Forum aims to enhance and hone the future skills of young students

Muscat: The Ministry of Education, represented by the Department of Innovation and Scientific Olympiads, in cooperation with Oman Shell, is implementing the first teachers’ forum in the NXplorers Shell programme, to exchange experiences and knowledge between teachers implementing the programme for the senior category.

The programme targets 33 teachers and specialists from the departments of Innovation and Scientific Olympiads.

The NXplorers Shell Forum aims to enhance and hone the future skills of young people to be contributors to finding innovative solutions to local and global challenges in the various fields of energy, water, and food, which was reflected positively through the existing qualitative programmes between partners from various sectors in keeping with scientific developments.

The programme was implemented since 2018, in a partnership between the Ministry of Education and Oman Shell, with the aim of developing students’ creative thinking and analysis skills, encouraging them to find innovative ways to solve challenges in the fields of food, water, and energy, and encouraging them to delve into the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by linking them to the areas targeted by the programme.

In the academic year 2022/2023, the junior category was targeted for students from the fifth to eighth grades, to be added to the senior category, which includes students from the ninth to twelfth grades, which began since the academic year 2018/2019.

The first day of the forum included a welcome, reception, and a speech by the Ministry of Education, then an introductory clip about the Shell NXplorers programme was presented.

A group of teachers who had previously worked in the program me presented their experiences, and then the future of the Shell NXplorers programme in the Sultanate of Oman was discussed.

The evaluation criteria for the Shell NXplorers programme were also introduced, and at the end of the first day, the most important recommendations that must be followed in the programme were presented.

Said Al-Abri, a chemistry teacher at Abu Saad Al-Kadmi School in Al-Dakhiliyah Governorate, said: “The NXplorers annual teachers’ forum aims to achieve many points that focus on improving the programme, and learning about the experiences of some creative teachers who have won advanced programmes, as well as the challenges facing teachers and programme supervisors including the time factor, as well as financial challenges, etc.”

Fakhriya Al Shaibani, a senior chemistry teacher and the NXplorers programme lead at Al Amal school for Basic Education in South Al Batinah Governorate, said: “The forum aimed to present Oman’s experience in the programme and its success over the past years, as some of the experiences of the schools led by the managers were presented, and topics of challenges and difficulties were discussed through discussion circles to come up with the best ideas and proposals.”

“The forum presented development proposals for the programme and focused on the most important skills that the student acquires by working in this programme,” Fakhriya Al Shaibani added.