H.H. Sheikh Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Ali Bin Rashid Alnuaimi 

The Green Sheikh

A human being and sought-after speaker and one of The Arab World most upcoming and fascinating figures. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ali Al Nuaimi, a member of the Ajman royal family in the United Arab Emirates, has made a name for himself and is considered to be a change agent for environmental advocate and foresight on Sustainability in the UAE and beyond. Avid skydiver, technical deep diver and role model amongst the UAE youth and many Arab countries and part of the globe, Sheikh Abdul Aziz has over the last 30 years dedicated his life to traveling and collaborating around the world on issues related to humanity, hope, understanding, environment and the road ahead. He spearheads by encouraging and motivating ground speaking ideas developed by youth through his empowering actions and meaningful way of life. His ongoing words over the last decade and a reminder of his greatest passion is to inspire, aspire and mentor young leaders who today ultimately will become the future leaders of tomorrow, that will make the change required for a better understanding of a peaceful world. “We are not a grain of sand in the Desert, but we are the Desert in a grain of the sand”

The Green Sheikh

Ms. Huda Mohd Al Houqani

Director of Abu Dhadi Sustainability Group, Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Ms. Huda is the Director of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Group (ADSG). A committed, inspiring and visionary leader, she has held several significant roles where her passion for the environment and sustainability ensured successful outcomes and results. She has helped in issuing several publications such as “The Water Management Challenges Faced by the Various Water Sector Users in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, UAE”. In addition, Ms. Huda had participated as co-author in publishing a chapter about water resources in Abu Dhabi Emirate, UNESCO published book, and currently she is managing the ADSG sustainability publications. Huda’s completed her education with a B.S. in Geology from UAE University as well as a leadership diploma from Cambridge University and foundations for business leadership FBL diploma from IMD business school in Switzerland. Presently Ms. Huda is doing her MBA in the University of Wales.

Her Excellency Dr. Maryam Matar

Founder & Chairperson UAE Genetic Diseases Association (UAEGDA), Dubai, UAE

One of the most well-respected advisor of public and private sector organizations on sustainable healthcare, community empowerment and youth development. She serves as a Chairperson/ senior advisor in over 15 international, regional and local committees for Women in STEM, Youth leadership and preventive healthcare initiatives. A leading healthcare influencer, she pioneered study of genes and advocates public education and awareness of genetic disorders across the ME region.

• Recognized as the most powerful scientist in the UAE since 2014.
• Recognized among top 20 Arab scientists with the biggest contribution to humanity by British Scientific Community 2016.
• Among the ’50 most influential Arab women’ listed by Arabian Business for six consecutive years
• Among the ‘100 smartest people in the UAE’.
• Among the “top 100 most influential Arabs in the world” recognized by Arabian Business for four consecutive years since 2013

Dr. Maryam is a strong advocate of empowering community in healthcare, and has a very strong background and expertise in sustainable development, strategic planning and leadership, public policy and advocacy.  She is the first woman Director General of Community Development Authority (CDA), which undertakes to formulate social policies and deliver social services that are in line with and contribute to the achievement of the social development objectives of Dubai Strategic Plan 2007 – 2015, launched by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum on February 3rd, 2007. In 2005, Dr. Maryam was the leader of the executive team that set up social development strategies for Dubai Strategic Plan. As a strategic advisor, she is helping leading organizations across South East Asia and GCC to build an enabling environment where talent, science and innovation flourishes. In 2004, she had conceptualized a national body on genetic disorder, awareness and prevention, and is the Founder & Chairperson of the UAE Genetic Diseases Association. The UAE Genetic Disease Association achieved extraordinary results such as screening of 37,281 Emirati families and more than 13,000 expat families. Her commitment to women leadership, STEM and scientific innovation, makes her a globally acclaimed speaker and influencer, regularly speaks, champions and supports the cause of women empowerment, participation and recognition in corporate and educational sectors. Dr. Maryam mentors over 100 professional women and 500 young professional graduates on annual basis and speaks in more than 35 specialist conferences in the field of healthcare across the region every year.

