Edarabia's Podcast

Mrs Dale believes all children are able to self-improve, grow and develop as individuals; to welcome and embrace change. She views education as a continuous process for pupils and staff and feels that in an ever-changing world, it is vital to teaching young people how to be outstanding learners who can self-direct and cope with the challenges of modern life.

Mrs. Gaynor Dale, Principal, Regent International School
With 23 years of educational experience in London, Kenya, Leeds and most recently, Dubai.

Support the show

Professor Mary Jane Rooney is the Head of Architecture at Heriot-Watt University Dubai. Her role at Heriot-Watt is to promote excellence across the architecture program in the quality of design, research and thinking that can contribute to a sustainable, resource and energy efficient society. She is a RIBA chartered Architect [RS1] [DR2] and has international experience in Architecture and Design in London. She has studied and worked in Dublin, London, Paris, Rome, India, the UAE and is a qualified architect and urban designer who studied City Design at London School of Economics on the Cities Program (2001).
 
The nexus of her design and research interests are the relationships between architecture, the city, society and pedagogy. Her education has informed her interest in exploring the ways in which critical architecture and design can effectively disrupt normative thinking about the built environment contributing to emerging transformative models and new paradigms.
 
Since coming to Dubai, she has worked on design projects that explore the challenges of the UAE environment and the impact of emerging technologies on the cities and landscapes of UAE.

Support the show

Professor Tadhg O’Donovan is the Associate Head of the School of Engineering and Physical Sciences at Heriot-Watt University’s Dubai campus. In this role, he is responsible for undergraduate degree programmes in Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical and Electronic, Automotive and Energy Engineering, and postgraduate degree programmes in Energy, Renewable Energy Engineering and Advance Mechanical Engineering.

Prior to this, Tadhg was an Associate Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh campus. He has worked in academia for a total of 14 years now.
Tadhg has a research background in thermal science focusing on solar energy conversion, systems and storage. He has established collaborative links with industry and employs a techno-economic approach to support various renewable energy companies. To date, he has published in excess of 80 research papers in peer reviewed conferences and high impact factor journals. He has an established record of teaching innovation, and his innovative teaching practices have earned him the prestigious Graduates’ Teaching Award in 2013 and 2017.

Tadhg received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Trinity College Dublin in 2005 and continued there as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and lecturer before joining Heriot-Watt University. He represents Heriot-Watt University for the Energy theme for the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) and is the Director of the Scottish Institute for Solar Energy Research (SISER) as well as the Honorary Education Secretary for Energy Institute in the Middle East.

In his free time, Tadhg likes to spend time with his young family; he has a 6-year-old daughter, Eilidh and a 3-year-old son, Seán. He also enjoys sports such as swimming and running and plays squash, badminton, golf and tennis.

Support the show

Dr. Neil Hopkin, Principal of Sunmarke School, walks us through the three stages of learning, studying & preparing for exams. When studying for exams, it is useful to follow these tips:
- Note-taking 
- Interleave your learning
- Engage with your teacher 
- Elaborate on the subject 
- Use self talk 
- Monitor your learning 

About Dr. Hopkin
Dr. Hopkin, the Principal of Sunmarke School Dubai, brings over 25 years of educational experience and has worked in schools in the UK, Canada, Australia and America, and most recently from schools within the Nord Anglia Education network, in Singapore and China. 
 
Before moving overseas, he was also an advisor to the UK Deputy Prime Minister's Office on Early Years education, ICT and the UK's DfE Curriculum Review.
 
He is recognized as a visionary leader in the education industry, and throughout his career, he has played a key role in transforming the quality of teaching and interactive learning at international schools to spearhead them to outstanding.   

Support the show

Anna Hope shares industry expertise & advice on what it takes to achieve a successful career in PR. The world of PR is not all glitz and glam. It takes a strong strategic head, excellent communication skills, good writing skills and a dash of creativity to be able to survive and thrive in the industry.  

About the Speaker:
The team in Dubai is headed up by Anna Hope, a PR professional with two decades of experience under her belt. Anna has worked with global brands, live events and high profile individuals, among them the iconic Royal Albert Hall, Europe’s no.1 Christmas destination, Hyde Park Winter Wonderland, Cirque du Soleil, IMG Tennis, Hampton Court Palace, Tower of London and the Natural History Museum, as well as supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Helena Christensen and beauty giants P&G and D&G. In Dubai, she has established the company quickly, with a great roster of clients and a great reputation to match. Nominated for PRCA Agency of the Year in 2018 & 2019, the Dubai clients span the entertainment and sport sector, education, hospitality, design, and arts industry, real estate, and government sector.

Support the show

Support the show

Learn how you can create a lifelong love of reading in your child (from very young to Upper Primary age). Neil Hopkin, Principal of Sunmarke School Dubai, gives tips on how to help your child catch the reading bug.

Here are some of his tips for parents:

1. Understanding the 'technicality' & 'passion' of teaching reading 
2. Sounding & blending words 
3. Scrolling your finger under a word 
4. Expose them to books early 
5. Make it a fun & magical activity
6. Take a book wherever you go 
7. Show passion for reading 
8. Be a good role model 
9.  Establish a reading tradition 


Dr Hopkin, the Principal of Sunmarke School Dubai, brings over 25 years of educational experience and has worked in schools in the UK, Canada, Australia and America, and most recently from schools within the Nord Anglia Education network, in Singapore and China. 
 
Before moving overseas, he was also an advisor to the UK Deputy Prime Minister's Office on Early Years education, ICT and the UK's DfE Curriculum Review.
 
He is recognized as a visionary leader in the education industry, and throughout his career, he has played a key role in transforming the quality of teaching and interactive learning at international schools to spearhead them to outstanding.

Support the show

Support the show

Rob is from the UK and spent his early sporting life as a competitive swimmer from the age of 13.  Coming from 10 Years in Secondary education has enabled him to gain vast experience in coaching and helping people with many different levels of ability. Rob has competed in numerous International and local ultra-distance events, most recently the 24hour Back Yard Ultra race, UTMB OMAN 140km and just for fun, ran from the top to the bottom of Corsica on “Europe’s hardest Ultra trail” Rob believes that no excuse is valid and that everyone can go to sleep 1% better than when they woke that day.

Support the show

Entrepreneur, motivational speaker, extreme athlete, and coach Marcus Smith is the founder of InnerFight. Whilst building a career in the corporate world Marcus realized his real passion was “making people better at life” and in 2008 InnerFight was born. Today along with running InnerFight and Smith St Paleo Marcus teaches many of the Innerfight classes, coaches a number of endurance athletes, mentors both youths and adults and continues his extreme challenges which took him to 30 marathons in 30 days in 2018.

Support the show