Overused and misconstrued, yes. Nonetheless, passion is a very real thing that takes place in the hearts of people and feels like a burning desire to attain something. It could be general or specific, but is usually big. If it is small, that’s usually termed interest. I could, for example, be passionate about physics or chemistry or languages while others may find those subjects boring. I would still want to take those to the extent where I’ve made a dent, at least in my own understanding of those subjects. Side note: How can you find physics boring?! It literally teaches you how things around you move and explains concepts that keep you alive and that you most probably took for granted, like gravity.

Back down to ground. At Hadya Education, we would like for everyone to have the opportunity to pursue their passions. Young and old, for the experienced and for the beginners, people develop their passion through first getting an idea, trying and failing, then trying again. Only that way can their fires be fuelled.

There is a growing demand in Saudi Arabia for quality education and training. The OECD has pointed out that “ Saudi Arabia has embarked upon an unprecedented reform agenda known as Vision 2030, which aims to create a dynamic, diverse, and sustainable economy. To meet the demands of a 21st century, knowledge based labour market, Saudi Arabia must develop a highly-skilled population, which puts education at the centre of Vision 2030.”

We at Hadya Education are prepared to play our part in ensuring the success of Vision 2030. Our recent trip to Barcelona where we saw first hand the impact of transformative thinking in education allows us to be very excited about a potential partnership with Learnlife Spain.

In 2022 the Saudi Government allocated over Sr 170bn to education-more than any other sector. The market value of the education sector is expected to grow from $4bn in 2017 to $15bn by 2030, driven by the country’s increasing population, increased enrolment in private schools, and increased tuition fees. Government incentives for overseas schools are further supporting the transition to higher-quality private education, with a goal to increase private enrolment to 25% by 2030. At Hadya Education the above figures show how attractive the move into education could be if done the right way.

The pace of social change in Saudi Arabia has been dramatic. By 2030, the capital of Riyadh aims to become one of the world’s top 10 most competitive and liveable cities. A reality of this goal is the need to leading international educators and schools. With Vision 2030 Giga projects already valued at almost $1 trillion and expected to further increase in scale, the top companies that are attracted into this market will also bring families whose children will like their Saudi colleagues require the best education possible. This change in the educational landscape allows Hadya Education hope that our own vision can mirror that of 2030 and that we can play our part in bringing together the best in education. Follow us on our journey and our exploration to see if we can build our first of many new Lighthouses in Saudi Arabia.

– Vince

Very smart people lurk in the dark. You will find them in a lab, or behind a dusty 1980s computer typing away some complex code, or in the ring against an opponent in a fair fight. Truth is, you will never know the extent of their knowledge and experience until they start speaking, stutters and all.

In LearnLife, talent is brought out from within and it is found early. Freedom to go to a dance school in the mornings, flip out the sketchbook when and how it feels right, or pursue that thing nobody has really heard about but makes this student’s stomach churn in excitement is given to each learner. No pre-judgements are made other than guidance given by learn guides. You speak for your work and you find your voice and you find your audience… So get to work!

With the goal in mind… in sight, we must remember to take one step before taking the next. It’s easy to run fast and forget that our legs work mechanically and not like a helicopter’s propellers. One foot goes before the other and, like a dance, everything moves in synchrony and harmony.

Let us ground this idea in reality. LearnLife, at first, may seem to be chaotic, almost anarchic. When you see how the different systems come together, however, a new reality emerges. We must allow our minds, our perspectives to widen and our knowledge to deepen. That is to say, alone, each student may not have the answers, but together, the whole school functions in perfect balance.

During Hadya Educations recent trip to Learnlife Barcelona we were very fortunate to examine first hand the evolutionary change that is taking place for their learners.

In Learnlife there is a commitment to develop and cultivate a growth mindset in each and every student. Their goal is to give all their learners the skills and the tools that they need for this new educational environment and then inspire all their learners to thrive.
The development of independent thinking and learner autonomy is creating real opportunities for young learners to empower not only their own educational pathway but to also empower future generations by creating a school culture that is genuinely based on the positive experience of all their learners.

We have seen first hand the benefits of developing real skills that foster real learner autonomy and the changing role of the teacher as an instructor into a learning guide. There can be no doubt that learning autonomously has multiple benefits for both learners and traditional teachers. Real autonomy in learning requires the development of a very specific skill set, and equally a shared attitude between learners and teachers. The most relevant skills include the ability to make, implement and review decisions based on appropriate techniques, learner self awareness, the ability to reflect and use critical analysis.

