Spotlight finalising

Qatar 2025

In this Spotlight on Education Innovations in Qatar, HundrEd and Qatar Foundation aimed to identify and promote impactful and scalable solutions that support the development of innovative educational practices in Qatar.

In collaboration with the Qatar Foundation

English | العربية

The challenge

Qatar is on a transformative journey to develop human capital by providing inclusive, high-quality education. This commitment equips students for global and technical challenges, aligning with their aspirations and Qatari society's evolving needs. The goal is a first-rate education system that develops analytical, critical, creative, and innovative individuals, promoting social cohesion and respect for Qatar’s values and heritage.

The solution

Achieving the ambitious goals laid out in Qatar’s national development agenda will require innovative approaches and fresh ideas from a broad coalition of educators and educational leaders throughout the country and internationally. Through this Spotlight, HundrED and Qatar Foundation aimed to identify 10-15 impactful and scalable education innovations that contribute to Qatar’s vision to provide progressive, first-rate education to its students.

What kinds of innovations were we looking for?

We were looking to identify and promote impactful and scalable solutions that support the development of innovative educational practices in Qatar.

We were interested in innovations from:

All schools in Qatar
Community-based education programs, museums, civic organisations, non-governmental organisations, or sports clubs
Innovations from educational projects (created by high-school and university students)
Formal, Informal, and Non-formal Education*

*Formal education refers to the structured education system that runs from primary school to university, and includes specialised programmes for vocational, technical, and professional training.

Non-formal education refers to planned, structured programmes and processes of personal and social education for young people designed to improve a range of skills and competencies, outside the formal educational curriculum. Non-formal education is what happens in places such as youth organisations, sports clubs, drama and community groups, and community-based education.

Informal education refers to a lifelong learning process, whereby each individual acquires attitudes, values, skills, and knowledge from the educational influences and resources in his or her own environment and from daily experience. People learn from family and neighbours, in the marketplace, at the library, at art exhibitions, at work and through playing, reading, and sports activities.

We were looking particularly for innovations with the following areas of focus:

Arabic language and learning
Enhancing student engagement and participation
Education as a collective responsibility
School-specific innovations

To be selected for the shortlist, each solution had to show evidence for impact and scalability using the following definitions:

Impact: Evaluated as a valuable improvement within the Qatari context.
Scalability: Either the solution is actively expanding to other contexts or has a high degree of transferability for others to adopt its practice/technology.

Benefits of submitting to this collection

Validation: The recognition and award provide third-party validation from an independent panel of international education innovation experts, allowing for further investment and improvement.

Reflective Learning: The application process itself can lead you to reflect on your work, outcomes, and future directions, encouraging a deeper understanding of your project.

External Perspective: Selected innovations will be filmed for a promotional video showcasing their work to an international audience, spotlighted by both HundrED and the Qatar Foundation. Examples from Spotlight Qatar 2023 can be found on our Youtube playlist.

Networking and Collaboration: Participation in the award ceremony facilitates networking with other organizations and individuals interested in educational innovation, potentially opening doors for future collaboration and exchange of ideas.

Awareness and Publicity: The potential to support fundraising and replication efforts with the selection recognition.

For experiences of innovators selected to the Spotlight on Qatar in 2023, watch the “Discovering Education Innovations in Qatar” webinar recording from March 6, 2024.

To learn more about the Spotlight, watch the following videos:

The Spotlight in a nutshell, promotional video:

Recording of our online event 'Discovering Education Innovations in Qatar' that took place on March 6, 2024. During the event, representatives from The Ministry of Education of Qatar, Qatar Foundation, and HundrED provided insights into the Spotlight and its purpose:

Learn more about Qatar Foundation

Qatar Foundation (QF) is a non-profit organisation made up of more than 50 entities working in education, research, and community development. Their unique ecosystem — supported by partnerships with leading international institutions — is built on initiatives that address their most pressing challenges, create global opportunities, and empower people to shape our present and future in Qatar. For over two decades, Qatar Foundation has been driving regional innovation and entrepreneurship, fostering social development and a culture of lifelong learning, and preparing their brightest minds to tackle tomorrow’s biggest challenges. At the heart of everything they do is the knowledge that our future lies in unlocking the most precious resource of all — human potential. More information: https://www.qf.org.qa/