Dr. Abdishakur Abdulle

Associate Director, Public Health Research Centre, New York University Abu Dhabi, UAE

Abdishakur Abdulle serves as Associate Director of the Public Health Research Center at New York University Abu Dhabi. Dr. Abdulle is a Harvard Global Clinical Scholar in Epidemiology and Clinical Trials and earned his PhD from the University of Central Lancashire, UK. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management from Australia. Abdulle’s main research interests include the epidemiology and biochemical markers of chronic diseases and obesity. He is also interested in identifying innovative and interdisciplinary strategies in the prevention and intervention of childhood obesity.  Dr. Abdulle has published over 70 original manuscripts and over 1k citations in peer reviewed international journals. He also serves as a reviewer for many international journals.

Mr. Daniel Render

Director of Sustainability for Expo 2020, Dubai, UAE

Mr. Daniel Render is an architect and sustainability professional with 22 years of experience currently serving as the Director of Sustainability for Expo 2020 Dubai.  For the past 13 years, Daniel has been working in the Middle East and Asia and has served in key roles on large scale real estate developments and global event programmers.  Mr. Daniel’s focus on socio-economic and environmental sustainability began during his architectural education in the US, and has continued throughout his career.

Professor Tony Wall, EdD, MA, PGC, PGD

Director of the International Thriving at Work Research Group, University of Chester, UK

Professor Tony Wall is Director of the International Centre for Thriving at Work at the University of Chester in the UK, institutional lead for the global Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme, and a National Teaching Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He has won multiple Santander International Research Excellence Awards and Erasmus+ grants to collaborate in projects across the globe which interrogate our relationship with organisations, education, technology, and the natural world. As a co-founder of the Washington Ethical Leadership Summit, he works with a vast range of practitioners, crossing the fields of computer science, stem cell research, and economics, to generate dialogue around the ethics of technology for sustainability. Professor Wall also works closely with professional bodies and organisations internationally to develop thriving in the workplace. His clients have included Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank, Lloyds TSB Bank, BT, TalkTalk, Chinese and American media groups, a Japanese logistics company, a South African University, The NHS, The Police, The RAF and Joint Forces HQ.

Ms. Hania Baramki

Regional Commercial Director, Middle-east, Africa, SEE & CIS, Mc Graw Hill Education, Dubai, UAE

Passionate about education and a firm believer in the need to transform the way education is implemented, Hania joined McGraw-Hill Education in April 2017 as the Regional Commercial Director for the Middle East and Africa to lead its transformation to become a Learning Science company. Hania started developing key strategic alliances and partnerships to provide adapted solutions for both the Higher Education and K-12 sectors in order to achieve the educational transformation necessary in the region. Prior to joining McGraw-Hill Education, Hania spent ten years working for Cisco in different leadership positions, including the role of the Director of Business Development for the Education Vertical across EMEA. Her focus was on building Eco-System Partnerships to assist educational institutions and educational ministries in their digitization journey to address Next Generation Learning.  While at Cisco, Hania also led its division of Emerging Markets Smart Cities, developing and driving sales strategies for this division. Before joining Cisco, Hania was a senior consultant for Cap Gemini Ernst & Young in Paris where she advised and assisted C-level executives of Fortune 500 companies with their diversification and Go-to-Market strategies. Hania has more than twenty-five years of multi-national and diversified experience across different sectors, including, engineering, construction, finance and education.

Mr. Abdallah AL-WARDAT

Director of the WFP UAE Office and WFP Representative for the GCC, Dubai, UAE

Abdallah Al-Wardat is the Director of the WFP Office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the WFP representative for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. In his current role, Mr. Al-Wardat is responsible for strengthening WFP’s partnerships and relationships across the GCC, as well as raising WFP’s profile and actively mobilizing resources in support of WFP’s operations worldwide. He also acts as the Director of WFP’s Emergency Support Center in Dubai, UAE. Mr. Al-Wardat has worked with WFP for eighteen years. He has long standing and diversified experience working in emergency and development projects, and has worked in some of WFP’s most challenging operations including Iraq, Algeria, South Sudan, and Afghanistan. Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Al-Wardat was the Deputy Country Director in Yemen, one of WFP’s major operations. He also served WFP in Egypt, Afghanistan, Sudan, Algeria and Iraq, where he gained strong field expertise in various domains including school feeding and safety nets. He is a national of Jordan.

