Participants stressed the importance of enhancing and supporting the role of teachers in improving educational outputs.  

The College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University organized the 5th Mydan Forum, hosted by Al Jahili school in Al Ain under the theme of “Trends in Education”. In the presence of Prof. Ahmad Ali Murad, Associate Provost for Research at UAE University, Dr. Rabaa Al Sumaiti, Assistant Undersecretary of the Licensing and Quality Department at the Ministry of Education, and Dr. Mona Al Janahi, Vice Dean of college of Education at the United Arab Emirates University, Rahma Al-Rabi, the Director of Al-Ain Council, and a number of members of the teaching faculty of the Ministry of Education, schools’ principals and teachers from public and private schools. 

Prof. Ahmad Murad noted in his opening statement that this forum comes to enrich society with educational values and modern trends in education that keep pace with the modern development of the educational process outputs. He added “the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University has witnessed developments that kept pace with the modern trends which positively reflects on the college’s programs and outputs. The college offers high quality academic programs to keep pace with educational techniques and to anticipate the future of the education system by communicating with strategic partners and working on driving the education system to provide the finest educational output.”

For her part, H.E Dr. Rabaa Al Sumaiti presented a working paper with a strategic vision on the career path of teachers, stressing the importance of enhancing the role and status of teachers and elevating their expertise and skills to keep abreast with the development of educational techniques. Emphasizing that education in the United Arab Emirates has undergone many big development stages and is at the forefront of the United Arab Emirates government's national strategies. Noting the existence of 18 educational curriculums, confirming the cultural and educational diversity in the country. Where schools have teaching and training faculty and students from 204 different nationalities. Stressing the ministry’s keenness to improve the national workforce to fill the shortage of teacher gap in light of the increasing number of students. 

She pointed out the importance of improving a teacher’s quality, organizing relevant programmes and policies that maintain the quality of teaching and enhance the progress and professional development of effective teaching, empowering teachers as professionals, career development, supporting the creation of an effective teacher, and developing strategic frameworks and standards for quality of education.

The forum witnessed a number of workshops on the future aspects of AI in education, leadership of education and learning, emotional intelligence of teachers, the role of teaching assistants in special education “research vision”.