2017 WISE Awards Finalists Announced

DOHA, Qatar, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Fifteen projects from nine countries have been selected by the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) for innovative and impactful approaches to today's most urgent education challenges 

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) announced the 15 2017 WISE Awards finalist projects.

Each year, the WISE Awards recognize and promote innovative projects from around the world that are addressing global educational challenges. The 15 finalists come from nine countries.

The projects tackle a number of pressing education issues including early childhood education, basic infrastructure for schools, girls' education, coding and digital skills, access to books, critical medical care for children, boosting mathematics, science and reading levels, stimulating critical thinking and creativity, making learning fun and inclusive and enhancing teacher motivation.

The 2017 WISE Awards finalists: 

• ANEER, Morocco
• Building a Teacher-Led Movement for Change and Innovation, UK
• Lights to Learn, Spain
• Mindspark: Personalized, technology- based learning, India
• PhET Interactive Simulations, US
• Open Book Publishers, UK
• OPENPediatrics - Serious Games to Save Children's Lives, US
• REACH, Ghana
• 42, France
• Science Bits, Spain
• Shams Generation, Qatar
• Tele-Education Project-SAME, India
• The Learner Guide Program, Tanzania/UK
• The Speed School project, US
• Ubongo Edutainment, Tanzania

Stavros N. Yiannouka, CEO, WISE, said: "The 2017 WISE Awards finalist projects have built effective, tested solutions to global education challenges. Whether ensuring access to fundamental primary education or preparing young people for the 21st century workplace, each project is already transforming lives, and provides an inspirational model for other communities to adopt. This is vital to our mission at WISE, dedicated to empowerment and collaboration."

A pre-Jury of international experts selected the 15 finalists, and the process was overseen by independent education consultants from Parthenon-EY.

The finalists were evaluated according to strict criteria. They must be successful, innovative education projects that have already demonstrated a transformative impact on individuals, communities, and society. They must be financially stable, have a clear development plan and be scalable and replicable.

The six WISE Awards winning projects will be announced in September 2017 and celebrated at the eighth World Innovation Summit for Education, November 14-16, 2017, in Doha, Qatar. In addition to publicity and networking opportunities, each project receives $20,000 (US).

Find out more about the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE): http://www.wise-qatar.org

Find out more about the WISE Awards: http://www.wise-qatar.org/wise-awards