Prof. Riadh Al-Dabbagh, PhD

Professor of Environment and Water Resources at Ajman University, Ajman, UAE

Prof. Al-Dabbagh obtained his first degree - B Sc. in Geology from Mosul University, Iraq in 1968, then his Diploma, MSc, PhD in Hydrology from University College, London in 1975. He had a very colorful career prior to his present post in the UAE. President of 4 universities for 21 years, Faculty member for about 40 years in 7 universities Published Approximately 79 scientific papers in the field of water resources and hydrology, Environment, Pollution, Water management, Water Engineering 25 short papers in education and scientific contribution, Five textbooks in the field of hydrology, water management and engineering geology, Teaching graduate and undergraduate courses in water resource management, hydrology, environmental hydrology, basic ecology, environment water& energy and general geology, hydrochemistry, ground water resources, water quality, pollution, and environment. Attended 87 international conferences and 42 national and regional conferences, received approximately 44 awards from regional, Arabic and international universities and organizations, Spent a total of 6 years as a visiting professor in 14 different universities in 10 different European, North and South American countries. Member of the Iraqi Academy of Science, Vice president of the International Association of Hydrological Science (Unesco). Chairman of the working committee to execute Hydrological Map of Arab Countries (Unesco). Honored three Order of Merit, and honored by American organization as one of the best academic in the world for the year 2010.In 2003- up to the present, He is a professor at Ajman University and advisor at the University, UAE. Since joining Ajman University, honored 43 Certificates from different organizations and institutions for participating in different activities, conferences, seminars, workshops, etc. Member of the World Advisory committee to the world renewable energy network.

Ms. Shahda Mazin Al-Taie, B.Eng. Mechanical Engineering (Hons.)

Consultant at Ernst & Young, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, Dubai, UAE

Ms. Shahda is a Consultant in EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) team in Dubai. She has 3 years of experience in areas of energy management, sustainability and green economy. In her previous role with Dubai Carbon Centre of Excellence, she offered her technical expertise for projects dealing with GHG accounting by developing GHG inventories on a national, Emirate, community and organizational levels of reporting. Shahda holds a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering with a First Class Honours degree from Heriot Watt University. Her academic efforts were further recognized when she was awarded the Eric Gibb prize for the best examination results in a mechanical engineering course for two consecutive years during her course. She is a Greenhouse Gas Accounting Lead Verifier and a PRINCE 2 Practitioner. She speaks both English and Arabic fluently.

Dr. Mohammad N. Almasri

Civil Engineering Department, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine

Dr. Mohammad N. Almasri is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at An‐Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine, and an Adjunct Professor at Utah State University, USA, where he graduated from with a PhD degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering. His key qualifications focus on modeling and management of groundwater resources, groundwater pollution, assessment of water-related projects, Environmental Impact Assessment studies, and the design of water distribution networks, wastewater and stormwater collection networks, and the development of road maps for the regional water utilities. At the university level, he teaches surface and groundwater hydrology, water resources management, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, engineering economy, and GIS.

Prof. Hassan A. Arafat, PhD

Department of Chemical Engineering, Masdar Institute, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Arafat is a Professor of the Chemical Engineering department at Masdar Institute - Khalifa University of Science and Technology in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he leads the Membrane and Sustainable Desalination Research group. His current research expertise is in membrane-based desalination, with a particular focus on third-generation desalination processes such as membrane distillation (MD). He initiated a new research trend on sustainable desalination, in which he looks at integrating multiple multidisciplinary tools to enhance the prospects of deploying desalination and reducing the economic and environmental impacts thereof, with the aim of achieving national water and food security. The essence of this trend is captured in his book: Desalination Sustainability: A Technical, Socioeconomic and Environmental Approach. Prof. Arafat received his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Univ. of Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) in 2000 and a BSc in Chem. Eng. From the Univ. of Jordan. From 2000 to 2003, he worked at Argonne National Laboratory (Illinois, USA) as a postdoc then as a research scientist, developing processes for nuclear waste treatment at the USA Department of Energy (DOE) sites. Between 2003 and 2010, Prof. Arafat was an assistant then associate professor of the Chem. Eng. Dept. at An-Najah University (West Bank). Between 2009 and 2012, he also served as an adjunct associate professor of the Biological Eng. Dept. at Utah State Univ. (Utah, USA) and in 2010, he spent six months as a visiting scholar at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (USA). He is a recipient of research fellowships by the Open Society Foundation (USA) and DAAD (Germany). Through his career thus far, he supervised 29 PhD and MSc students and postdoctoral fellows and received 22 research grants, exceeding $11M in funding. The outcome of his research has appeared in 106 book chapters and peer-reviewed journal papers, 113 conference papers and 48 Keynote and invited talks worldwide.

