Page 20 - T4 Education PR REPORT - August 2024

UAE’s Nargish Khambatta Named Finalist for Inaugural Asia Education Medal - eemirates
others will be inspired to carry the torch. The medal is awarded to an outstanding individual
who has demonstrated impact, leadership, and advocacy in the field of educa on.

The winner of the Asia Educa on Medal will be invited to a end the World Schools Summit in
Dubai on 23-24 November and, in recogni on of the urgent need to solve the teacher

recruitment and reten on crisis to tackle learning gaps, the winner will be en tled to nominate
a school of their choice to receive membership of T4 Educa on’s Best School to

Work programme – an independent, evidence-based mechanism to cer fy schools for their
culture and help them transform their working environment to a ract and retain the best

teachers.

Nargish Khamba a is the Principal and CEO of GEMS Modern Academy, an independent

interna onal school in Dubai, UAE, which was named in the Top 10 shortlist for the World’s Best
School Prize for Innova on 2023.

Having integrated technology and entrepreneurship into its curriculum, the school has seen a
37% year-on-year rise in student par cipa on and na onal and interna onal collabora ons

with the likes of DFC, SAP, and Microso .

Recognising the need to prepare students for an uncertain future, GEMS Modern Academy

introduced several technological innova ons into its curriculum and prac ces to include the
region’s first online report card system, developed en rely by students and teachers. The school

even has a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme, through which students from Grade 2
onwards bring their own learning devices.

In 2015-16, a er sending teachers to Carnegie Mellon University for training in STEAM and
technology integra on, the school incorporated the disciplines into classrooms. Also, a er

partnering with Harvard Project Zero, the school developed thinking rou nes and a
mul disciplinary approach towards innova on, known as the futures curriculum method, which

has been adopted by several other schools.

Altogether, this has led to an entrepreneurial mindset that the school deliberately fosters.

Star ng in primary school with Unit of Inquiry projects and moving on to Challenge-Based
Learning in middle school and the school’s Prism Project and Entrepreneurship and Innova on

Programme in senior school, GEMS Modern Academy provides what it calls a scaffolded
strategy for developing cri cal thinking, problem-solving, design thinking and a growth mindset.

Khamba a’s outstanding leadership of the school saw her receive the first-ever GEMS
Excep onal Head of School Award in 2018.

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