The Khalifa International Award for Early Learningis a new initiative intended to discover and recognize research, programs, methodologies and advanced teaching practices in the field of early childhood education is open for applications.

There is a total USD 200,000 cash prize available to winners. The Khalifa International Award for Early Learning (KIAEL) has two categories:

1. Best initiatives in early learning care and education and their impact on the children and communities served.

2. Best-specialized research and distinguished studies that support scientific enrichment and development of the education and care of young children.

Applications for the Best Programs, Curricula, and Teaching Practices Prize will be judged on four criteria: innovativeness, importance, impact, and feasibility/sustainability.

All submissions need to be in the English language and the deadline for applications is the 28th of February 2023. Winners will be announced in June 2023.

 The KIAEL Awarding Committee will select two winners for each award with a cash prize of USD 50,000 for each category winner. The Awarding Committee consists of the following individuals:

• Dr. Steven Barnett, founding Co-Director of the National Institute for Early Education and Board of Governors Professor of Education at Rutgers University

• Fatma Ahmad Abdulla Al Bastaki, Project Manager – Chinese Expansion Project in UAE, Cluster Manager – Ministry of Education

• Dr. Jana Fleming, Director, Early Childhood Development, Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation; Dr. Iram Siraj, OBE, Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Oxford

• Iram Siraj, a Professor of Child Development and Education at the University of Oxford (SRF at Jesus College) and a Research Professor at the University of Wollongong in Australia until the end of 2018

• Dr. Nirmala Rao, Serena H C Yang Professor in Early Childhood Development and Education, Chair Professor of Child Development and Education, and Director of the Consortium for Research on Early Childhood Development and Education (CORE), Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong (HKU).

Applications need to be submitted before the application deadline through the online application system: https://kiafel.khaward.ae/en-US/Account/Register. 

The Khalifa International Award for Early Learning (KIAEL) originates from the principled directives of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Court, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa Award for Education. The directives called for establishing an international award for early learning that would enrich the culture of excellence and innovation in education and promote research and development in this field.

 For more information on the award, you can access the website https://el.khaward.ae/ or view thisvideo.