Prof. Mohd Zainal Abidin Ab Kadir, Peng, CEng, Ptech

Centre for Electromagnetic and Lightning Protection Research, Faculty of Engineering, University Putra Malaysia, Malaysia

Dr. Mohd Zainal Abidin Ab Kadir received his B.Eng. degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Universiti Putra Malaysia and Ph.D. degree in High Voltage Engineering from the University of Manchester, U.K. Currently, he is a Strategic Hire Professor at the Institute of Power Engineering (IPE), Universiti Tenaga Nasional (UNITEN) and a Professor at the Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Administratively, he was the Deputy Dean (Research & Innovation) and the Head of Department between 2014 to 2017, and 2011 to 2014, respectively. He is the Founding Director at the Centre for Electromagnetic and Lightning Protection Research (CELP) at the Universiti Putra Malaysia, which is regarded as the World Leader in Lightning Safety by the lightning community. He is also an IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Distinguished Lecturer in the field of lightning and high voltage engineering. To date he has authored and co-authored over 300 journal and conference papers. He has supervised 17 PhD and 35 MSc students and currently 26 PhD and 10 MSc are on their way. Professor Zainal is a Professional Engineer (PEng) and a Chartered Engineer (CEng), as well as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). Currently, he is the Chairman of the National Mirror Committee of IEC TC 81 (Lightning Protection). He is also an Advisory Board Member of the National Lightning Safety Institute (NLSI) USA, Research Advisor for the African Centre for Lightning and Electromagnetic (ACLE) and Advisor to many other government agencies such as Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) and the Energy Commission of Malaysia.

Dr. Alexander Ritschel

Head of Applications Development, Masdar, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Dr. Alexander Ritschel is a Head of Technology at Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company. He oversees research and demonstration activities on an array of water and clean energy issues, such as energy-efficient seawater desalination technologies, photovoltaic module and systems testing, solar thermal applications and innovative mobility concepts.  Dr. Ritschel became involved in energy and water research in 2001, working with the California Energy Commission in the Public Interest Energy Research program. Since then he has worked at the University of California, Merced, conducting research on concentrating photovoltaic and solar thermal systems.  He further worked as consulting engineer at Lahmeyer International where he was responsible for the design and engineering of utility-scale photovoltaic power plants. Dr. Alexander Ritschel received his M.Sc. and Ph.D. from Vienna University of Technology and an M.A. from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. Dr. Ritschel is author of several scientific papers, journal articles, and conference papers on clean energy issues.

Mrs. Vineetha Mathew

Founding Partner at Sustainable Mindz, Dubai, UAE

A Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability specialist with over 15 years of experience in India and Middle East, her area of expertise includes sustainability, ethical and fair-trade management.  Mrs. Vineetha Mathew has specific strengths in delivering bespoke sustainability management strategies that include identifying key environmental and social issues and impacts, risk/opportunity mapping, stakeholder engagement, polices and guidelines and social impact assessments. Prior to Co-Founding Sustainable Mindz, Mrs. Vineetha managed several projects in multiple countries while managing different stakeholders which included implementation of sustainability solutions in organizational procurement, monitoring, evaluation and audit of the supply chain performance of suppliers against various Ethical and FairTrade Codes for large overseas retail clients.  An experienced corporate responsibility and sustainability Trainer, Mrs. Vineetha has also authored several sector specific sustainability reports and discussion papers. She is a Certified SA 8000 Auditor and has a Certification in Environment Management System (EMS). She was responsible for initiating and managing the Dubai Chamber Sustainability Advocacy Network, the Sustainability Matters Dubai Dialogue Series, and the Dubai Chamber CSR Training portfolio.

