Rana Dagnach

Jordanian innovator creating education access for displaced youth

Rana Dagnach founded KnowMore in 2022 to provide STEM education to refugee children in Jordan's Zaatari camp. Her solar-powered mobile classrooms equipped with AR tablets now serve 2,500+ students weekly, with 75% progressing to vocational training programs. A former Google for Education fellow, Dagnach developed the EduBus concept - repurposed buses converted into tech labs that travel to 15+ refugee settlements. Her initiative's partnership with Microsoft introduced coding bootcamps that placed 300 youths in IT internships by 2024. The UNHCR recently adopted her curriculum in Syrian refugee camps across the Middle East. Dagnach's viral YouTube series "STEM Stories from the Camp" has 1.8M subscribers, showcasing student innovations like water filtration systems built from recycled materials. In 2023, she launched the Girls in Tech mentorship program, which tripled female participation in engineering courses. Her Forbes article "Building Futures in Temporary Homes" inspired similar programs in Lebanon and Turkey. Dagnach's work was recognized by the 2024 Global Education Leaders Prize, emphasizing education's role in conflict zones.