How Sharjah is sharpening its most talented pupils’ skills

Education programme features experts who deliver modules in areas such as astronomy, space science and machine learning

Sharjah pupils being trained on machine learning, web development and desktop applications. All photos: Sharjah Educational Council

A Sharjah Educational Council initiative identifies pupils' talents and helps develop them through a number of programmes.

Sharjah pupils learn about astronomy and space science.

Talent identification and development should be a comprehensive and nationwide scheme with a dedicated annual budget, said Alia Hamad Al Shamsi.

Pupils in grades eight to 12 from various Sharjah schools during the educational programme designed to hone their specific skills.

One of 48 talented pupils during a training course on machine learning, web development and desktop applications.

Pupils from Sharjah schools learning about programming and applications development.

A lecture about space sciences by a University of Sharjah expert.

Programming and application development training.

Training courses and workshops are carried out by experts from the University of Sharjah, Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology, and Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

Sharjah Education Council has devised a summer programme that it says will develop the skills of its most talented pupils and prepare them for university.

A total of 48 pupils from various private and public schools across the emirate are enrolled in this year’s course.

The pupils from grades four to 12 joined the scheme after being nominated by their parents or schools.

They had to pass an interview stage and a set of tests that assessed their intelligence and knowledge and identified their skills.

“The initiative aims to identify, develop and nurture our pupils’ talents by involving them in a group of inspiring and innovative training programmes,” said Mariam Buali, head of the Gifted Welfare section at Sharjah Education Council.

“The 180-hour programme is specifically designed to meet the pupils’ interests, tendencies and needs and to be suitable for their ages.”

The training courses and workshops focus on sustainable environment, astronomy and space, machine learning, web development and desktop applications.

The various modules are delivered by experts from the University of Sharjah, Sharjah Academy for Astronomy, Space Sciences and Technology and Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

Pupils are awarded diplomas after they have successfully completed the course.

Nurturing talent

Highlighting the importance of the scheme, Alia Al Shamsi, an education expert with more than 37 years' experience, said it was crucial to focus on developing pupils' skills at an early age.

“Talent identification is new to us and is still not a high priority in most of our schools, where we are quick to identify weaknesses rather than strengths, like ‘this pupil is bad in maths or is struggling in his writing’,” the education control officer with Sharjah Private Education Authority told The National.

She said some teachers needed help with talent identification and development.

“Teachers overwhelmed with tasks and focused on finishing the syllabus books are unlikely to spot talents,” Ms Al Shamsi said.

“That's why a comprehensive scheme with dedicated budgets must be rolled out and should focus on coaching teachers, school staff and parents on how to identify talents and to help them grow.”

She said the co-operation between the education council and universities in the emirate meant pupils were given unparalleled access to experts in cutting-edge fields.

The programme could be developed to take place during the school year, she said.

“It's also important that nurturing talents is not limited to summer break," she said. "It has to be a continuous process that will eventually give us a high-quality educational product.”

Fascinated by space

Pupils whose talents were developed during last year's programme have taken part in several competitions in the country.

They ranked first in five categories of the 2021 World Robot Olympiad (organised by the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi) which allows pupils aged 8 to 19 to demonstrate their creativity and problem-solving skills.

“Our talented pupils have also scooped the best engineer award in the Future Science Challenge by Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation for Distinguished Academic Performance,” said Ms Buali.

Emirati 10th grader Nada Khaled, from the Applied Technology Public School in Sharjah, said she was always fascinated by space and intrigued by its physics, scope and beauty.

“I read about space and was taking a small programme about it when I heard about this initiative last year and approached them,” Nada said.

She passed the tests and the interview to join the space and astronomy programme.

“I didn’t expect I would gain this much knowledge,” she said. "I used to go five days a week during school holidays."

The pupil, 15, hopes this programme will help her to prepare to study for a degree in astronomy and space science after she graduates from high school.

Registration for next year’s programme is already under way and continues until November. Pupils looking to register can email [e-mail] or contact 06-5045475.