Dr. Celeste Lo Turco

Vice President Strategy, Future Group Holdings S.A., Dubai, UAE

Dr Celeste Lo Turco is a Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWF) Expert. She has been working for the SWFs Strategic Committee of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the SWFs Law Centre. She has been the advisor for Ancitel, the Italian Municipalities National Association, for the development of the national economy and the relationship with SWFs. Former United Nations analyst, she worked within the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI). She has been living in the Middle East for a long period and she currently serves as Vice President Strategy for Future Group Holding, a family office based in Dubai. She is a Fulbright Visiting Researcher and she holds a PhD in Political Theory and a Master Degree in International Relations, Markets and Institutions of the Global System. She is an active writer about SWFs.

Mr. Mohammed Baharoon

Director General of the B’Huth, Dubai Policy Research Centre, Dubai, UAE

Mohammed Baharoon is the Director General of b’huth (DCRMC), which he established with Ahmed Al Mansoori in 2002 in Dubai, UAE. Mohammed Baharoon attained his Master’s degree in English Literature from Texas Tech University in 1995 and his English Major from Kuwait University in 1987.  Baharoon found reading literature helped him create the big picture since he always needed to listen to things that were not said. This led to a career in media where he worked as a reporter for Al Arabi Magazine, which was a premier cultural monthly in the Arab World. Mohammed continued his media career as a writer for Al Ittihad newspaper and then as an Editor for Gulf Defence Magazine.  A turning point for him was when he started to see that the worlds of literature and politics were not very different. It was a launching point for the establishment of b’huth. Since then Baharoon has been reading world politics as the ultimate literary genre where fact and fiction are two faces of the same coin.

Mr. Abdulla Ali Al-Suwaidi Asst. Deputy Director General of Scientific Research, The Emirates Center of Strategic Studies and Research, Abu Dhabi, UAE Mr. Abdullah Al-Suwaidi has lectured and published research papers in international and strategic affairs. He has participated in and chaired sessions in many local and international academic conferences. Mr. Al-Suwaidi has held several positions during his more than 20 years in the federal government. He joined the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR) in 2002 and currently serves as Assistant Deputy Director General for the Scientific Research Division. Prior to joining the Center, he served in the Armed Forces. Mr. Al-Suwaidi also supervised the postgraduate diploma in scientific research, as well as the diploma for diplomatic studies to train diplomats. He studied in the United States and graduated from George Mason University, where he received a bachelor's degree with distinction in the field of decision sciences. Mr. Al-Suwaidi received his first master's degree with distinction in human resources management and a second master's degree in diplomacy and international affairs, also with distinction.

Dr. Juan Pablo Rodríguez Calle

International Bio Saline Research Centre (ISBA), Research & Innovation Division

Dr. Juan Pablo joined ICBA in January 2017. He works on the quinoa program at the Research and Innovation Division. Before joining ICBA, he had worked as a consultant for the Korea International Cooperation Agency in Bolivia, and a researcher for the ANDESCROP project in Bolivia and Denmark, the EU-Tempus Project in Germany and Serbia. He holds a Ph.D. in Crop Science from the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and an Int. M.Sc. in Rural Development from Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Germany (Erasmus Mundus IMRD framework), and M.Res. in Functioning of Natural and Cultivated Ecosystems from SupAgro, France, Montpellier. As an agronomist from UMSA, Facultad de Agronomía, La Paz, Bolivia, he was a junior researcher at IRD-UR060-CLIFA, France, working on developing Quinoa Network in the Highland of Bolivia and Conservation of Quinoa and Cañahua. His main research fields are seed science, agrobiodiversity, ethno-ecology and crop production focusing neglected and underutilized crop species. He has published six journal papers and participated in more than 20 national and international conferences on quinoa, agrobiodiversity conservation, Andean seed crops production, organic farming and participatory plant breeding.

