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"We recognize that we in RAK are only as good as the schools we have and without good schools we cannot realise our dreams or take hold of our future."

"It is my hope and that of the government of RAK that we will be able to have the highest quality teachers and as a result the highest quality schools"

"We need to encourage excellence in our schools now more than ever, as the Arab world is still yet to reach its capacity and is yet to realise its dreams."

"If we in the Arab world are ever to be more than just consumers , then we need to embrace innovation and discovery as never before."

The UAE is a unique slice of Arabia composed of seven different Emirates.
Read more about the UAE
Ras Al Khaimah has a fabled history dating as far back as 5000 BC.
Read more about RAK

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The RAK-Swiss Teacher Exchange Program

20/12/2011

On the 26^th of November, 2011, eleven teachers, supervisors and principals flew to Basel, Switzerland for a week-long teacher exchange program organized by the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation. The RAK-Swiss Teacher Exchange Program (RSTEP) was launched by the Foundation, in partnership with the Pädagogisches Zentrum Basel-Stadt (PZ.BS) in Basel, with the aim of providing educators in RAK government schools the opportunity to further develop their knowledge and skills through observing a system very different to their own.

Participants in the RSTEP were chosen from among a pool of applicants who had previously attended workshops offered by the Foundation and whose applications and recommendation letters demonstrated their commitment to the education sector in Ras Al Khaimah.

During the week-long trip, the RSTEP team visited three Swiss schools of varying levels. They had the opportunity to observe students and teachers participating in a schoolwide project week at the primary school Insel Schulhaus. They were then invited to observe classes at Baumlihof Gymnasium, an upper secondary school for the academically inclined. Finally, they attended several classes at a vocational school, the Allgemeine Gewerbeschule Basel-AGS, where they observed students taking classes in applied engineering, architecture, jewelry design and car mechanics. The team also had the opportunity to meet several key decision makers within the education sector in Basel, not to mention having the privilege of visiting the local parliament house and chambers not typically accessible to the public. The trip concluded with an award ceremony in a traditional Swiss setting, where the RSTEP participants received certificates of participation, celebrated UAE National Day, and had the chance to recite poetry and listen to songs with the Swiss team.

After their return, the RSTEP participants will now go on to produce short documentary films about their experience, to be posted on a dedicated website designed to document all exchange programs organized by the Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation. The documentaries will go online in February.