HE Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al-Thani, who is also the chairman of the Supreme Education Council (SEC), on Saturday inaugurated the first International Conference on Education 2015, which is organized by SEC at Qatar National Convention Centre in collaboration with Qatar University's College of Education under the theme "Partners in Excellence." A number of Their Excellencies sheikhs, ministers, guests, senior officials and academics from Qatar and GCC countries in the education field attended the opening session of the conference along with representatives of specialized international and regional organizations in the areas of research and education, principals of independent and Arab private schools, community schools operating in Qatar, teachers, students and parents.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, HE Minister of Education and Higher Education and the Secretary General of the Supreme Education, Dr. Mohammed Abdul Wahed Al-Hammadi, said the presence of HE the premier and SEC chairman in the conference is a clear indication of the wise leadership's keenness on education, scientific research and their prominent role in the state's human and sustainable development.

Such conferences, he added, are fundamental pillars for the development and dissemination of knowledge and an opportunity for the exchange of expertise and experiences among different segments of the educational process.

The minister noted that the theme of the conference confirms the belief that education is a social responsibility that everyone shares, pointing out that the conference is being held in partnership with Qatar University and several universities and educational institutions inside and outside Qatar, which, he said, will enhance integration and the culture of excellence in all areas of the education system with both its human and material dimensions in order to open new horizons for the development of education.

He stressed that education aims at excellence by building an education system that encourages and stimulates creativity and excellence in teaching and learning process and showing quality of educational practices and working to disseminate it through partnerships with various institutions supporting creativity.

Dr. Al-Hammadi said the conference is a platform to exchange experiences and practices in various areas of educational work through an elite group of educators meeting to discuss experiences and innovative practices of recent global trends in education domain and to brief the world on the educational renaissance and achievements in Qatar.

Qatar in its quest to achieve its National Vision 2030 looks forward to building an educational system that compares to the international ones, meets the needs and aspirations of the Qatari community, works to consolidate values and traditions of the Qatari society and preserves its heritage, and encourages young people's creativity and innovation and capacity building, the minister added.

 HE Dr. Al-Hammadi added that the conference is based on the belief of our wise leadership and directives of HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to allocate a special budget for scientific research and the establishment of a fund to support scientific research so as to promote Qatar's ambitious vision to build an effective system for funding scientific research and developing students' research skills.

He expressed his hope that the conference will set futuristic visions on development of education with focus on excellence, which has become an urgent demand in an era characterized by technological acceleration and expansion of knowledge that led to the creation of new maps for knowledge that makes it a must to adopt creative strategies and innovative practices in education and promote a culture of excellence in educational institutions to become an incubator for creativity and innovation with the aim of preparing generations supportive of sustainable development.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Qatar University President Dr. Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad said the conference attracts a group of participants, researchers and those concerned with educational issues at the international and regional levels, expressing her pleasure with the partnership with SEC for the event.

Qatar University has an experience in fruitful work with the education community based on a close partnership, active, continuous and constructive dialogue, which reflects the basic strategies and achieves great impact and sustainable success, Dr. Al-Misnad said.

She stressed that the stakeholders now are in need to work together in genuine partnership system on the ground and to take advantage of the strengths of each other to breed up a generation of educational pioneers and their ambassadors.

Since its inception, she said, the College of Education undertook to assess the changes in the educational field and then respond promptly to meet demands and requirements by introducing and developing innovative high-quality academic programs as well as scientific research, training and awareness activities.

After the opening session, HE Dr. Al-Hammadi opened the student research fair, in which 64 independent and private schools took part to present research in scientific and literary fields.

The minister and guests of the conference toured suites, exhibition sections and were briefed on its objectives and contents.

More than 200 private and independent school along with 300 high-level Gulf, Arab and international educational and academic delegations will take part in the conference.

The conference will discuss a number of topics such as axis of education reform, educational leadership between theory and practice, leadership and policies of education, learning, policy and educational issues, in addition to the development of education, research, evaluation, curricula, practice of different growth stages and contemplative practices.