Dr. Abdelaziz Hirich

International Bio Saline Research Centre (ISBA), Research & Innovation Division

Dr. Abdelaziz Hirich is a scientist at ICBA. Prior to his current position, he was a post-doctoral fellow between 2014 and 2016 at the center. He holds a Ph.D. in agricultural sciences (IAV HASSAN II, Morocco), and M.Sc. in land and water resources management (CIHEAM-IAMB, Italy), and an engineer diploma in horticulture (IAV HASSAN II, Morocco). His expertise lies in horticulture, irrigation management, salinity, quinoa, and fertigation. He is author or co-author of more than 55 papers in journals, book chapters and international conferences. Before joining ICBA, he had worked as a researcher at the EU-funded projects GLOBAQUA and SWUP-MED, and a horticulture engineer with many private agri-business companies in Morocco.

Prof. Kamilla Swart

Professor in the College of Business Administration, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, AUE

Professor Kamilla Swart is a full Professor in the College of Business Administration, American University in the Emirates. Her research interests include sport and event tourism, with a specific focus on mega-events and event policies, strategies and evaluations. She completed her doctoral degree in education and sport tourism and graduated from Illinois State University in 2001. Professor Swart is the author of Sport Tourism and over 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters related to sport and tourism. She has delivered sport and tourism classes and research and training presentations in over 10 countries. Professor Swart is Regional Editor (Africa) for the Journal of Destination Marketing and Management. She serves as an international partner of the Sport Business School Finland for the initiation of collaborative research field studies at major international sport events and serves on the Advisory Board of the African Sport Business Association.

Dr. Daniel Alemu

Associate Professor / Dean, College of Education, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, AUE

Dr. Daniel Solomon Alemu is an associate professor of Educational Leadership. He received two graduate degrees in Educational Leadership and Administration from the United States: a master’s degree in 2004 from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, Illinois and a PhD in 2008 from Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.

Dr. Daniel brings over 20 years of experience in teaching and administration including teaching at elementary schools, administering (director of) a junior high school, and for the past 9 years as a full time higher education faculty where he taught graduate level courses in educational leadership and research methods in the United States. Dr. Daniel has published articles in peer reviewed journals and presented his work in national and international conferences. His articles appeared in such peer reviewed journals as Planning and Changing Journal, Journal for Effective Schools, International Review of Education Journal, and on the Records ( a KDP journal).

I am sure we will all have a good and enriching experience working together. Please join me in welcoming and in wishing him a long and rewarding career at the American University in the Emirates.

Dr. Sawsan Abdul Salam Al Madhi

Director General,  Friends of Cancer Patients

Prof. Adel Khelifi

Professor / Dean, College of Computer Information Technology, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE

Dr. Adel Khelifi holds a P.h.D in Software Engineering from the École de Technologie Supérieure of the Université du Québec, Montréal, Canada (2005), a Master’s degree in Management Information Systems from the Université du Québec, Canada (2001), a Systems Analyst Diploma from the National Centre of Computer Science, Tunisia (1995) and a Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from Annaba University, Algeria (1991).

He is a Dean and Full Professor at the College of Computer and Information Technology at the American University of the Emirates.mirates.

He has had an impressive career, most recently working as Interim Provost for Academic Affairs in Alhosn University, UAE, a lecturer at the École de Technologie Supérieure in Canada and previously for the United Nations MSF in Canada, for Canada’s Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration and for the Ministry of Finance in Tunisia. Currently, he is involved in developing a software engineering curriculum. As a Canadian ISO member in software engineering, Dr. Khelifi is contributing to the development of software measurement standards.

Dr. Leonardo Jose Mataruna-Dos-Santos

Assistant Professor, College of Business Administration, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE

Dr. Mataruna has BA (Hons) and BSc in Physical Education and Sport, PGCert Higher Education, PGCert Human Resource Management, PGCert Sport Training and Methods (Judo). In his Masters dissertation, he explored economic and social aspects of people living in Rio de Janeiro favelas. He has also been awarded a Distinction Postgraduate Diploma in Olympic Studies by the International Olympic Academy (Greece) and Loughborough University (UK). He received the Medal Pierre de Coubertin in 2017, and Medal of Sport Military Honour of International Council of Military Sport (CISM). He has completed the PhD at Gama Filho University focusing on innovation in sport and technology for research. He is black belt in Judo (4th Dan), Taekwondo (1st Dan) and Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Dr . Leonardo Mataruna’s key research interests in the sport management, sport for peace and development, business of sport and event management, social media, e-Games. He worked for the Brazilian Navy, Brazilian Olympic Committee/Judo Confederation and at several Universities since 1999 in Brazil, United Kingdom and Germany.

