Entrepreneurship and innovation in spotlight
The Education Minister has expressed keenness to develop curricula to subjects related to entrepreneurship, innovation and artificial intelligence.
“These are basic subjects that qualify students to engage in public life and build a knowledge-based society to provide them with the 21st century skills and develop talents capable of producing creative ideas and achieving SDGs through entrepreneurship and innovation,” Dr Majid Al Nuaimi.
He was speaking at the closing ceremony of the third edition of the initiative to promote innovation and entrepreneurship to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for secondary school students, held by the Education Ministry, in co-operation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s (UNIDO) Investment and Technology Promotion Office in Bahrain (UNIDO ITPO Bahrain).
The minister lauded massive participation from public and private schools, noting that as many as 1,360 students from various governorates have taken part in the programme since its launch.
UNIDO ITPO Bahrain head Dr Hashim Hussein, in his speech, praised the existing strategic partnership between IPTO and the Education Ministry to hold the competition despite circumstances posed by the pandemic.
He added that UNIDO had held an intensified training programme for 450 co-ordinators of the competition from various schools, affirming that Bahrain is the first Arab country to implement an integrated curriculum to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, and that UNIDO, in co-ordination with the Arab League and the Federation of Arab Chambers, will discuss mechanisms for implementing it in a number of Arab countries.
He indicated that promoting the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship through education is one of the most important priorities of countries, and this is what Bahrain is keen to implement, pointing to the efforts of UNIDO to document this distinguished experience in partnership with the UN.
Dr Hussein said that the “Bahrain Model for Entrepreneurship and Innovation” and the Enterprise Development and Investment Promotion Programme are applied in 53 countries around the world due to their excellence.
“The first five winning schools will have the opportunity to take part in Expo Dubai, and the Arab Rally for Entrepreneurship in which 21 Arab countries will take part to showcase their winning projects,” he added.
The ceremony also featured the honouring of the winning schools, including:
1. Isa Town Secondary Boys’ School for its project “Bahrain Tender”, a website for showcasing the enterprises of individuals and SMEs;
2. Al Wafa Secondary Girls’ School for its “Smart Hygiene” project, a smart bracelet that vibrates when it detects a high percentage of germs on the hand;
3. Jidhafs Secondary Technical Boys’ School for its “Wastewater Treatment and Recycling for Use” project;
4. Omaima Bint Al Noaman Secondary Girls’ School for its “Green Water Purifier” project, a machine that withdraws pollutants from sea water; and
5. Creativity Private School for its “Relife” project, aimed at recycling used clothes to make new clothes and bags.
Source: https://www.gdnonline.com/Details/965164
