Ahlia University participated in the AACSB Elevate 2026 Conference, held in Tunisia, through a delegation led by its Founding President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Professor Abdulla Al-Hawaj.
Professor Al-Hawaj took part in a high-level panel discussion alongside a number of prominent international academic leaders, including Dr. Ghassan Awad, President of Abu Dhabi University, and Dr. Ayşegül Toker, Dean of the Business School at Sabancı University, in the presence of leading higher education experts.
The session was moderated by Professor Ihsan Zakri, Vice President of AACSB, and focused on strengthening academic and institutional collaboration across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as exploring opportunities and challenges for building sustainable regional partnerships.
During the session, Professor Al-Hawaj stressed the importance of adopting an entrepreneurial approach based on innovation and risk management in designing collaborative initiatives. He called on universities to move beyond traditional frameworks and engage in impactful and innovative partnerships.
He also highlighted the importance of enhancing regional integration and expanding cooperation among higher education institutions in the Gulf and the wider region, proposing the establishment of regional consortia led by private universities due to their flexibility, agility in decision-making, and capacity for innovation.
Professor Al-Hawaj underlined the key role of business schools in leading regional collaboration through building networks and fostering partnerships between academia and the economic sector. He also commended the role of female leadership in driving renewed perspectives and strengthening cooperation.
This participation reflects Ahlia University’s position as one of the first Gulf universities accredited by AACSB, as well as its leadership in obtaining multiple international accreditations, particularly in the fields of information technology and engineering, including accreditation from the ABET and the European EUR-ACE, affirming its commitment to the highest standards of academic quality and the advancement of education and research outcomes.
