The partnership between Ibtechar and Qatar Shell has turned three, jointly working on NXplorers programme, a highly innovative education programme aimed at equipping the next generation with the tools and skills they need to reimagine the world and create sustainable solutions to real-world issues.
Being the local delivery partner of Shell NXplorers in Qatar, Ibtechar continues to pursue its strategy of contributing to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives related to its prime forte: practical innovation.
Shell NXplorers is a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programme currently running in 18 countries around the world. The version implemented by Ibtechar here in Qatar is designed specifically to support Qatar National Vision 2030, by taking young people on a transformational journey into a new way of thinking to enable them to bring about positive change.
To do this, Ibtechar holds learning-by-doing workshops for school students in the 11-14 age group, putting in its unique expertise as a local innovation initiator/promoter to help them develop the skills, understanding, and mindset to address the major global challenges of the time and create positive impact on their own community.
So far, 20 workshops have been held at public schools under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, including Qatar Foundation (QF) schools. Program tools, methodologies, and teachers' training were provided by Ibtechar.
These workshops allow the students to explore the reality, look at things differently, see opportunities, and build future scenarios for such current global issues as energy, water, food, among others. More importantly, the workshops connect education and application, helping the students gain a new vision, both inside and outside the classroom, to apply their learnings and make their ideas real.
During the programme, students are given a total of 10 hours of support and guidance sessions to complete their projects. By the end of programme, they are required to submit their projects, and a jury chooses the winning NXplorer schools, which are announced in an awards ceremony.
The workshops are instructed by experienced trainers from Ibtechar. Those facilitators are qualified under the Training of Trainers (ToT) model to coach selected school teachers on the programme’s methodology. They are aided by teachers and volunteers from Qatar Scientific Club (QSC) and Qatar Shell STEM Ambassadors.
To ensure maximum quality and get the best results, Ibtechar provides post-workshop support to students. It also assists the teachers in the preparation process for national STEM and NXplorer school competitions.
As evident from surveys and interviews with the students and teachers engaged in the programme, they noticed a considerable change in the students, in terms of attitudes, creativity, lifestyle, and perspective. Now, they tend to share their opinions, volunteer for things, and visualize new inventions to solve real-life problems. The programme has proved an invaluable investment in the future problem-solvers, innovators, and leaders of the country.
