Dr Maha received her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Manchester; an MA in Applied Linguistics (Discourse Studies in Language Teaching and Learning) from the University of Liverpool; and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from the University of Manchester. She has extensive experience in the areas of applied linguistics, teaching English language and learning styles. For more than fifteen years, Dr. Maha has been involved in quality assurance, academic standards and accreditation activities. Her research interests are in the areas of reading comprehension, information processing, critical thinking skills, action research and student learning styles.

Alistair is Chief Executive of Advance HE, a member-led charity that supports higher education institutions to develop and improve with a particular focus on excellence in teaching and learning, effective governance, leadership development and embedding equality, diversity and inclusion. Advance HE has over 450 members – in the UK and internationally working with people, education providers and systems around the world, to understand challenges in higher education, and to deliver solutions.

Nabila Al Macki is a passionate leader about learning and education, who enjoys working with dynamic and diverse teams in high performance higher education institutions. Nabila earned her MBA (Financial Management) from the University of Hull, UK. In 2018 she became a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She has a rich teaching experience, particularly in the areas of Finance, Accounting, Human Resource Management, and Leadership, at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In addition to teaching, she has also supervised undergraduate projects at Majan College. In academia, Nabila has extensive experience in the area of programme review and skill-based curriculum development in line with national and international standards. Ms. Nabila has acquired extensive knowledge of UK quality assurance procedures and of higher education systems and standards in Oman. Ms Nabila is an external reviewer of the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation and Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education.

Dr Tariq Al-Sindi is the Secretary General of the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE) and Advisor to the Gulf Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Gulf Cooperation Council. He participated through his assignment from the University of Bahrain to serve on the Economic Development Board to establish the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA). Then, he became the Chief Executive of the Authority. He also participated in several quality review and accreditation committees for higher education institutions and academic programs. He offered several training courses and workshops to establish quality assurance, accreditation bodies, and national qualification frameworks in many Arab countries. He also worked on several UNESCO and World Bank projects, including the project to ensure the quality of transboundary higher education, as well as on the Advisory Committee for the Work of a Framework of Continental African National Qualifications. The European Union funded these projects. He is currently working as a consultant to develop an Arab National Qualifications Framework, and the Gulf Qualifications Framework projects. In 2017, Dr Tariq received His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa Medal of Appreciation for his efforts to serve the Kingdom.

Dr. Reem Al Alawi is the Director General of the Centre for Higher Education Quality Assurance at the Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education (OAAAQA). She has a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis in Program Evaluation and a graduate certificate in educational policy analysis from the University of Missouri, Columbia, USA. She has worked in the Oman College of Health Sciences as an Assistant Science Tutor since 2012 and served as the quality assurance focal point for the nursing program and later held the same position for the entire institution. Dr. Reem was also a reviewer for quality improvement projects and quality-related research at the Directorate General Quality Assurance Center in the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Kevin S. Konecny serves as the Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Assistant Professor of Education at the American University of Ras Al Khaimah (AURAK). Dr. Konecny has 33 years of higher education experience in the United States and abroad, including Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, China, Guam, and the United Kingdom. Most of that experience has been in student affairs administration, including leadership of residence life, student government, orientation programs, student publications, student leadership development initiatives, study abroad, international student programs, enrollment management and recruitment, academic integrity, and conflict resolution. In the U.S., Dr. Konecny held leadership positions at the University of Central Florida, the University of Michigan, Bowling Green State University, and Seminole State College of Florida. His experience in the Arabian Gulf includes serving as the founding Director of Campus and Residence Life with the Qatar Foundation in Education City, Doha, Qatar. Education City is home to six U.S. branch campus institutions (Georgetown University, Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Cornell University, Northwestern University and Texas A&M University), and Dr. Konecny was responsible for the campus residential master planning process in collaboration with university partners in Education City. In addition, Dr. Konecny served in leadership roles, at the executive level, in China, Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait. Dr. Konecny earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science at the University of Maine at Farmington and a Master of Science in Education degree in Counseling Psychology from Saint Bonaventure University (New York) and earned his doctorate in Organizational Leadership at the University of the Potomac (Washington, D.C.). In addition, Dr. Konecny earned a certificate from the Institute for Leading Internationalization through the Center for Internationalization and Global Engagement of the American Council on Education (ACE).

