The University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) won the Social Science Silver Award for 2021 in the Wharton–Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Reimagine Education Awards; otherwise known as the “Oscars of Education.” The ULAB entry is the Dhaka International Mobile Film Festival (DIMFF), which is an outreach program of the Media Studies and Journalism Department. The DIMFF inspires and sparks creativity in storytelling from people with limited income or resources. It encourages filmmakers to harness the immense possibilities of disseminating authentic narratives; supporting communities to tell their own stories, using their own voices. The DIMFF has an executive body and a core team of volunteers who work year-round to ensure the festival’s success.
The Social Science Gold Award went to Pompeu Fabra University (Spain) for its ambitious international program to generate and transmit new knowledge about the concept of Planetary Wellbeing. The Bronze Award, meanwhile, was given to Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (Switzerland) for its Virtual Reality (VR) immersive experimental learning: virtual housekeeping.
The Wharton-QS Reimagine Education Awards and Conference is a global competition and conference which encourages educators everywhere to spot problems that prevent optimal learning and/or pedagogical outcomes and find creative, innovative solutions to these problems. By doing so – by reimagining the way education is conceived of and conducted – all participants have the chance to bring forth a vibrant, dynamic generation of highly educated, highly employable, highly motivated problem-solvers.
For 2021, the Awards and Conference were held from 6 to 10 December. More than 1100 projects competed for awards in over twenty-five categories. The overall winner for the Best Sustainability and Best Online Program will be announced on 10 December. The judging criteria included: Project Approach, Project Engagement, Project Impact, Scalability and Competitor Comparison/Uniqueness.