We recognise the environmental footprint inherent to a technology-driven sector; primarily in the form of energy and emissions. Our environmental efforts directly address this; by optimising our own resource-use, and also exploring green technology opportunities that would minimise our indirect environmental footprint.

Equally important is our dedication to social responsibility. We are actively engaged in initiatives that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion within our organisation and beyond. By fostering a learning environment that embraces differences and empowers individuals, we aim to create positive social change that extends far beyond the boundaries of our company.

On the governance front, we are committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and transparency. Our governance practices are designed to ensure accountability and build trust among our stakeholders. By adhering to these principles, we aim to set a benchmark for responsible corporate practices in the EdTech sector.

We’re in EdTech and our target market consists of students, educators, governments, and private-sector institutions. They care about the learning and teaching experience; its quality, relevance, effectiveness, and at the end of the day – educational outcomes.

We serve customers across multiple geographies and employ teams in different countries. Since listing on the Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange, we are backed by a number of institutional and retail investors. Functioning at the forefront of the technology and education sectors; we are accountable to industry-specific and country-based regulatory bodies. These stakeholders expect credibility, trustworthiness, and reliability; they look to us to uphold ethical practices; and be transparent and accountable in our business dealings.

We place paramount emphasis on stakeholder engagement as a cornerstone of our operational strategy. Recognising the multifaceted nature of our impact, we actively engage with our stakeholders to build meaningful relationships that extend beyond the confines of our organisational structure. By seeking their input and feedback, we ensure our solutions are not only innovative but also align with their needs and perspectives.

One of the big challenges facing educators: How do you deliver relevant curriculum, at scale, in a rapidly evolving knowledge-landscape – in order to prepare students for tomorrow’s economy?

Things like digital transactions, Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML); these fields are developing rapidly – with possibilities changing almost month to month.

As schools, and students, adopt technology into the structure of teaching and learning, it empowers development of crucial soft-skills, critical-thinking, and encourages exploration; all of which equip them for future careers. In addition, the content on our platform incorporates real-world examples and application from emerging fields; thereby introducing students to new concepts and future-fields.

Beyond the classroom, we work with leading institutions and government partners to deploy targeted initiatives, such as Alef Education’s Coding 101 program, or support wider projects such as the UAE AI Summer Camp. These and other initiatives have been made available to students across the UAE to provide early opportunities for skill development and ignite interest in tech-related careers.

The digital divide is another challenge facing the education sector, across the globe and even in the UAE. While the pandemic sped up digital adoption in many countries, it has also widened the digital divide: adding a new dimension to accessibility of education, which was already a significant barrier in many parts of the world.

We also take a multi-layered approach to enhancing accessibility that begins very early on. Inclusive platform design begins at conceptualization: maximising compatibility and testing and refining UI/UX to cater to a variety of learning styles. We also adhere to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) that ensure content is more accessible to a broader range of learners, with accommodations for those who need additional support. Our platforms meet the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria to provide the best possible experience for as many users as possible. When it comes to content: we incorporate a number of features like focused lessons to support critical skills, text and visuals that work together to support comprehension, simple, relatable contexts, and effective modeling to guide information processing. At point of delivery, we empower schools throughout the adoption process – providing teacher training, professional development, configuration assistance, and support to develop and implement accessibility strategies that ensure all students, regardless of background or location, stand to benefit.

The impending climate crisis threatens communities, ecosystems, and countries around the world. It demands a global response. We believe that raising awareness and inspiring action, through climate education, can be a critical weapon in our arsenal to combat climate change.

As a pioneer in the EdTech sector, we integrate sustainability perspectives into all our products and services, and constantly look for ways to bring this thinking into every aspect of the education process. We're also using our expertise to create accessible and scalable solutions for climate education. We collaborate with reputed organisations to create engaging and interactive learning experiences that are founded on scientific findings and rooted in real-world lessons. The Alef Platform, and other digital education frameworks, can bring recognised and well-crafted climate education content to students in even the most remote areas.

Partnering with the private sector, governments, and non-government actors, is critical to advancing our vision. These collaborations allow us to pool resources, share expertise, and implement innovative educational solutions; ensuring critical issues like climate change receive the attention they deserve. For example, we played a key role in developing the Educators’ Voice initiative launched by the Ministry of Education: a platform that recognised the efforts of educators to promote climate awareness and integrate climate change issues into the core-curriculum.

We are fully compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the U.S., and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which is considered the gold standard in data protection. We also adhere to requisite data classification and protection measures, including those requiring localising to relevant cloud data center regions.

Guided by a detailed Information Risk Management Policy that informs our risk assessment and mitigation strategies, we ensure secure storage of data in the cloud, have stringent access controls and detailed network and endpoint policies, and conduct continuous awareness programme for employees to maintain the highest levels of cybersecurity.

To further strengthen our data security management system, we have established a three-year roadmap encompassing six security pillars: Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC), Identity and Access Management (IAM), Application Security, Infrastructure Security, Security Operations Centers (SOC), and Data Protection. Within the context of Data Protection, we implement a number of safeguards aligned with international guidelines.

We also utilise advanced encryption methods to protect user data in transit and at rest; ensuring sensitive information remains confidential and protected from unauthorised access. As part of our cybersecurity protocol, we conduct regular security audits and penetration testing; which allow for identification and prompt remediation of any vulnerabilities. In addition, managed security services and a robust incident management system aim to uphold security standards across the board while providing required support to our customers. In addition, we work to educate the users of our platforms and products – parents, teachers, and students; by promoting best-practices and raising awareness on cybersecurity.