Latest news with #SunnyVarkey
Al Etihad
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Etihad
GEMS Education launches GEMS School Management to deliver world-class schools globally
1 July 2025 10:07 DUBAI (ALETIHAD)GEMS Education Tuesday launched GEMS School Management (GSM), a bold new venture designed to deliver exceptional, future-ready schools in partnership with governments, investors, developers, school groups, and communities programme has already attracted interest, with advanced talks ongoing with customers in eight different markets and more inquiries on the on more than 65 years of excellence in global K-12 education, GSM offers end-to-end solutions – from school design, curriculum planning, and operations to staffing, training, systems integration, and safeguarding for the development of new schools or the transformation of existing proprietary ASPIRE model – a 'school-in-a-box' framework developed by leading educators across GEMS' global network - will remain at the heart of the process. It will enable partners to deploy fit-for-purpose schools – British, American, International Baccalaureate (IB), Indian, or local curriculum – that meet the highest international standards while reflecting community model includes curriculum plans, architectural guidance, recruitment and training, technology infrastructure, and pre-developed operational systems and processes. GSM is designed to take the complexity out of launching or elevating a school for customers, providing safeguarding protocols, education practices, data systems, marketing strategies, and timetable frameworks to open a high-quality school. Partners benefit from GEMS' ability to recruit top-tier educators, deliver staff training, and provide digital systems that support teaching, learning, and parent engagement. Robert Tarn CBE, Managing Director of GEMS School Management, said at the global launch of GSM: 'We're working with partners who want more than just good schools – they want schools that set benchmarks. GSM brings the full force of the GEMS ecosystem to the table – from outstanding educators and global best practice to fully costed, turnkey models. 'Whether you're a government, a developer, or a school group seeking to scale or improve outcomes, we are ready to help you deliver.'He added: 'Our partners often have the vision, the site, and the capital – what they need is deep educational expertise. That's where GSM comes in. We've done the thinking, built the model, and can be ready to open a high-impact school – with the right team, systems and students – in as little as 12 months.'Partners can select from multiple curriculum-aligned models, each customisable to the social, regulatory, and financial landscape of the location. In addition to new builds, GSM also offers enhancement contracts for existing schools and systems, helping them scale, improve, and benefit from GEMS' economies of scale and procurement advantages. Sunny Varkey, Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education, said: 'Every child deserves access to world-class education, no matter where they are. GSM is how we share our legacy, our expertise, and our belief in education's power to change lives with partners who share our vision. Together, we will build schools that shape not only futures, but nations.'
Entrepreneur
4 days ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
ICYMI: GEMS Launches Global Education AI Hub to Transform the Future of Learning
You're reading Entrepreneur Middle East, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. GEMS Education, the UAE-based world's largest private Kindergarten-Grade 12 education provider, has launched the Global Education AI Hub, a new initiative that invites leading minds in artificial intelligence (AI), education research, and edtech innovation to help transform how learning is delivered across schools worldwide. Headquartered in Dubai and embedded within GEMS' growing innovation ecosystem, the Hub aims to co-develop and scale real-world, ethical, and inclusive AI solutions from personalised learning and intelligent tutoring systems to school operations, wellbeing, and curriculum design. With access to GEMS Education's 90+ schools around the world, 200,000 students, and 15,000 teaching staff, billions of unique data points, spanning multiple curricula and geographies, partners will have an unprecedented opportunity to pilot and refine their innovations in live, diverse classroom environments. "AI has the power to elevate how students learn and how schools function – but only if it is designed with care, ethics, and deep understanding of real-world classrooms," Sunny Varkey, Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education, said. "We're calling on the best minds globally to join us in shaping a more personalised, inclusive, and impactful future for all learners." The Global Education AI Hub will provide: Secure access to anonymised data and insights from GEMS' diverse education settings On-the-ground collaboration with GEMS School of Research and Innovation, its flagship AI-enabled school opening in August Deployment and scaling support via GEMS' network and future international hubs Ethical governance and high-fidelity testing infrastructure Recognition and visibility as a founding innovation partner "AI's potential in education is immense but only if built responsibly, and evaluated where it matters most: with students and teachers," Baz Nijjar, Vice President – Education Technology and Digital Innovation at GEMS, added. "Our Hub is designed to empower the world's top innovators to do just that. Whether you're developing a tutoring engine, a wellbeing algorithm, or an operational platform, we offer the infrastructure and access you need to make it real – and make it scale." Partners may collaborate through either philanthropic or commercial pathways, with opportunities to develop open-access tools or co-create proprietary solutions with global impact. Those interested in becoming a founding partner of the GEMS Education AI Hub, can reach out via
