Mawhiba
Country
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Industry
Education
Project
Education curriculum and Assessment
The Mawhiba Foundation is a government-led education initiative in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, dedicated to identifying and supporting young gifted and talented students.
Launched in 2008, the Foundation identifies three main strategic goals: to nurture giftedness and creativity in both males and females; to support national abilities in generating innovative ideas; and to foster young, gifted, and creative leaders in science and technology.
Mawhiba appointed Nord Anglia Education in partnership with Alignian to help deliver part of this innovative initiative. The principal objective of this 2-year contract was to produce Advanced Supplementary Curriculums (ASC) and assessment material in English and Arabic for Grades 4-12, across Mathematics, Science, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and ICT.
Nord Anglia Education was responsible for developing the ASCs and assessments in English. Alignian supported Nord Anglia Education in delivering the design, translation (English to Arabic), and localization for print and e-units. Each aspect of the project was subject to strict educational guidelines and quality requirements set by Mawhiba’s scientific teams.
Challenges
However exciting the initial prospects and scope of the project, we were asked to design a plan to tackle the main challenges:
- Delivering high-quality modern-classic Arabic translation compatible with the Gulf region in specialist educational subjects
- Managing high volume (900,000 words), translation without compromising on the quality of the finished product
- Maintaining consistency across the narrative style / scientific and pedagogic terminology
- Delivering design and localization of imageries, graphs, and illustrations, and ensuring their cultural and educational integrity.
Solution
Project Management
We designed and agreed with Nord Anglia Education on a structured project plan, which identified the delivery stages, and translation/design/localisation processes, with 7 days/week communication to meet strict deadlines; evaluation and feedback strategies.
Our services included a bespoke online Mawhiba portal, created to enable secure document sharing and instant connectivity of Alignian and client staff and consultants involved in the project. This was particularly useful in improving transparency, efficiency, and savings.
Expert Translation
In addressing one of the main translation challenges, we identified a qualified team of native, pre-approved experts/educators in each educational subject and established a 3-step EN/ AR translation process (first draft, quality assurance, expert review). The experts, based in the Kingdom, worked closely with our management team to ensure adherence to terminologies, processes, and quality requirements.
“I valued your willingness to go the extra mile, work at weekends, understand and take on board the objectives of the project, and sit down and work things out. Any issues were quickly resolved.” Angela Deavall
Accuracy, Consistency and Efficiency
Achieving optimal quality when dealing with high-volume translation is not only reliant on a competent team of experts but equally on efficient and effective translation processes and tools. To overcome this challenge, we created a custom translation memory and online glossary management system, designed to maintain consistency of narrative and technical terminology. The glossary was particularly praised by our client, who referred to it as a “strong and unrivaled glossary of Arabic educational terms” These technologies were especially beneficial in increasing production and realizing cost savings without compromising on quality.
“Alignian was from the start very receptive to discussing priorities and issues and building in measures to improve quality more over time. This flexibility and access to software or ability to think outside the box (eg glossaries) to enable this were very important.” Alex Tarran
Design and Localisation
Our in-house Arabic design team worked closely with the project manager to produce and deliver the creative layout design, graphics, and localization. One of the challenges involved the correct outsourcing of suitable imagery and reproduction of incomplete or low-quality graphics and illustrations provided by the client. The solution involved graphic design, expert research, and cultural consultancy to ensure compliance with national educational standards.
We approached this innovative project with utmost commitment and dedication to achieve outstanding results that our client, and we, can be proud of. The project evaluation, client feedback and academic successes of Mawhiba students have given us the reassurance that we helped establish an excellent program.
“The quality of the work produced was excellent… I feel confident when I am working with Alignian that we will produce quality outcomes” Angela Deavall