For teachers that become skill ambassadors and learning guides they have the freedom to create lessons than are focused far more on the learners and are far less teacher centered. By equipping their learners with tools that facilitate real student autonomy and independent learning the relationship between teacher and student becomes transformative as they are helping students build confidence and most importantly self-esteem.

The benefits of the Learnlife way is that it boosts both critical thinking and problem solving and self reflective skills. Through real autonomous learning there are more choices for learners and very real opportunities for learners to discover what they can do best.
This confidence in learning helps drive self directed growth and genuinely prepares students for the real world.

For the traditional teacher there are also many advantages in embracing the LearnLife way. It was clear to us at Hadya that the learners are more motivated and that there are real opportunities to explore subjects when learners and teachers are sharing common goals in a less teacher centered environment. Through the Learnlife way we saw maximum learner engagement with minimum teacher interference.

In a world full of followers we at Hadya are very excited to be working with Learnlife. Our aim is to demystify knowledge acquisition and create schools where all students have the very real opportunity to reach their full potential.

Please follow us on our journey.

To every door there is a key. And every can, quite poetically, can be opened.

The mind is of similar nature. It can be shaped and moulded into a beautiful creation or sometimes, and unfortunately, into a means of wreaking havoc. Limited by the material and emotional world that we live in, the mind and reason can and should be a primary tool of navigation. That is why it is so important to us to reach it at the most fundamental level: childhood. Therein, the mind takes its first and most impressionable glimpses at the world. And that sticks.

The education system is, in a deep and metaphorical sense, the hand that rocks the cradle. It is the change maker, the effects of which, we will inevitably see in all of our tomorrows. Harness it, and it will serve you and your offspring well. If one ignores the many challenges that real education is facing then the consequences for our children and our future is a reality that may at best not meet the needs of our children or at worst fail them at a time when their minds are developing and being shaped for the future world we will all share.

The above is deeply ingrained into our outlook of the world at Hadya Education. We seek to add our value to the generations of tomorrow by filling the gap and need that we feel is there for a new educational system. Further, we seek to attain our rightful place in the educational market through patience and hard work alongside its leaders and change makers.

Please follow us on our journey in creating a more colourful tomorrow.

I once asked my Father why Engineers seem to be doing every job under the sun, while other professions stick to a few fields post-graduation?What he said has stuck with me ever since. He said “that’s because in engineering, they teach you how to think.”

#lightbulbmoment

I subsequently went on to complete my 4-year MEng Mechanical Engineering degree at Imperial College London. How true was my Father’s insight! From day one to the last day there, we were constantly trained and taught to break down problems into simpler components and to work on each component individually. How can you apply that to your life?

Further, how can we apply this in our desire to seek changes in our educational system that will provide students with real skills to meet the challenges of an ever changing world. This is our challenge at Hadya Education. Wait for it, and you will be see what is achievable when all the components finally come together.

Everyone knows the feeling of sitting around and waiting for things to happen. What do I do with extra time that I have on my hands? The world seems to be at a standstill and everyone else is “busy” doing something. What about me?

The best advice I got to deal with feelings of boredom are the following: make friends. Exactly that. People can not only fill in the void that we have when we’re not making progress, but they can also be fun at the same time. Now I know, you may ask, but what about my moving forward and beating everyone else? That’s why the advice was so brilliant, you don’t have to. Time down can be useful too. The world will send things your way soon enough.

At the back of the book lie the answers to every math problem. Nevertheless, life gives us curveballs sometimes that we must be prepared to tackle.

I never looked at the answers in the back of the book when I was in school. The only time I looked for them was when I had already solved the problem and I wanted to check my working.

Such is the style of LearnLife. Don’t go the easy route: meet your challenges with confidence.
And when I say challenges, I mean opportunities to mature and grow stronger.

“Much love” it is a tradition that LearnLife has started where the virtue of gratitude is upheld not only throughout the day but post every series of learner presentations. After a very successful visit to Barcelona to learn more about Learnlife, this one concept especially stood out for Hadya Education. The term, “much love” we have heard and used before, but the level of expression was a first to our ears.

“I love it that the LG’s (for ‘learning guides’) allow themselves to be vulnerable around the learners,” one learner said. Like music to my ears, the whole concept of student centric learning made sense. Exactly! The learning guides are no longer just teachers who pretend to be right all the time or the centre of the students world. They are learning and growing too! And let me tell you a secret: in Learnlife students… are the customer; they are the center of all activity and they own their actions and learning paths.

Quote us on it when we say, we are seeing the future of Ed.