Associated Press
12-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
GEMS Global Education AI Hub launched to transform the future of learning
Dubai-based AI hub offers real-world testing ground across billions of data points, 90+ schools, and 200,000 students around the world ''We're calling on the best minds globally to join us in shaping a more personalised, inclusive, and impactful future for all learners''— Sunny Varkey, Chairman and Founder, GEMS Education DUBAI, DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, June 12, 2025 / / -- GEMS Education, the world's largest private K-12 education provider, has today launched the Global Education AI Hub, a bold new initiative that invites leading minds in artificial intelligence, education research, and edtech innovation to help transform how learning is delivered across schools worldwide. Headquartered in Dubai and embedded within GEMS' growing innovation ecosystem, the Hub aims to co-develop and scale real-world, ethical, and inclusive AI solutions from personalised learning and intelligent tutoring systems to school operations, wellbeing, and curriculum design. With access to GEMS Education's 90+ schools around the world, 200,000 students, and 15,000 teaching staff, billions of unique data points, spanning multiple curicula and geographies, partners will have an unprecedented opportunity to pilot, test, and refine their innovations in live, diverse classroom environments. Sunny Varkey, Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education, said: 'AI has the power to elevate how students learn and how schools function – but only if it is designed with care, ethics, and deep understanding of real-world classrooms. We're calling on the best minds globally to join us in shaping a more personalised, inclusive, and impactful future for all learners.' The Global Education AI Hub will provide: • Secure access to anonymised data and insights from GEMS' diverse education settings • On-the-ground collaboration with the GEMS School of Research and Innovation, its flagship AI-enabled school opening in August • Deployment and scaling support via GEMS' network and future international hubs • Ethical governance and high-fidelity testing infrastructure • Recognition and visibility as a founding innovation partner Baz Nijjar, Vice President – Education Technology and Digital Innovation at GEMS, added: 'AI's potential in education is immense but only if built responsibly, and evaluated where it matters most: with students and teachers. 'Our Hub is designed to empower the world's top innovators to do just that. Whether you're developing a tutoring engine, a wellbeing algorithm, or an operational platform, we offer the infrastructure and access you need to make it real – and make it scale.' The initiative is aimed at: • AI-focused research institutions and PhD fellows • Edtech companies and startups with a clear AI roadmap • Curriculum designers and adaptive content creators • Applied AI researchers and innovators seeking education testbeds • Foundations and social ventures focused on equity and access Partners may collaborate through either philanthropic or commercial pathways, with opportunities to develop open-access tools or co-create proprietary solutions with global impact. To express interest in becoming a founding partner of the GEMS Education AI Hub, please contact [email protected] Jonathan Bramley GEMS Education +971 52 757 9993 email us here Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content 'as is' without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
Zawya
11-06-2025
- Business
- Zawya
GEMS Global Education AI Hub launched to transform the future of learning
Dubai-based AI hub offers real-world testing ground across billions of data points, 90+ schools, and 200,000 students around the world New initiative to drive global collaboration, research and innovation in ethical AI for education DUBAI, UAE: GEMS Education, the world's largest private K-12 education provider, has today launched the Global Education AI Hub, a bold new initiative that invites leading minds in artificial intelligence, education research, and edtech innovation to help transform how learning is delivered across schools worldwide. Headquartered in Dubai and embedded within GEMS' growing innovation ecosystem, the Hub aims to co-develop and scale real-world, ethical, and inclusive AI solutions from personalised learning and intelligent tutoring systems to school operations, wellbeing, and curriculum design. With access to GEMS Education's 90+ schools around the world, 200,000 students, and 15,000 teaching staff, billions of unique data points, spanning multiple curicula and geographies, partners will have an unprecedented opportunity to pilot and refine their innovations