GEMS, Oracle to prepare 11,000 students for the Agentic Economy
GEMS becomes the first school network in Oracle University programme
#UAE #education — UAE private school network GEMS Education has signed an agreement with US technology company Oracle to train more than 11,000 secondary students and alumni in artificial intelligence, data analytics and cloud computing over the next three years. GEMS becomes the first private school network globally to join Oracle’s professional training arm Oracle University’s Skills Development Initiative (SDI), a scheme typically aimed at university students and working professionals. The agreement targets foundational certification for half of all participants, delivered at no cost through Oracle’s online learning platform Oracle MyLearn.
SO WHAT? — Oracle’s training programme was built for universities and employers, not schools, so extending it to teenagers highlights a movement in education where AI skills training starts at school. If certification at secondary level becomes something universities and employers actually weigh up, it pushes the starting point for digital skills training years earlier than college, or the typical first-job upskilling model. Tech-friendly GEMS seems to be a solid choice to pioneer the new curriculum in secondary schools.
KEY POINTS:
UAE private school network GEMS Education has signed a memorandum of understanding with US technology company Oracle to train students through Oracle University’s Skills Development Initiative (SDI).
GEMS is the first private school network globally to join the SDI programme, which Oracle has previously aimed at higher education students and working professionals.
The agreement targets a minimum of 11,000 learners across the GEMS network over three years, with 50 percent of participants expected to achieve certification.
Students and alumni will access Oracle’s online learning platform Oracle MyLearn, covering AI and generative AI foundations, cloud computing, data platforms and analytics, cybersecurity, and enterprise software including ERP, HCM and CX.
The training is offered at no cost to learners, with multiple free attempts at certification exams and digital badges available on completion.
GEMS Education, founded in Dubai in 1959, educates more than 200,000 students from over 176 nationalities across its global school network, and counts close to half a million alumni.
Dubai-headquartered Oracle’s Middle East and Africa division is overseeing the rollout, which the company has described as extending industry-grade learning into secondary education for the first time.
The deal is structured as a long-term, non-exclusive agreement, leaving room for the partnership to expand further.
ZOOM OUT — Oracle launched the Skills Development Initiative as the training vehicle behind a wider push to close the region's digital skills gap, working with governments and national agencies. The GEMS programme is part of a much larger commitment. Last year, Oracle announced that it would train and certify 350,000 people across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Morocco and Jordan in cloud and AI technologies (all delivered through the same Oracle MyLearn platform now reaching GEMS students). Oracle has aligned that training target to its own cloud growth in the region, pointing to a Middle East AI economy it expects to reach $320 billion by 2030. Extending the programme into secondary schools gives Oracle a younger entry point into that talent pipeline, years before students would normally reach Oracle University's professional certification tracks.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Source: Oracle, GEMS Education