Rohan Roberts

This is my 22nd year with GEMS. I started out at Cambridge International School – Dubai, then moved to The Winchester School – Jebel Ali. After that, I was based in various schools including GEMS Wellington Academy – Silicon Oasis, GEMS Dubai American Academy, and GEMS World Academy – Dubai. Today, I’m at GEMS Wellington Academy – Al Khail (WEK).

GEMS is one of the largest providers of private education in the world. I was excited about the prospect of working for such a well-established organisation.

Every day is new and fresh at WEK. I love the multicultural environment. The students are eager and motivated, the staff are friendly and supportive, and the leadership is kind, caring and future-focused.

Over the years with GEMS, I’ve had many opportunities for professional growth. I started out as a teacher of A-level Literature and IGCSE First Language English. I then moved on to become Head of Sixth Form, UCAS Coordinator, Head of English, Head of Professional Development and, more recently, Director of Innovation and Future Learning. Perhaps the highlight of my career was being selected as a finalist for the Global Teacher Prize. I was the first (and so far only) educator from Dubai, selected from over 20,000 candidates from 180 countries.

My average day includes the generation and expansion of programmes and strategies aimed at redefining WEK as a place where new ideas, solutions and products are developed, shared and scaled, and where they go on to create significant improvement outcomes. This includes creating future-focused educational curricula for students, developing personal development modules for staff, and leading workshops and webinars for parents about future readiness – including in terms of future jobs, future skills and future technologies.

Exciting. Innovative. Meaningful.

I experience all core values in my day-to-day work life, but if I had to choose one, I’d say Always Learning. This is mainly because a huge part of my role revolves around staying at the cutting edge of new developments in EdTech and future pedagogy, and promoting a culture of innovation at WEK, which involves staying constantly informed and retraining, upskilling and being prepared for the future. One Team is another core value I experience the most – the staff and leadership team at WEK are absolutely the best.

Because I find it motivating and it keeps me engaged and excited for the future.