Khalifa Award for Education 2026 for Innovative Educational Projects and Programmes with Prizes of Up to AED 100,000
Applicant criteria
- No specific age required
- Both
Opportunity criteria
Opportunity description
The Khalifa Award for Education has opened nominations for its 20th edition, 2026–2027, in the category of Innovative Educational Projects and Programmes. This category is designed to recognize individuals, teams, institutions, and students who have developed innovative educational ideas or projects that have created a positive and tangible impact on the educational process.
The category focuses on projects that introduce new or improved approaches to education and achieve measurable outcomes, with particular emphasis on sustainability, planning, documentation, and the use of modern technologies. The award also gives special attention to artificial intelligence in education, encouraging its use in ways that support human creativity and improve the quality of teaching and learning rather than fully replacing the human role.
Target Groups
The Innovative Educational Projects and Programmes category is open to:
- Individuals working in the education sector in the UAE and the Arab world.
- Teams.
- Educational institutions and organizations in the UAE and the Arab world.
- Secondary school and university students.
- For the 2026–2027 edition, the award also includes a category for Innovation and Artificial Intelligence in Education, open to individuals, teams, institutions, students, and AI-based educational projects.
Benefits
The award offers the following prizes to winners:
- Individuals and Teams Category: AED 50,000 at the UAE or Arab world level.
- Educational Institutions Category: AED 100,000 at the UAE or Arab world level.
- Secondary School and University Students Category: AED 50,000 at the UAE level.
- The Khalifa Award for Education Trophy.
- A Certificate of Excellence in the relevant field and category.
Eligibility criteria
- The project or programme must be related to education and present a new or improved idea.
- The project must have been implemented in practice and must have achieved, or be capable of achieving, a positive impact on the educational process.
- For the Innovative Educational Projects category, the project must not have been implemented for more than two years prior to nomination.
- The project must not have been developed for the purpose of obtaining a job promotion or an academic degree such as a bachelor’s, master’s, or PhD.
- A complete project description must be provided, including inputs, outputs, implementation location and method, and results.
- The main project file must not exceed 35 pages, excluding appendices.
- The project form must be uploaded through the electronic nomination system and officially endorsed by the applying institution, where applicable.
- Students may apply individually or in groups of 3 to 5 members.
- Any use of artificial intelligence tools must be disclosed, with a clear explanation of how they were used, developed, and integrated into the project.
- The project must not be entirely generated by artificial intelligence tools.
- Projects that rely on paid, closed-source AI models, violate tool usage policies, or infringe intellectual property rights will be excluded.
Evaluation Criteria
Projects are evaluated based on several key elements, including:
- Originality and innovation.
- Vision, mission, and objectives.
- Methodology and planning.
- Content, outcomes, and documentation.
- Economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
- Evaluation, impact, and follow-up.
- Use of modern technologies and artificial intelligence.
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