Students from five UAE schools faced off in the final round of the first edition of Uber’s ‘Future of Schools’ competition last week. In collaboration with The General Secretariat of The Executive Council of Dubai (TEC), the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and Dubai Education Zone (DEZ), the competition challenged students to present creative solutions to the question that educators – both on a local and global level – grapple with on a daily basis: “How do we make learning more innovative and inclusive for all?”

The finalists, whittled down from an initial field of 19 participating schools and educational institutions, presented in front of a senior panel of judges that included representatives from Google and Facebook. The winning team, from Jumeirah College, won a weeklong trip to Uber’s headquarters in San Francisco.

Uber Comp 2

Commenting on the the competition, Christopher Free, General Manager for the UAE at Uber, said, “The rise of the global knowledge economy has intensified the need for strategic partnerships that help utilize both the competitiveness and expertise of the public and private sectors, transforming the educational experience that schools can now offer their students. The submissions we’ve seen throughout this entire process have shown us just how aware the country’s students are of the challenges facing their teachers and their peers, both in the UAE and across the world, and how committed they are to making real, lasting and positive change in their communities. We thank all the schools that took part and would like to extend our congratulations once again to the winning school.”

The student submissions explored a number of topics, ranging from education accessibility, green friendliness and sustainability, to on-demand education and smart learning. The finalists had benefitted from the mentorship of Uber employees prior to the event, who used their expertise to help them refine their presentation techniques, and improve on their proposals ahead of the final phase.

“Young people are the change-makers of tomorrow, and the student presentations showed us that they want to take an active role in the development of creative solutions. All along, the participating schools have shown a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for the competition, which bodes well for this country’s education potential. The final decision was certainly not an easy one to make,” said Ms. Aisha Miran, Assistant Secretary General for Strategy Management and Governance Sector at The General Secretariat of the Executive Council of Dubai.

The five finalists include representatives from Our Own High School, Dubai Scholars Private School, Jumeirah College, Victoria International School Sharjah, and Dubai GEM Private School- the teams were judged on the core idea, the research carried out to understand the need, its sustainability, the practicalities of making the idea a reality, and the presentation of the idea.