Hosts and participating institutions
On 7–8 July 2024, the Maldives regional pre-finals of the Higher Education Track of the 7th Global Competition on Design for Future Education took place at Maldives Polytechnic. Beijing Normal University and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education jointly organised the event. Local hosts and supporting organisers included Maldives Polytechnic, Maldives National University, Villa College, the Islamic University of Maldives, the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University and the UNESCO Chair on Artificial Intelligence in Education. Rotime Engineering And Technology Co., Limited provided strong support.
Eight teams and the invited guests
The Maldives regional competition attracted widespread interest among university teachers and students from its launch. Applicants from several universities represented fields including education, computer science, and software design and development. Following a comprehensive review, eight outstanding teams were selected for the pre-finals. Those attending included Asha Singh Kanwar, Chair of the Governing Board of UNESCO IITE and Deputy Dean of the Smart Learning Institute of Beijing Normal University; Chen Guangju, Chair of the competition’s Steering Committee and Deputy Dean of the Institute; Maldivian Members of Parliament Abdulla Rifau, Hussain Imran Latheef and Hassan Mufeed; Fauziyya Ali, a former specially appointed expert of the Maldives’ Ministry of Higher Education; Midhuam Saud, Vice President of the Maldives China Trade and Cultural Organization; Wang Huanhuan, focal contact of the UNESCO Chair on AI in Education; and Huang Lulu, editor-in-chief of the Smart Education column of China Education Daily.
Mentoring and collaboration
The pre-finals lasted one and a half days, with an opening ceremony, pre-competition training, topic presentations, design mentoring, project pitches and an awards ceremony. Participants from Maldives Polytechnic, Maldives National University, Villa College and the Islamic University of Maldives worked with experienced mentors, dividing responsibilities and collaborating closely to complete the competition. The mentor team included Wang Huanhuan, focal contact of the UNESCO Chair on AI in Education; Ibrahim Thorig, Senior Lecturer at Maldives National University; Mohamed Latheef, Lecturer at Maldives Polytechnic; and Aishath Mihna Mohamed, a lecturer in science and computing at Villa College.
Opening remarks and AIGC training
Speaking on behalf of the organisers at the opening ceremony, Professor Asha Singh Kanwar thanked the local organising institutions. She examined the far-reaching effects of technological change on education and stressed the urgency and importance of advancing high-quality education worldwide. She encouraged participants to pioneer educational innovation by combining educational ideas, technology and design thinking to explore new ways of addressing educational challenges. Representing the sponsor, Zhou Weidong, General Manager of Rotime Engineering And Technology Co., Limited, said the company would provide sustained, stable support for educational competitions. He hoped that Maldivian students would draw deeply on local educational experience and use education to advance a new pattern of China–Maldives exchange and development. During the training, Wang Huanhuan focused on innovative uses of AI-generated content (AIGC) in the competition, demonstrating information retrieval, image design, text drafting and automatic PowerPoint generation. She encouraged students to integrate AIGC tools throughout project design, deepening content, diversifying forms of innovation and substantially improving efficiency.
Project pitches and expert feedback
In the topic presentations and project pitches, teams linked their proposals to the Maldives’ distinctive island geography and educational circumstances while addressing the competition’s central themes. They explored innovative AIGC applications and demonstrated how advanced technologies could support affordable, readily accessible, highly personalised and interactive learning platforms. They considered how technology could address dispersed islands and unequal resources, overcome geographical barriers and promote a fairer distribution of educational opportunities. All teams completed the competition after keen contest and received feedback from a panel comprising Professor Asha Singh Kanwar; Fauziyya Ali, a former specially appointed expert of the Ministry of Higher Education; Mariyam Fizaana Rashyd, Chief Executive Officer of the Maldives Qualifications Authority; Zushan Kamaldeen, Chief Executive Officer of Maldives Polytechnic; and Mohamed Shafeeq, head of Villa College’s information technology centre. Judges praised the originality of the ideas, identified key issues in the projects and encouraged participants to consider feasibility and scalability in depth, further stimulating their innovation and exploration.
Awards and closing remarks
The event awarded one Maldives regional pre-finals Gold Award, together with Best Design, Best Creativity, Best Application, Best Presentation and Most Technological awards, among other distinctions. Professor Chen Guangju, General Manager Zhou Weidong of Rotime Engineering And Technology Co., Limited and other guests presented the prizes.
