David Lock has had a varied career in international higher education and university leadership. He is currently Education Director of Gulf Conferences, Chair of Gulf Education Conferences and is Secretary General of the Magna Charta Observatory.

He is the Secretary General of the Association of Arab Universities, Chairman of the Executive Bureau of 57357 Foundation (Children Cancer Hospital), and Professor of Structural Engineering at Helwan University in Egypt since 1981.

Dr. Ra’ed Awdeh is a visionary technology leader with over 30 years of experience in technology, higher education, business, industry, research and development, and team management. He holds a BSc, an MSc, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Kuwait University, University of Colorado at Boulder, and Queen’s University, respectively.

Mr Nick Kittles is a renowned author, speaker, and coach with over 15 years of experience in government. He is best known for his best-selling innovation book titled Sustainovation: Building Sustainable Innovation in Government, One Wildly Creative Idea at a Time. Nick has spent the last decade and a half in government, where he worked in different capacities, including Chief Innovation Officer. During his time in government, Nick directed 17 different divisions, won 3 national awards for innovation, and pioneered the concept of Innovation Value. He has also developed over 65 unique pilot projects and generated savings worth $7.8 million.

Dr. Frédéric holds a Ph.D. in Genetic Engineering from the Pasteur Institute of Paris and a postgraduate degree in Strategic Management from HEC School of Management. He advises multiple public institutions on innovation management and serves as a mandated expert for WIPO. Frédéric has delivered over 251 lectures, coaching sessions, and training sessions worldwide.

An inspiring, visionary, and agile leader with over 15 years’ progressive experience in transformational roles in leading education and governmental institutions. He is also currently serving on several boards, supreme national councils, and global advisory committees in the sectors of education, culture and performance measurement.

Dr. Marcel Hattingh is a co-founder and managing partner of CCI Professional – a consulting house that specialises in Industry 4 enabled human capital investment strategies. Additional to this role, he is also a co-founder of The Foundery, an executive member of Arbor Capital, and continues to serve the Doxa Deo group in a leadership capacity since 2000. Before his current roles, Marcel co-pioneered the City Changers Institute (CCI) – a multi-disciplinary higher educational service provider; where he served as the Director.

Roberta Malee Bassett, PhD, is Global Lead for Tertiary Education at the World Bank, where she leads efforts addressing issues such as equity/inclusion; finance, governance, and quality assurance; internationalization; research/innovation/competitiveness; skills and outcomes; and remote delivery/learning. Before joining the Bank, Dr. Bassett worked for many years in both university administration and academia, having served in such roles as lecturer in higher education management and policy at University of Southampton (UK) and Assistant Dean for Continuing Studies and Summer Session at Stanford University (USA). Currently, she is also serving as a guest lecturer in international higher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Roberta is the author/editor of numerous books and articles in the field of international higher education and holds a Ph.D. from the Center for International Higher Education, Boston College; M.A., Stanford University; and B.A., Columbia University.

As a child Hicham lived in many different countries where he endured several sports injuries. He experienced first-hand that many challenges in the medical industry were similar across the world. This sparked his interest in the industry at a young age. After receiving his engineering degree at the TU-Delft, he turned his focus towards creating a safer and better healthcare environment for both healthcare professionals and patients. In 2011 this led to him founding LeQuest.

Amit, the founder & CEO of NCR Eduservices, before NCR Esuervices worked in the IT industry for a Japanese Bank, during which he was based in India and Japan. NCR Eduservices is a global education delivery company, known for providing educational academic and operations support services to educational institutions. With a repository of 1,50,000+ teachers, NCR Eduservices served 500+ clients in 16 countries. He follows a new approach to education with a stringent focus on the quality of education and a personalized approach for every learner.

Shadi Awwad is a Regional Director within Elsevier’s Research Intelligence group, currently leading and managing the Emerging Markets teams in the Middle East, Central & Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia. Joining in 2014, Shadi is an established expert and advisor in research strategy, intelligence, management and evaluation, having supported multiple national bodies, international organizations and key academic institutions within these domains.

