New York, Sep. 18, 2022, SPA -- Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh visited the Center for Technology and School Change at Columbia University and met with the center’s founder and director Dr. Alan Mayer, and the center’s director of research Caron Mineo, on the sidelines of the Transforming Education Summit in New York, US. During the meeting, Al Al-Sheikh discussed ways to enhance the existing cooperation between the two sides in the educational and scientific fields, and support aspects of cooperation in scholarships, taking into consideration the number of Saudi students on scholarships in the US reached 20,954, as the US is among the targeted countries per the new strategy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques program for scholarships launched by HRH Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Chairman of the Human Capability Development Program Committee. The meeting discussed the mechanisms of training Saudi teachers at the university, the possibility of increasing the number of Saudi students on scholarships accepted to study at the university, and providing them with possible facilities, as well as reviewing the Kingdom's experience in the field of e-learning and distance education during the pandemic, and developing educational curricula. The meeting agenda included identifying the vision of Columbia University and Teachers College concerning strategies for teacher preparation programs and scientific research, and plans for training teachers and developing their skills in the Kingdom, as well as discussing the possibility of a partnership between the Ministry of Education and the Center for Technology and School Change at Columbia University in creative transformation in education technologies, as well as enhancing future cooperation with the Center in developing innovation in teaching methods. --SPA 23:11 LOCAL TIME 20:11 GMT 0031 www.spa.gov.sa/w1786392