Make education ‘cool’ with KHDA and Saturday Clubs
dubai — “School is cool, but Saturday Clubs are super cool,” says Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
During the launch of the second edition of the KHDA’s ‘Dubai Saturday Clubs’, Dr Karam told Khaleej Times that a skills-based approach to learning is what this programme is all about.
“Education is moving towards experiential learning and what these sessions do is act as a platform for students to be creative.”
The new club will be open to students from the ages of 13 to 16 and will combine workshops and master classes on wellbeing, creativity and design, entrepreneurship and technology.
During it’s pilot phase, more than 100 students from 40 schools participated in the programme.
But this year the competition to get a place is tougher than ever – but the experience will be better than ever, Dr Karam said.
“We will offer places to less students this year, less than 100 in fact, but the frequency of the sessions will increase, as well as the one-onone mentorship for students.”
The #DubaiSaturdayClub sessions will be held on two Saturdays a month in February, March, April and May 2017.
Several community mentors from different creative sectors will deliver each session and lead a team of students to come up with quirky concepts outside the norm, from mobile apps to innovative art.
“I think we’ll see many students take this learning back to the classroom and share it among their peers. For me, spreading positive learning is an exciting prospect,” Dr Karam said.
Students and designers in the second edition of Dubai Saturday Clubs can find more information on www.dubaisaturdayclubs.ae or they can send an e-mail to info@ khda.gov.ae. But this is a call-out to social entrepreneurs too, he said.
“We have received so much interest from entrepreneurs wanting to partner with us for this programme so we urge them to continue getting in touch and we’ll
Director General of KHDA
Education is moving towards experiential learning methods and what these sessions do is act as a platform for students here to be creative.” Dr Abdulla Al Karam,
see if we can make it happen.”
And when asked if the called was to UAE-based entrepreneurs only, he joked. “They can be from Mars, as long as they offer something creative for our students.”
During Wednesday’s launch when the website went live, Saeed Al Nabouda, Acting Director General, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and Mohammed Saeed Al-Shehhi, Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Design District expressed their excitement in being involved in such an initiative.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com