If you’re a teacher who’s recently moved to Dubai and are struggling to adjust to your new life, pay attention!

The largest teacher community in the region, Teacher Socials, is gearing up to launch an exciting new app that’s about to change your life. From connecting with other teachers in the city to finding out about amazing events taking place near you, you’ll have all of this and more, simply at the click of a button.

We sat down with the founders of Teacher Socials ahead of the grand launch to find out more about the origins of the community and the app.

Q) How did the idea of Teacher Socials come about? 

Teacher Socials was launched in 2016 by English teacher, Robert Welsh, after a chance phone call to an old friend made him wonder about the struggles of expat teachers in Dubai. He realized that teachers needed a platform to network, meet, connect and socialise with other like-minded teachers.

We started off three years ago with a handful of teachers from the Ministry of Education D.I.S. and GEMs, meeting up weekly and inviting other teachers to meet and socialize for Thursday night Karaoke sessions. We have since grown to 11,000 plus members signing up through our Facebook group and special events hosted at McGettigan’s.

Q) How will the app help teachers connect with other teachers in Dubai?

The app provides information about teacher well-being events to all the members, inviting them to connect with other teachers at safe and secure venues, and in line with the current DHA safety guidelines. There’s information on the variety of well-being events and sessions, which are exclusively tailor-made for teachers by our partners such as Guided Meditation, Tai Chi, Yoga and home PT sessions. Members also get access to a variety of exclusive fun-filled teacher events and activities that’ll help them connect with and meet amazing like-minded teachers.

Eventually we aim to promote teacher wellbeing seminars, PD sessions, group yoga, fitness events and other outdoor activities, facilitated by our carefully selected partners.

Q) What are the benefits of becoming a member on the app? 

Our mission starts with our simple philosophy- Happy Teachers, Teach Happy!

By giving members access to amazing offers and events, Teacher Socials aims to promote positive well-being within Dubai’s teacher community. We help teachers find a healthy balance between work and life outside of the classroom through group activities, social events and group meetup sessions.

We also strive to develop positivity in terms of mental, physical, and financial well-being through a dedicated section, on the website and app, which consists of helpful videos and articles written by professionals.

We have also added a relocation feature to the app. This will help those who sign up get actively headhunted by schools and universities.

Q) How does the expense tracker work?

Our unique inbuilt Expense Tracker has a simple ledger-keeping function that allows teachers to add their income each month and note each expense, thus monitoring their spending. Teachers can use this information to adjust their outings which should help save them some dirhams in the future.

Q) What type of venues/events are featured on the app?

We conducted surveys, polls, votes, in order to better understand teacher preferences. We then partnered up with the most requested businesses by teachers in the UAE. There are all types of venues on the app–fitness activity centers such as Bounce, gyms, watersports centers, golf courses, shooting, galleries, desert safari, spas, restaurants, bars, hotels and car rentals.

Q) How do I invite friends to join the app? 

Word of mouth is usually the best way teachers can invite others onto the
app through social media and groups. However, we have an ‘invite a friend’ option on the app which will help spread the word too.

Q) How can I join?

Teachers and members of all educational institutions can join Teacher Socials. Membership is open to all employees working within the education sector.

For more information and to download the app visit their social media