Dr Tess Goodliffe is currently the Director of the Quality Assurance, Planning and Accreditation Department, Sohar University in Oman. From 2018-2025, she was a higher education quality consultant and trainer, working with higher education institutions and quality agencies in all areas of development, strategy, review and capacity development. As well as working with the OAAA, she has worked with the Ministry of Education, Myanmar (through Cardno and AUSAid); University Grants Commission, Sri Lanka; Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), UAE: Education and Training Quality Authority, Bahrain, SARUA in Southern Africa and ISPD, Belgium. Prior to this, she was the Deputy CEO Technical Affairs for the former Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA) and her role in the OAAA supported the implementation and management of the institutional and programme accreditation system as well as the provision of capacity building for institutions and external reviewers. Before joining the OAAA in 2007, she was the Associate Dean (Professional Development) for Caledonian College of Engineering, Oman. Her role involved oversight of the development and implementation of the undergraduate Professional Development Planning module as well as student and staff professional development and student support services. In terms of external quality assurance review activities, Tess has been a reviewer for QAA Scotland and has also served as a reviewer for the Bahrain Quality Assurance Agency, CHE in South Africa and UQAIB in Dubai. She has published articles and delivered presentations at a number of local, regional and international conferences and was formerly Reflections Editor for the online journal ‘Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives’. In 2006 Tess was awarded the UNESCO International Centre for Engineering Education Silver Badge of Honour for her contribution to engineering education.

Susan holds a PhD in Educational Research (Lancaster University, UK), a Master’s Degree (with Distinction) in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (University of Reading, UK) and a BSc (Hons) Biochemistry (Imperial College London, UK). She has extensive experience in internal and external quality assurance, transnational higher education and teaching in higher education. Prior to joining Majan, Susan worked as a Senior Quality Assurance Expert at the Oman Academic Accreditation Authority (OAAA, now OAAAQA) during which time she played a key role in the development of the OAAA’s institutional accreditation standards, criteria and processes, contributed to its research and undertook the role of Review Director for over twenty institutional reviews. Susan’s research interest is in the area of internationalisation of higher education with specific focus on transnational higher education provided through local delivery partnerships and institutional support for international academic teachers.

Dr. Maryam Alnabhani is the director general of private universities and colleges in the Ministry of Higher Education , Research and Innovation , Oman. She graduated from the Sultan Qaboos University with a B.Ed. degree in English. She holds a master degree in Educational Administration obtained from Sultan Qaboos University and a PhD degree in Educational studies in Total Quality Management obtained from the University of Glasgow -UK She worked in the Ministry of Education as a teacher, researcher, expert ,deputy director of the technical office for studies and development of the Minister of Education. She worked in the Education Council and in the Research Council as the director of education human resource sector . Dr. Al Nabhani worked with various international organizations like the World Bank, UNESCO, UNECIF, ALECSO , OECD and McKinsey Dr. Al Nabhani participated in many international and national committees and attended various conferences related to Education, Human Resources and Research and Studies, Organizational Development and Total Quality Management. Dr. AL Nabhani designed supervised and evaluated educational programs, researches and competitions. She has publications related to Education, Total Quality Management and Labor market.

Hamed Al-Hadhrami is currently the External Learning and Development Manager focusing on promoting PDO’s commitment to invest in the Human Capital Development as part of the company’s purpose to create wider value to Oman. Hamed has more than 30 years of experience in the oil Industry. He started his career in production operations, before moving to petroleum engineering (PE). In PE he has worked as a Reservoir Engineer/senior Reservoir Engineer in many areas including well and Reservoir Management, Development and Planning, New Oil and Study centre. Hamed has spent two years as a Skill pool Manager for Petroleum Engineering, Managing the Function to meet the short, medium and long term business needs. He also served as the Competency Manager for Petroleum Engineering Managing the competency and the development of Petroleum Engineering staff. Before moving to the current position, Hamed has spent 8 years managing PDO’s Learning and Development to deliver PDO’s professional and leadership competences and knowledge management that enable the achievement of the short & long term strategic business objectives. One of the recent achievements, Hamed worked very closely with Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, Academia and Industry to Establish Eidaad National Programme to bridge the gap between Industry and academia. Hamed is currently conducting research focusing on bridging the gap between industry and academia through structured work-integrated learning models, contributing to national human capital development and economic diversification. With over 15 years of professional experience in learning and development, Hamed brings a practitioner’s insight to his academic work, advocating for practical, scalable solutions that align higher education outputs with evolving labour market demands. Hamed holds a BEng in Mechanical Engineering and MSc and DIC in Petroleum Engineering from Imperial College, London.

Basil Hanna is the Managing Director of Kaplan Middle East and North Africa, where he leads the unified strategy following the merger of Kaplan’s language and professional education divisions into a single regional entity. He holds full P&L responsibility and oversees commercial performance, operational execution, and long- term strategic growth across the Gulf, Levant, and North Africa. With nearly two decades of experience partnering with government entities, scholarship bodies, and national employers, Basil has a deep understanding of the region’s evolving education and workforce priorities. He has witnessed the shift from scholarship-funded outbound education to a stronger emphasis on local, skills-based learning that directly supports economic diversification and workforce localisation. Following Kaplan’s 2025 consolidation of its Middle East operations, Basil is focused on building an integrated, in-country education model—one that delivers language training, employability skills, and professional development aligned with national strategies. His remit includes identifying synergies across Kaplan’s global capabilities and deploying them to solve regional challenges through scalable, outcomes-driven programs. Under his leadership, Kaplan continues to expand its presence with five offices across the region—including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Cairo—serving as regional hubs to deliver tailored education and training solutions. Basil remains committed to positioning Kaplan as a trusted partner in human capital.

