The Maldives is currently hosting the regional selection contest for the 7th Global Competition on Design for Future Education, organized by Beijing Normal University and supported by UNESCO.

The event, which is taking place on July 7-8, 2024 at Maldives polytechnic 3rd floor auditorium, aims to foster innovative educational designs incorporating Artificial Intelligence Generated Content (AIGC) tools.

The event kicked off with opening remarks and the issuance of certificates to tutors.

This was followed by a comprehensive training session, where participants were introduced to the regional selection contest, project expression skills, roadshow reporting, and the application of AIGC tools in educational design.

Wang Huanhuan, assistant researcher at the Department of Education, Beijing Normal University and liaison person for the UNESCO Chair in Artificial Intelligence and Education, led the training and also served as a mentor, providing previous online guidance to Maldivian contestants.

Participants then going to engage in team activities, starting with topic reports and moving on to project design and optimization, which is supposed to last throughout the day until 21:00 PM.

The second day on July 8, a project roadshow and review session is scheduled, where teams would present their work and received feedback.

The event would then be concluded with an awarding ceremony and a group photo.

Professor Chen Guangju, Vice President of the Smart Learning Institute, was responsible for all event decisions, ensuring smooth proceedings.

The judging panel included prominent figures such as Professor Asha, Deputy Director of the Smart Learning Institute, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UNESCO Institute of Educational Information Technology, and former Chairman of the Commonwealth Learning Community.

The Global Competition on Design for Future Education (GCD4FE), jointly hosted by Beijing Normal University (BNU) and UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (UNESCO IITE), is supported by various organizations, universities, and technology enterprises.

Since its inception in 2018, over 10,000 participants from 35+ countries have contributed more than 2,500 educational design projects.

The competition features activities like team project design, teaching case design, poster and video calls, lectures, forums, and exhibitions.

It aims to showcase how smart technologies can address diverse learning needs and benefit disadvantaged groups.

By encouraging cross-country and interdisciplinary participation, GCD4FE fosters global collaboration, enhances communication and design skills, and shares exemplary cases from teachers and enterprises worldwide.