2024-2025 WISE prize for education announces six finalists

AMMAN — The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), an initiative of Qatar Foundation, has revealed the six finalists vying for the 2024-2025 WISE Prize for Education that recognises innovative solutions to pressing global education.

Finalists were chosen from a competitive poll of candidates that featured submissions from governments, non-profit organisations and private sectors, according to a statement for The Jordan Times. 

Each of these initiatives stood out for their innovative approaches to enhancing foundational literacy, addressing artificial intelligence challenges and improving the teaching of the Arabic language.

Among the finalists is Aprendo EnCasa Connecta, developed by Fundación ReImagina in Chile, which seeks to enhance teacher-student interactions through a range of digital resources, with pilot projects in Chile, Ecuador and Mexico. 

Meanwhile, Bonocle from Qatar offers tactile feedback and gamified learning experience to make education more accessible for visually impaired individuals by focusing on Braille literacy, the statement said.

From the USA, Darsel harnesses AI-powered algorithms to enhance numeracy for middle school students, leveraging messaging platforms like WhatsApp to reach those in low-resource settings. 

In Nigeria, FastTrack+ addresses literacy and numeracy challenges with offline technology, using a digital pen with audio capabilities to boost literacy rates among learners in refugee camps. 

Similarly, iqrali.jo, initiated by the Queen Rania Foundation in Jordan, promotes early childhood literacy through parental engagement, especially in refugee communities. 

Also, TUMO Path from Armenia automates personalised learning journeys for teenagers through AI, where the project is already operational in 10 countries and aims to target over 80,000 users by 2027.

Each team will receive tailored mentorship and a conditional grant of $125,000 to refine their solutions. The grand prize of $1 million will be awarded to the winning solution(s) during the WISE12 Summit at the end of 2025, as determined by an external jury of international education experts, according to the statement.