Pioneering UAE teachers are being encouraged to apply for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize 2027, a Varkey Foundation initiative, as applications close on October 12. 

Founded by renowned education pioneer and philanthropist Sunny Varkey, the $1 million award is the biggest prize of its kind. Since its launch in 2015, the annual prize has received over 100,000 applications and nominations from around the globe. For its 2027 edition, the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize has broadened its eligibility criteria to recognise an even wider range of educators, reflecting how excellent teaching has evolved and now takes many forms.

While classroom teachers remain at the heart of the prize, it has been broadened to include digital educators reaching students online, leaders of education programmes, and teachers working in refugee and other non-formal settings.

India’s Rouble Nagi 

The winner of the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize 2026 was India’s Rouble Nagi, who over the last two decades has helped bring more than one million children into the formal education system through the use of art. 

She was selected from over 5,000 nominations and applications from 139 countries and was announced as the winner during a ceremony at the World Governments Summit in Dubai last February.

Nagi said: "Across the UAE, pioneering teachers are doing something remarkable – quietly and consistently changing the course of young people’s lives. With deep commitment, bold thinking, and genuine heart, they show up and inspire every single day not just to teach, but to nurture, challenge, and believe in every child in their care.

"I want to encourage every teacher who is making a real difference to apply for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize 2027. And to students and parents, if someone has changed your life, please nominate them. The world deserves to hear these stories and these educators deserve to be recognised."

Critical role of teachers

Varkey said: “The GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize was created to spotlight the critical role of teachers in addressing the major challenges of our time – from combating climate change and reducing inequality to navigating rapid technological change. 

“As the world around us changes, teachers are constantly adapting how and where they teach, reaching and inspiring young people in classrooms, online and in communities around the world. This year, the Prize reflects that changing landscape by recognising an even wider range of educators, including those teaching in refugee and out-of-school settings and through digital platforms. I encourage every inspiring teacher in the UAE to step forward and apply for this year’s prize. This is your moment to join a global movement of educators who are leading the charge toward a better, more just future for all.”

The UAE has an incredible track record when it comes to the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize. Hala Abdelmoemn Mohamed Kotb Shahin, a teacher at Khawla Bint Tha’albah School for Girls, in Sharjah, was included in the top 50 for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize earlier this year and in 2025, Moza Mohammed Rashid Saadan Al-Hafiti, a teacher at Zayed Educational Complex, in Dibba Al-Fujairah, made the top 50.

The GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize is open to educators working with learners aged four to eighteen for a minimum of 5 years. Eligible candidates include classroom teachers in state and independent schools, early years teachers working to a recognised curriculum, teachers in non-formal education settings – for example teachers in refugee education – and digital educators whose teaching reaches students through video, or other published formats with ongoing cohorts. 

Also eligible are founders or leaders of education programmes whose own work is the design, direction, and scaling of structured learning that reaches students aged four to eighteen, including non-formal and community-based programmes delivered through a network of centres, facilitators, or volunteers. Part-time, contract, and self-employed educators are eligible on the same basis as full-time staff.

Effectiveness of their teaching practices

Teachers applying for the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize will be assessed on the effectiveness of their teaching practices, how they innovate to address educational challenges, achieve demonstrable learning outcomes, make an impact beyond a school setting, help children become global citizens and promote peace, strengthen the teaching profession, and gain external recognition.

The prize will be narrowed down to a Top 50 shortlist and Top 10 finalists, to be announced later in the year, helping to raise the bar of respect for the teaching profession. The winner will be chosen from the top 10 finalists by the GEMS Education Global Teacher Prize Academy made up of prominent individuals.

If teachers are being nominated, the person nominating them will write a brief description online explaining why. The teacher being nominated will then be sent an email letting them know they have been nominated and inviting them to apply for the prize. Applicants can apply in English, Mandarin, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian.—TradeArabia News Service