Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad

Professor Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, a leading Qatari educator for nearly three decades, has occupied numerous and prestigious positions in teaching, administration, and research, assuming the presidency of the University of Qatar in 2003. Prior to that date, she served the University of Qatar as Vice President for Research and Community Development (2000-2003), Head of the Department of Foundations of Education ((1992 - 1995), and as a member of the University Council (1986-1989; 1998-2004).

Professor Al-Misnad received her undergraduate training at the University of Qatar where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (1977), and subsequently a Diploma in Education in 1978. She then enrolled in doctoral studies at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom where she was granted the Doctor of Philosophy in Education in 1984.

Professor Al-Misnad became active in research pertaining to education in the Gulf area in general, and education pertaining to women in particular during her graduate studies at the University of Durham. Her doctoral dissertation on "The Development of Modern Education in the Gulf States with Special Reference to Women's Education" was subsequently published by Ithaca Press (London) in 1985. In addition to her administrative duties and community involvement, Professor Al-Misnad has written more than 50 articles published in professional journals and presented at leading conferences and seminars.

Qatar has witnessed an educational renaissance movement within the past decade where the strategic goal of the nation is to institute national reform to its entire educational system. At the University level, Professor Al-Misnad was commissioned in 2003 to lead a massive reform project to transform the University of Qatar into a leading regional institution of higher education. Major academic reforms have already been initiated in the areas of curricula, programmes, and structure.

The involvement of Professor Al-Misnad in educational reform is not limited to the University of Qatar. She has continuously played a key and leading role in the reform of primary, secondary, and private education in Qatar. As a member of the Board of Directors of Qatar Foundation for Education Science and Community Development since 1999, she was instrumental in the governance and leadership of educational institutions constituting Education City, foremost among these is Qatar Academy and The Learning Center. As an ex officio member of the Board of Governors of both institutions, she has seen Qatar Academy flourish into an accredited international school enrolling nearly 800 students from preschool level to secondary school levels. The Learning Center was established as an educationally conducive environment that provides an option to average or above average students that experience learning difficulties in completing their studies.

The reform of publicly funded education in Qatar has been entrusted to the Supreme Education Council that was formed in 2002. This ambitious and massive reform project aims to establish progressive and modern independent schools that are privately operated but publicly funded. Professor Al-Misnad is considered one of the most active members of the Supreme Educational Council overseeing this project.

At the international level, Professor Al-Misnad is a member of several international bodies and delegations. For example, she was a contributing member of the Steering Committee of the Symposium at the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education Applicability to the Arab States of the Gulf held in Doha on 5-7 December 1999.

Professor Al-Misnad's long and illustrious record in education has gained her a wide and esteemed reputation not only in Qatar, but also in the Arab Gulf region and international arenas.