GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail partners with entrepreneurial edtech firm 8billionideas

● WEK is first UAE school to form strategic partnership with edtech platform
● Students’ future-focused learning will be enhanced with real business skills
● Programme weaves entrepreneurship and social enterprise into curriculum

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: Students at GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail are set to gain enhanced real-world, practical business skills thanks to a new strategic partnership between the school and innovative education platform 8billionideas that focuses on weaving entrepreneurship and social enterprise into core curriculum subjects.

The new partnership is part of the school’s future-focused ‘Primary Connected Curriculum’ approach, which provides all students with the opportunity to learn contemporary world-of-work skills and make clear connections between what they learn in class and how it can be applied practically in real-world contexts.

Campbell Douglas, Principal at GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail, said: “Social enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation are integral to our way of teaching and learning at GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail. We are delighted to partner with 8billionideas to further deliver an exciting, relevant and future-ready curriculum to our students as we encourage them to think and act in ways that are enterprising and entrepreneurial – both now and in the future.”

8billionideas, a UK-based education company, equips young people with transferable skills in entrepreneurship that will support them in the future. The launch of the programme at GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail will augment the school’s existing curriculum, supporting teachers to deliver classes in an increasingly dynamic and engaging way. The programme is also being delivered at GEMS Wellington School – Qatar as part of the Wellington groups’ joint initiatives.

David Harkin, Founder and CEO of 8billionideas, said: “We’re beyond excited to partner with one of the most innovative and forward-thinking schools in Dubai. After meeting GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail’s Primary Principal, Ben Cooper, in 2021, we’ve worked closely with him and the leadership team to create a strategic partnership that will have a profound impact on the Academy’s social enterprise and entrepreneurship strategy for the years ahead. The school’s Connected Curriculum is world-class, and we feel honoured to be part of it.”

Students will begin to learn entrepreneurial and business skills in their core curriculum subjects with immediate effect. In Geography, for example, a class learning about a specific region will benefit from extra guidance from an 8billionideas facilitator as their learning is enhanced by exploring how to create a tourist brochure and marketing campaign for the region, and analysing potential risk factors for the environment against the demands of the economy.

In addition, by leveraging 8billionideas video resources and live mentor sessions from certified mentors, teachers can bring real world-of-work concepts into the classroom to prepare students for the future.

Ben Cooper, Primary Principal, GEMS Wellington – Al Khail, said: “The Academy is very excited to be partnering with 8billionideas to support the already well-established Primary Connected Curriculum. We look forward to enhancing the student experience by providing rich opportunities for students to use their subject knowledge to create, innovate and solve real-life problems through entrepreneurial activities and topics. By linking our world-class teachers with enterprise experts in the UK, we will ensure our students are exposed to the very best educational opportunities. By aspiring, creating and excelling in the world that is, we ensure students will be equipped to create the world that will be.”

The programme is initially being introduced to Years 1-6 with age-appropriate content for each pathway. The school plans to develop further programmes across the school at a later stage. Students will develop individual and joint projects as well enter a Primary-wide competition to create a ‘world changing idea’.