implementing digital methodologies to improve teaching and learning experiences. Microsoft’s Showcase Schools must satisfy several rigorous best-practice criteria before they can join the community. A board of education specialist at Microsoft examines each school’s approach to digital transformation through the lenses of leadership, classroom capacity, technical capacity, teaching and learning. Clear improvement plans, professional-development programs, personal-learning initiatives and a sharp focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), are just some of the elements Microsoft’s Showcase Schools panel looks for in identifying stand-out educators.