Keynote Speaker

Dr. Sheikha Sana Butti Al Maktoum is an Assistant Professor at Zayed University, United Arab Emirates, whose work focuses on curriculum development, educational leadership, inclusive education, and teacher development. She has contributed to curriculum innovation across higher education institutions in the UAE and participated in national initiatives advancing inclusive educational practices. An active researcher and reviewer for international conferences and academic journals, she has published on curriculum, pedagogy, leadership, and inclusion. Her work bridges research, policy, and educational practice, promoting evidence-informed approaches to teaching and learning while advancing educational innovation and inclusive learning environments.

Abstract

Dr. Al Maktoum will present a keynote speech that traces the history of education in the United Arab Emirates, shedding light on its origins in this relatively young nation. The speaker will showcase various historical periods when lifelong learning and essential contributions bridged gaps and jump-started the educational landscape in the United Arab Emirates. The session captures milestones from the past, beginning with informal schooling funded by pearl traders, followed by the UAE’s partnership with Kuwait in the 1960s to support the establishment of formal schools.

Fast-forwarding to the present, the UAE has rapidly transformed and now welcomes 200 nationalities residing on its land, which ultimately calls for diversifying the school system. The UAE offers 14 curricula, has established homegrown institutions, and has extended a welcome to international ones. The rapid advancement in the school landscape required educators to be on their feet in response to pedagogical and technological changes. The session will showcase a period when school teachers were required to earn a computing and software certificate and highlight the current landscape, where teachers are required to be up to date with the growth of artificial intelligence, thus demanding them to be lifelong learners and to keep abreast of educational changes. Akin, university faculty are required to practice the same and further extend their services as distributors of knowledge and active agents in enhancing international collaboration, initiatives, and research. As a whole, the educational system remains agile amid continuous advances in technology and pedagogical practices, aligning with international standards and local needs, requiring educators in the UAE to remain lifelong learners to continue supporting learners. Lifelong learning remains crucial to the fabric of the United Arab Emirates as it continues to drive innovation and spread aspiration to other countries.