in live, diverse classroom environments. Sunny Varkey, Chairman and Founder of GEMS Education, said: 'AI has the power to elevate how students learn and how schools function – but only if it is designed with care, ethics, and deep understanding of real-world classrooms. We're calling on the best minds globally to join us in shaping a more personalised, inclusive, and impactful future for all learners.' The Global Education AI Hub will provide: • Secure access to anonymised data and insights from GEMS' diverse education settings • On-the-ground collaboration with GEMS School of Research and Innovation, its flagship AI-enabled school opening in August • Deployment and scaling support via GEMS' network and future international hubs • Ethical governance and high-fidelity testing infrastructure • Recognition and visibility as a founding innovation partner Baz Nijjar, Vice President – Education Technology and Digital Innovation at GEMS, added: 'AI's potential in education is immense but only if built responsibly, and evaluated where it matters most: with students and teachers. 'Our Hub is designed to empower the world's top innovators to do just that. Whether you're developing a tutoring engine, a wellbeing algorithm, or an operational platform, we offer the infrastructure and access you need to make it real – and make it scale.' The initiative is aimed at: • AI-focused research institutions and PhD fellows • Edtech companies and startups with a clear AI roadmap • Curriculum designers and adaptive content creators • Applied AI researchers and innovators seeking education testbeds • Foundations and social ventures focused on equity and access Partners may collaborate through either philanthropic or commercial pathways, with opportunities to develop open-access tools or co-create proprietary solutions with global impact. To express interest in becoming a founding partner of the GEMS Education AI Hub, please contact About GEMS Education GEMS Education is one of the oldest and largest K-12 private education providers in the world and a trusted and highly regarded choice for quality education in the Middle East and North Africa region. As a company founded in the UAE in 1959, it holds an unparalleled track record of providing diverse curricula and educational choices to all socio-economic means. Having started with a single school run from a private home in Dubai, GEMS remains a family business to this day. Its inspiring Founder, Sunny Varkey, and his son, Dino Varkey, who is Group Chief Executive Officer, are responsible for providing vision, insight, and strategy across the organisation. Every day, GEMS has the privilege of educating students from over 176 countries through its owned and managed schools globally. And through its growing network, as well as charitable contributions, it is fulfilling the GEMS vision of putting a quality education within the reach of every learner. Every year, students graduating from GEMS schools progress to the world's best universities. Over the past five years, GEMS students have been accepted into over 1,050 universities in 53 countries including all eight Ivy League universities in the US and all 24 Russell Group universities and colleges in the UK. For further information about GEMS Education, visit or contact: Leen Haffar, Senior Account Executive, Four | +971 52 364 1578 | +971 4 568 3444
Forbes
04-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Dubai Billionaire Teams With Adani To Expand His GEMS Schools In India
Sunny Varkey, the Indian-born chairman of Dubai-based GEMS Education, one of the largest kindergarten-to-grade-12 private school networks in the world, has long-nurtured an ambition to make the GEMS brand known in his native country. Now he's found a well-connected partner to help him achieve his goal. Varkey is teaming up with Gautam Adani, India's second-richest person, to offer world-class, affordable education across the country with the target of opening 20 schools over three years. GEMS will operate the schools via a 50-50 joint venture with Adani, who controls Ahmedabad-based ports-to-power conglomerate Adani group. The joint venture will be responsible for everything from management to teacher recruitment and training. While exact details of the tie-up are not available, the Adani Foundation has pledged to provide 20 billion rupees ($234 million) to be used to offer 30% of seats in some schools to less-privileged students for free. The first Adani GEMS School of Excellence has already opened in Lucknow. Sunny Varkey and Gautam Adani Courtesy of ADANI Varkey's push into India—where he currently has just two schools, in Kochi and Gurgaon—comes as GEMS is riding high in its home market of Dubai, which is experiencing a post-Covid-19 influx of expatriates that has created rampant demand for everything from property to school seats. The 68-year-old entrepreneur, who built his education empire over more than four decades from just one school with 350 students, sees this as a golden chance to revive his ambitions to scale up the GEMS network of 92 schools in eight countries. 