Dr. Narimane Hadj-Hamou is a leading higher education expert with over 22 years’ experience in digital learning, quality assurance, accreditation, strategy, and governance. She has led pioneering online and blended learning initiatives, built regional capacity, advised governments and universities, collaborated with international organizations, trained thousands of academics globally, and received multiple regional and international leadership awards.

Dr Ammar Al Balushi is the Deputy Dean for Postgraduate Studies, Enterprise and Innovation at Majan University College. Before joining higher education, he led and transformed several leading hotels in Oman, gaining deep insights into strategy, service excellence, and tourism development.

He holds a PhD in Marketing and Tourism Development from Glasgow Caledonian University – London Campus, a Master’s in International Management from the University of Strathclyde, and a BSc (Hons) in Computer Engineering. Prior to joining Majan University College, he taught and led modules in management, marketing, and strategy at the University of Essex and Glasgow Caledonian University in the United Kingdom.

At Majan, Dr Ammar has been instrumental in developing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. His research and practice focus on strategic management, marketing, sustainable tourism, innovation, and emerging technologies—advancing institutional growth in line with Oman Vision 2040.

With over 15 years of experience in the IT industry, Shaikh Saif Al Hosni is a passionate and driven leader committed to delivering value and innovation to customers, partners, and teams. He possesses strong expertise in cloud computing, IT service management, business development, and team management.

As the General Manager of Microsoft Oman and Bahrain, Shaikh Saif oversees all aspects of the company’s operations, including strategy, sales, marketing, and customer satisfaction. Under his leadership, Microsoft’s presence and revenue in these markets have grown significantly through robust stakeholder relationships, the launch of innovative products and services, and the advancement of digital transformation initiatives across multiple sectors.

His key achievements include securing major contracts in the public, education, and commercial sectors, expanding the Azure cloud platform to local customers, and earning recognition such as the Market Impact Award and the GM Award for outstanding performance. A strong advocate of empowering and mentoring teams, he fosters a culture of collaboration, excellence, and diversity, making him a recognized leader in the region’s digital transformation journey.

Dr. Rima Al Zadjali, Recipient of the Royal Commendation Order, Second Class, for outstanding contributions and tangible achievements in the field of higher education in Oman, is an accomplished higher education professional with over 27 years of experience in leadership, quality assurance, strategic planning, and language assessment. She served as Dean of one of the private higher education institutions, Oman. Previously, she held key roles in quality assurance and assessment at Sultan Qaboos University. Currently, she serves as the Deputy Chairman of the OAAAQA Board and as an Academic Advisor at the Sultan Qaboos Air Academy. In addition, she is a Cambridge Assessment Network Ambassador in Oman. Dr. Al Zadjali currently the Dean of Oman College of Management & Technology.

Professor Mary Malcolm is a distinguished higher education leader and governance expert with extensive experience in quality assurance, academic standards, curriculum innovation, and research development. She has held senior executive roles, served as an external reviewer and examiner, and advises institutions on strengthening governance, leadership, quality enhancement, and student outcomes across the UK and internationally.

Mohamed Salah Younis is a supply chain and logistics lecturer with 14 years of experience in academia and industry. He holds a Master of Science in International Transport & Logistics from Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AAST). Mohamed is certified in logistics, transportation and distribution (CLTD) from APICS/ASCM (USA) and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) in the UK. He has a passion for mentoring students and has research interests in supply chain, digital transformation, and logistics education. Mohamed has published peer-reviewed articles, received multiple research grants, and won several competitions. Mohamed worked previously for Middle East College and AAST, besides having wide industry experience in shipping and logistics operations.

Dr. Peter Mitchell’s service in higher education spans 20 years. Initially a British Council language assistant, he became associate professor and founded a department at a world-leading (QS 250) university in Russia. Peter holds a BA (Hons) with distinction in Liberal Arts (Durham University) and MSc with distinction in Teacher Education (University of Oxford). He earned his doctorate in education from the University of Derby and is a Fellow of the UK’s Royal Society of Arts and Chartered Institute of Linguists, and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). Peter has supervised doctoral theses internationally and taught over 70,000 learners worldwide in partnership with Coursera. He has consulted leaders of educational institutions in various countries and is an external reviewer for the Ministry of Higher Education, Research & Innovation and Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education. Peter’s research focuses on teacher education and institutional development.