Sheila Jagannathan is a lifelong learner and Head of the Open Learning Campus at the World Bank in Washington DC. She serves as the organization’s focal point on digital learning and issues at the intersection of technology use and education in emerging countries. She is an internationally recognized thought leader, advisor, author and a forward-thinking senior education leader with over 35 years of experience in leading capacity building, knowledge management, data, social learning and transformation change across public and private organizations.

David Lock has had a varied career in international higher education and university leadership. He is currently Education Director of Gulf Conferences, Chair of Gulf Education Conferences and is Secretary General of the Magna Charta Observatory.

As Vice President for the Middle East and Africa at Ellucian, Hanny Alshazly works to improve the quality of education globally & meet the dynamic needs of the universal learner by empowering executives to build unified digital campuses.

Alaa Garad is regarded by many as a leading authority in Quality Management and Organizational Learning. Alaa led higher education institutions in the Middle East and developed PG-level qualifications such as MBA, PhD and DBA. Some of his previous assignments included the University of Wollongong in Dubai, Middlesex University Dubai and Abu Dhabi University.

Dr. Maryam Sani, a distinguished Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and a Chartered Chemist, has a remarkable three-decade career in education, leadership, and research in the UK and Saudi Arabia. Her academic journey includes a PGCE from Leicester University, an MSc in Analytical Chemistry, and a PhD in STEM Education and Careers from Staffordshire University.

Dr. Ghazal is passionate about advancing the fields of AI, and emerging digital technology, in a balanced manner and helping states/countries formulate high-level policies and strategies to leverage their implementation benefits in all aspects.

The adoption and use of technology within education have expanded significantly over the last three years.  With a move towards evidence-informed use of technology as well as new technologies becoming present, Al will talk through best practise, and rubrics for evaluating and selecting the right technology and looking at ways to evidence to impact so that we can build confidence in the role of technology within education.

Mike is a seasoned expert in the field of educational technology, bringing over 28 years of diverse experience to the Middle East Thought Leadership Forum. He is deeply committed to bridging the $8.5 trillion global skills gap through innovative educational solutions

Salah Al-Majeed is a Professor of Systems Engineering and Dean of Science and Engineering at AUI. He is the Lead Academic Organisation Cooperation Consultant for the UK and Europe at Huawei. Also, Salah has led the IEEE UK and Ireland section for STEM and Education for the last couple of years. 

Dr. Raed Mohammed BenShams is a distinguished leader and expert in public administration and management. He has devoted his 39-year career to advancing Bahrain's development goals through various fields, such as capacity building, youth empowerment, policy making, and public innovation. He has led many successful projects at local, regional, and international levels.

I am an energetic and enthusiastic person who enjoys a challenge and achieving personal goals. My present career aim is to work within eGovernment strategic planning and business development for transforming the services to eServices and mServices because I enjoy working with technologies, I enjoy the environment and I find the work interesting and satisfying. The opportunity to learn new skills and work with new technologies is particularly attractive to me. I am excellent in working with others to achieve a certain objective on time and with excellence. I am qualified in term of post and higher studies, i did MSc in Technology Management and PhD in (ICT) which focused on (Leadership + Change management + Technology Adoption) While i was on study leave i had opportunity by the help and support of Omani cultural attache to establish the Omani Students Association and to be the chairperson for 2 periods.

Mandy is an international human rights activist & motivational TEDX speaker from the UK, Mandy has travelled all over the world empowering & motivating others. She is an award-winning philanthropist and global voice tackling unconscious bias in tech and AI. She has spoken at some world's biggest tech summits including GITEX, CogX, Women of Silicon Valley Roundabout and Teens In AI Data+AI summit, We Make Future and MEETICTBahrain. Mandy has been involved in empowering the next generation to get involved in AI. She has had representatives from over 140 countries at her Hackathons regarding AI for social good.