The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) has won an award for the Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program for Education, at the 6th Annual Global Educational Supplies & Solutions (GESS) Education Awards, held in Dubai.
The award recognizes ADNOC’s contribution to enhancing the quality of education through its LEGO Education Innovation Studios, that is enabling more than 6,000 students, across ADNOC schools, to develop skills in areas such as coding and robotics, and use LEGO bricks to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The LEGO Education Innovation Studios initiative champions innovative, hands-on learning programs designed to advance STEM. It is closely aligned with the UAE government’s renewed focus on developing a diversified educational curriculum, based on STEM disciplines, such as artificial intelligence and predictive platforms.
Speaking after receiving the award on behalf of ADNOC, Reem Mubarak AlBuainain, CSR Manager at ADNOC said: “ADNOC is honored to receive this award. It is a testament to ADNOC’s commitment to investing in STEM initiatives to develop the next generation of talent that will power the future success of the UAE, Abu Dhabi and ADNOC.
“The award recognizes how ADNOC’s successful partnership with LEGO Education is enabling our nation’s students to build innovative mindsets and become resilient problem solvers, as they develop the skills necessary to positively contribute to the UAE’s economic development and prosperity.”
The GESS Education Awards highlight and reward the quality and diversity of educational products, resources, services and people, as well as the best educational establishments and the most dedicated members of the teaching profession. The award is organized by GESS Dubai, an annual educational conference held in partnership with UAE Ministry of Education.
In November 2017, ADNOC signed an agreement with ATLAB/Emphor, a strategic partner of LEGO Education, to construct LEGO Education Innovation Studios in all ADNOC Schools, establish creative labs, teacher training, and development programs, and provide access to LEGO Education’s global online collaboration communities.
On the other hand, this CSR award comes a few days after the graduation of the first batch of 500 students from Al Dhafra region who participated in the UAE Coder program organized by Sandooq Al Watan in partnership with ADNOC. The UAE Coder initiative seeks to inspire and empower students to be creative and hone their skills in advanced technologies, preparing them to deal with the job market of the future.
In line with its effort to expand its support for STEM Education, in November 2018, ADNOC signed a partnership agreement with the Japan Oil Development Co. Ltd. (JODCO) and Kumon Institute of Education (KIE) to pilot the highly successful Kumon Method of learning mathematics in four ADNOC Schools in Abu Dhabi. After the pilot, the program is expected to be rolled out gradually over the next five years to a total of 10 schools, in Abu Dhabi and the Al Dhafra region, impacting almost 10,000 students from Grades 1 to 5.
ADNOC’s CSR strategy focuses on creating sustainable positive social impact by delivering programs that support the UAE’s economic development plans for Centennial 2071. The strategy is in line with the UAE’s leadership’s vision to build a modern education system, focused on STEM, to empower young people and ensure they are equipped to meet the future needs of all business sectors in the UAE.
