HE Sheikha Hind bint Hamad al-Thani, Chief Executive Officer and Vice-Chairperson of Qatar Foundation (QF), attended the Third Annual Teaching and Learning Forum yesterday. The event, which brought together teachers, leaders and policymakers from across the country, was designed to promote professional development and lifelong learning. 
Organised by the Education Development Institute (EDI), part of QF’s Pre-University Education, this year’s event was sponsored by ExxonMobil in Qatar. The Teaching and Learning Forum falls under QF’s year-round professional development programme, and aims to provide educators with the opportunity to share knowledge and discuss industry issues, while enhancing the education system by empowering teachers.
The forum was also attended by Dr Mazen Jassim al-Jaidah, member of QF Board; Buthaina al-Nuaimi, President of Pre-University Education; Alistair Routledge, President and General Manager of ExxonMobil Qatar Inc.; Mohamed Abdulaziz al-Naimi, Chief Operations Officer, QF; and Fawzia Abdulaziz al-Khater, Director of Education Institute at the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. 
Sheikha Noof Ahmed bin Saif al-Thani, Executive Director of EDI, Chair of the Teaching and Learning Forum, opened the conference. She said the third edition of EDI’s Teaching and Learning Forum has brought together approximately 1,000 attendants who will benefit from 95 professional workshops. 
“Bringing together such a large number of experts and teachers, this forum is part of Qatar’s continual development. Not only does the event enhance professional potential, it simultaneously empowers the generation of tomorrow by providing tools to equip teachers with an operational framework to support best practices in Qatar.” 
Andy Hargreaves, Thomas More Brennan Chair in the Lynch School of Education and Professor in the Carroll School of Management at Boston College, delivered the first keynote speech at the opening session. 
“With some of the highest educational standards in the region, Qatar is making sustained advances to improve best practices in the classroom,” he explained. “This is a testament to the commitment and innovation of the country’s educational system, which also recognises and seeks to address its weaknesses.”
Dr Simon Breakspear, founder and CEO of LearnLabs, a global learning research and design agency, served as the event’s second keynote speaker. He engaged attendees by focusing on global lessons on leading ‘Innovation For Better Learning’.