'We definitely have the capability, the ambition and the brand to exploit the opportunity,' he says in a rare interview at his spacious villa in the city's upscale Jumeirah district. Varkey has earmarked $300 million for expansion over the next three years across the UAE, where the private education market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% to $10.3 billion by 2030, according to Hyderabad-based market research company Mordor Intelligence. He plans to spend the bulk of the investment in Dubai, where expats—who make up 92% of the population, according to marketing firm Global Media Insights—do not have access to the public school system. Varkey has earmarked $300 million for expansion over the next three years across the UAE, where the private education market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 7.5% to $10.3 billion by 2030, according to Hyderabad-based market research company Mordor Intelligence. He plans to spend the bulk of the investment in Dubai, where expats—who make up 92% of the population, according to marketing firm Global Media Insights—do not have access to the public school system. 'We definitely have the capability and the brand to exploit the opportunity.' A third of the capital outlay will go toward the new ultra-premium GEMS School of Research and Innovation set to open in August in Dubai Sports City, a residential and sports complex located in the south of the emirate. With a campus spread across four hectares, it promises cutting-edge AI technologies and a host of amenities, from a robotics lab and a 600-seat auditorium to an Olympic-size swimming pool and even a helipad. Annual fees will be as much as $56,000 for the higher grades, which will be introduced in a few years. GEMS School of Research and Innovation in Dubai Sports City. Courtesy of GEMS Education Presently, there are nearly 400,000 students of 185 nationalities enrolled in Dubai's private schools, according to the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the private school regulator. But that number is set to increase exponentially as expats continue to be drawn by Dubai's low-tax environment and stable economy. The government estimates the city's population will more than double to 7.8 million in 2040 from 3.3 million in 2024, That, in turn, is likely to fuel demand for so-called premium schools that promise high-quality education at nosebleed prices. Last year, the emirate unveiled a strategy to upgrade Dubai's education system to world-class by 2033. The KHDA says it will approve at least 90 more private schools by then, compared with 227 as of January 2025, adding close to 50,000 school seats. Five private schools were launched in the 2023-24 academic year and ten more opened in 2024-2025, according to the KHDA. It says a further 20 applications are under review. GEMS claims a 26% share of Dubai's private education market, based on enrolments, with more than 100,000 students across 28 mostly K-12 institutions, three of which opened in the past five years. Its schools follow the British, American, IB and Indian curriculums and annual fees start from $2,000. GEMS's Ebitda rose 12% to $380 million in 2024 from a year earlier, while revenue climbed 17% to $1.4 billion, according to estimates compiled by debt-rating agency Fitch Ratings. (Net profit wasn't available for this period.) 'We are still very UAE-centric,' acknowledges Dino Varkey, 44, the older of Varkey's two sons and GEMS group CEO (younger son Jay, 40, is deputy CEO), 'because our brand and brand equity are much more well-known in this part of the world.' Dino Varkey, CEO of GEMS group Courtesy of GEMS Education Well-known enough to pull in a $2 billion investment in June last year from a consortium led by New York-based Brookfield Asset Management that includes Dubai financial services firm Gulf Islamic Investments, global private equity outfit Marathon Asset Management and the State Oil Fund of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 'The schools that GEMS runs in the UAE are amongst the most respected,' says Jad Ellawn, Brookfield managing partner and regional head in the Middle East. 'We feel very, very good about our investment.' The structured deal gives the consortium preferred shares in GEMS, the value of which will be decided after an undisclosed period and based on the company achieving certain milestones, according to Varkey. While neither the educator nor Ellawn would reveal details, Dino says the consortium 'will have the same governance rights that you would expect for a significant minority stakeholder.' The Brookfield-led group is the fourth investor consortium Varkey has tapped since 2000. 'Our biggest challenge has always been finance,' he says. 'You can only borrow up to a certain point.' While Varkey has explored the possibility of an IPO for GEMS in the past, so far it has not been necessary, he insists. The month after the investors signed on, GEMS secured a $3.3 billion loan from a clutch of banks led by Dubai Islamic Bank, Mashreq, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Abu Dhabi Bank, further strengthening the balance sheet and helping pay off nearly $1.9 billion in debt. The financing accords also paved the way for the exit of a previous investor consortium, led by Luxembourg-based PE firm CVC Capital Partners, which backed GEMS in 2019. Varkey, whose estimated fortune is $4 billion based on his stake in GEMS and after accounting for personal debt, says GEMS benefits from its dominant position and deep understanding of the UAE market. 