In their closing remarks, Members of Parliament Abdulla Rifau, Hussain Imran Latheef and Hassan Mufeed praised the event. They encouraged more young Maldivians to ground their work in local educational realities, use emerging technologies and design thinking innovatively, and propose creative, forward-looking solutions. Midhuam Saud, Vice President of the Maldives China Trade and Cultural Organization, said the teams’ exceptional collaboration and sustained innovation demonstrated the younger generation’s broad vision and outstanding capabilities. He hoped that more young people would use the opportunity to broaden their international outlook, embrace cultural diversity, strengthen cross-cultural exchange with an open mind and build bridges between the Maldives and the world. Finally, on behalf of the organisers, Professor Chen Guangju thanked the participating teachers, students, judges and staff, inviting them to continue working together and contributing their knowledge and efforts to education worldwide.
Towards the global finals in July 2024
The conclusion of the Maldives regional pre-finals provided the international education community with a platform for innovative thinking and practical achievements. As the competition continued, outstanding teams from around the world were due to meet in Beijing in late July 2024 for the global finals. The original report wished all participating teams success in that forthcoming competition.
Award-winning projects
Gold Award
AI enhancing access to rural learning.
Original project title： MindSparkle: AI Enhancing Rural Learning Accessibility
Team： MindSparkle
Members： Yoosuf Sayyid Bin Ahmed Shafeeq; Ibrahim Yaeesh Mohamed; Mohamed Raif; Mariyam Shaistha Saleem
Best Design Award
Holo-Quest.
Original project title： Holo-Quest
Team： EduConnectors
Members： Suharto Omar Sharif; Aishath Nabaha; Aishath Amaany Mohamed; Adam Areesh Ahmed; Aishath Rishmee Mohamed
Best Creativity Award
EduVenture: navigating technological realities.
Original project title： EduVenture- Navigating with the Tech Realities
Team： Gen Ed
Members： Mariyam Maasha Rasheed; Aishath Maeesha Hathim; Umar Ayad Masood; Mariyam Noorain; shaain shareef
Best Application Award (original table: Best Practice Award)
Virtual Vortex.
Original project title： Virtual Vortex
Team： Brain-Waves
Members： Mariyam Ula; Mariyam Amany; Mariyam Sofiya Ahmed; Aishath Yaasmyn
Best Presentation Award
The Science Room: O-level and A-level experiments made easy—design, conduct, simulate and analyse with one application.
Original project title： The Science Room – O level & A level Experiments made easy: Design, conduct, Stimulate & Analyze with one app
Team： SAPIENS
Members： Nashaya Rasheed; Hussain Amzar Hassan Manik; Ahmed Nazih
Most Technological Award (original table: Most Technology Impressive Award)
Edu Visionarius: a web application for visual learning; students enter a topic and it generates a presentation or infographic.
Original project title： Edu Visionarius: A web application that promotes visual learning, where the student will input a topic and it will generate a presentation/infographic for it
Team： Team Cecilion
Members： Mohamed Nauf Ali Shareef; Easaar Adam; Mohamed Aahil Ahmed; Aminath Azwa Moosa; Elgius Espin Espin Simitha
Historical source and editorial notes
This report concerns July 2024. Historical titles and roles follow the original Chinese Chair archive; they are not statements of current appointments. The organisation mistakenly called “马尔代夫中国贸易文化部” in that archive is identified as the Maldives China Trade and Cultural Organization in SLI’s report on the same event. SLI’s English report uses the spelling “Mariyam Fizana Rasheed” and differs in some historical role descriptions; the archive’s spelling and role descriptions are retained here. Award labels are reconciled with the original table. Project titles, team names and all member names in the list retain their original spelling.
All eight images come from SLI’s official reports on this event. The seven photographs match between the Chinese and English sources; the English source also preserves the award table. The lost Chair PNG files themselves have not been recovered.
Official reports and historical archive： SLI Chinese report · 16 July 2024 · SLI English report · 16 July 2024 · Original Chair archive · 17 July 2024
Original link: https://aiedchair.bnu.edu.cn/news-9200-en/
