Doha, Qatar: World Teachers' Day 2025 marked yesterday under the theme 'Recasting teaching as a collaborative profession,' emphasising how collaboration among educators can transform classrooms and strengthen learning communities. At Qatar Foundation (QF), collaboration is not just a concept but a cornerstone of teaching and learning across its schools under the Pre-University Education (PUE) umbrella.

“Collaboration is deeply embedded in everything we do at Qatar Foundation,” said Manager of Pre-University Education Talent Management at QF, Maryam Al-Sulaiti speaking to media coinciding with the World Teachers' Day 2025.

“Under QF's PUE, we have many schools including IB curricula schools, special education schools, Qatar Leadership Academy, and Qatar Music Academy, but one thing we all share is the same mission and vision of Qatar Foundation.”

Al-Sulaiti highlighted that QF provides an“ecosystem of growth” for teachers through initiatives that bring educators together to learn and exchange expertise.

“We have the Education and Development Institute, which offers training programs, professional learning days, and mentorship opportunities,” she said.“We even have programs like Al-Masar to train fresh graduates, and scholarship programs that bring back QF alumni to teach in our schools. Collaboration is what sustains our growth and helps us build high-calibre teachers.”

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She added that leadership development programs, such as those run in partnership with the Management Center of Europe and the University of Michigan, have strengthened ties among school leaders.“We wouldn't be where we are without learning from each other,” she said.

“On this Teachers' Day, we want to recognise the hard work of teachers who are constantly learning, sharing, and making a difference.”

At the Education City High School campus, which houses three PUE schools, Qatar Academy for Science and Technology (QAST), Qatar Academy Doha (QAD), and Qatar Academy Sidra (QAS) collaboration extends beyond classrooms to real-world projects.

“Teamwork is something teachers have to rely upon,” said STEM Coordinator at QF's Pre-University Education, Saifuddin Aftab.“In education, it's not just the teacher or the student it's the parents, the leadership, and even the ministry. It really takes a village to raise a child.”

Aftab highlighted that at QAST, collaboration is woven into the school culture.“We want to create a culture of teamwork where any teacher can walk into any classroom and ask for support,” he said.“Everybody chips in and works together not because they have to, but because they want to.”

Through interdisciplinary STEM projects, teachers and students from various departments including English and Arabic work side by side.“We run something called the craft project, where students are taken off timetable for a week to solve real-world problems,” Aftab said.

“They work with external partners and students are so used to collaboration that no matter what problem you give them, they work together to solve it.”

He added that this collaborative approach drives creativity and innovation:“In the past, innovation came from individuals like Tesla or Einstein. But today, its groups that create new innovations, that's what we're teaching our students.”

Innovation Teacher at QF's Pre-University Education, Feras Mestariheh said collaboration extends to technology and project-based learning.“In the Innovation Centre, students apply what they've learned in other subjects to build projects or find solutions,” he said.“We plan units together so students can use their combined knowledge to innovate.”

For Mestariheh, collaboration is also about connecting beyond classrooms.“At QF, we apply the 'open campus' concept, which allows students to go to different entities within the foundation, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects,” he said.“Collaboration isn't only about teachers but it's about students working together too.”

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