'We are not coming from somewhere else, we know the market,' he maintains. That may be, but competition is escalating. Britain's venerable Harrow International Schools tied up with Dubai-listed education provider Taaleem Holdings earlier this year to open two schools, one each in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Likewise, London-based Nord Anglia Education, which has more than 80 schools across 33 countries, launched a school in Abu Dhabi in August 2023. 'We are not coming from somewhere else, we know the market.' Sami Yosef, head of global research at London-based ISC Research, a provider of data on international schools (GEMS is a client), says there is room for more players. 'The UAE needs more schools, and there are waiting lists in so many schools.' Still, the family is not complacent. 'We have to leverage our legacy and our position as the market leader to insulate ourselves against increasing competition,' says Dino. Sunny Varkey grew up in the education business. His parents migrated to Dubai from the southern Indian state of Kerala in the late fifties and taught English before opening their own school in 1968. Varkey, who attended boarding school in Kerala from age 4, joined them when he was 11, but headed to the U.K. for one year of schooling before returning to Dubai to complete his final year of studies. He skipped college and entered Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai as a general clerk at age 19. A couple of years later he launched a school building and maintenance company called Chicago Maintenance & Construction that remains part of his holding outfit, Varkey Group. In 1980, Varkey took over his parents' school and started expanding, opening 15 schools in the UAE over the following two decades. Thereafter, he began looking further afield with the ambition of making a global imprint. The U.K. was the first market outside the UAE that Varkey bought into, acquiring more than a dozen schools there in 2003, including ten from rival Nord Anglia. The country, where he operates mostly under the Bellevue brand, remains his biggest market beyond the Middle East. Elsewhere, however, his forays have produced mixed results, including in his native India. Over five years starting in 2011, Varkey bought a nearly 35% stake in Chennai-based edtech company Everonn Education, but the firm went into liquidation in 2016, something he declines to comment on. There were also greenfield forays into Singapore, Malaysia and Kenya over the past two decades that he exited after a few years. 'I should have done more acquisitions rather than doing greenfield ventures,' he says in hindsight. 'You take a few years to get the land, a few years to construct, and then a few years to break even. It was the wrong thing to do.' A GEMS school in Switzerland closed in 2019 and its leaseholder sued a Cayman Islands-based arm of GEMS for unpaid rent. The Luxembourg-based financial holding company, Meigerhorn, was awarded 63 million Swiss francs ($77 million) plus interest and other costs in 2022, and the Caymans entity was subsequently put into liquidation. GEMS declined to comment on the case. The Covid-19 pandemic tested Varkey's resilience as schools were shut down, enrolments stalled and GEMS offered fee concessions to parents who had lost their jobs. While virtual classes continued during Covid, the company lost out on other lucrative income streams during that period, such as transportation and catering services, both of which recovered once schools reopened in August 2020. 'Sunny is a fighter and has deep knowledge of every aspect of the education business,' says V. Shankar, cofounder and CEO of Dubai-based PE firm Gateway Partners, who was previously on the board of the Varkey family's philanthropic arm, the Varkey Foundation. 'He's hard working, hard-charging and a consummate entrepreneur.' Varkey has to contend with lingering challenges in the UAE, including higher construction and operating costs and a shortage of skilled workers, according to a 2023 industry report by Dubai-based investment banking advisory firm Alpen Capital. Varkey maintains that GEMS, which has 24,000 employees, is a sought-after employer, saying the company 'gets around 600,000 applications a year for about 2,200 vacancies [in teaching, administration and management].' In May, the KHDA announced a ten-year golden visa for private education professionals to help address the shortage. Another potential snag: The individual emirates regulate private school fees, which could crimp profitability. But ISC Research's Yosef says regulation 'is also part of what has made the UAE's private education sector both attractive and resilient, creating stability for families and predictability for investors.' As part of his expansion plans, Varkey, learning from past missteps, says he will also adopt an asset-light strategy. A key component of this is a consulting business in which GEMS partners with governments, wealthy individuals or other schools by contributing its expertise rather than capital. 'The consulting business will be a game-changer,' says Varkey confidently. GEMS has invested $50 million in developing what it calls a School Support Centre in Dubai that provides guidance on everything from running programs for gifted children and training teachers to performance audits and crisis management. Despite a self-confessed aversion to studying in his youth, Varkey's enthusiasm for the business of schooling remains undimmed. 'We have to make sure we continue to lead the sector,' he says. 'We have to be a company that everyone wants to be a part of.'