Dr. Leonardo attended as part of the Judo Coach team the Olympic Games of Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016; the Paralympic Games of Athens 2004 as coach and, Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio 2016 as journalist (commentator at Sportv Channel – GloboSat TV); and the Winter Olympics of Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, and FIFA Football Cup 2014 as scientist. He worked as consultant for UNESCO to promote Youth Engagement and Olympic Education.

Prof. Panteleimon Sklias

Professor / Acting Dean, College of Security and Global Studies, American University in the Emirates, Dubai, UAE

Panteleimon Sklias (1969) is Professor of International Political Economy and Global Affairs. He graduated (1990) from the Department of International Relations at Panteion University in Athens (Geece). He was awarded both his MA in International Relations (1991) and his Ph.D. in International Relations and IPE (1998) from the University of Sussex (UK). He accomplished (2000) his post doctorate thesis at the Hellenic Center of Political Research of Panteion University with a fellowship from the State Fellowship Foundation. From 1999 until 2002 he has been a Visiting Research Fellow at the Postgraduate Center for Culture, Development and the Environment (CDE), University of Sussex (UK).

Panteleimon Sklias also has an extensive professional experience (1995-2007) in working with International and EU organizations and Non State Actors in development cooperation projects with emphasis on war torn and conflict affected areas including the SEE region countries (Albania, Serbia, FYROM, Kosovo). He has also planned, monitored and implemented projects in Third World Countries. He recently (2012-2015) participated in public reforms projects in Greece and Cyprus, working as a senior consultant for the European Commission Task Force for Greece as well as international Technical Assistance providers . Currently, he is serving as a member of Board of the Cyprus Agency of Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Higher Education (DI.P.A.E.).

His research interests include: Global Political Economy; States and Markets; Economic Diplomacy; The Political Economy of Security; Global Governance; Development Cooperation. His research work has been published in peer reviewed journals and has been cited by numerous scholar around the world.

Dr. Mohammad M. Al-Oun

Organic Farming Adviser, Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates

Dr. Mohammad Al-Oun holds a PhD in organic farming from Coventry University-UK and is specialized in climate-smart agriculture, natural resources management and food security. Dr Al-Oun established in 2010 in Jordan the water and food research programme as first Arab research programme creates innovative solutions for water and food security. He has more than 18 years of professional experience in the field of sustainable development, organic farming, water, food, animal feed, rehabilitation of damaged ecosystems, community empowerment, rural development, and livestock. He worked as an expert in a number of regional and international sustainable development projects where he contributed to sustainable development. He published more than 20 scientific articles and his current research focusing on climate-smart agriculture (organic farming), water, animal feed, and food security. Dr. Al-Oun has undertaken international consultancies for DFID, IUCN, Islamic Development Bank, and USAID. He leads a research team with Coventry University-UK “Sharing Best Agroecological Practice for Resilient Production Systems in Dryland and Drought Conditions (in 5 countries: UK, Spain, Jordan, South Africa, and Mexico)”.

Mr. Ahmad Bin Fahad

Artificial Intelligence & Smart Services Project Manager, Gen. Dept. of Artificial Intelligence, Dubai Police, Dubai, UAE.

النقيب أحمد محمد بن فهد اختصاصي تقنية المعلومات و رئيس قسم الاختبار التقني بالإدارة العامة للذكاء الاصطناي في القيادة العامة لشرطة دبي، انتسب الى شرطة دبي في عام 2001م حائز على شهادة البكالوريوس في تقنية المعلومات ودرجة الماجستير في الإدارة الدولية.
النقيب أحمد محمد بن فهد قائد متميز لعدة فرق عمل على مستوى إمارة دبي، منها مراكز شرطة دبي الذكية ونظام المعثورات والمفقودات.
ألقى أكثر من 50 محاضرة على المستوى المحلي والدولي، عضو فاعل في لجان التقييم العالمية لخدمات وتطبيقات شرطة دبي في الجوائز العالمية والاقليمية.