Dr. Mansoor Al-Awar is the Chairman of the Governing Board of the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE). The Institute is a major body of UNESCO responsible for designing and implementing UNESCO programs related to the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in education.

Dr. Mansoor is a visionary leader of innovation and excellence in higher education. He is best known for his total transformation thinking required for the advancement of education around the Arab world. As one of the most influential catalysts of change in education, and a passionate advocate of lifelong learning, he is considered one of the earliest voices to have called for the reengineering of higher education, by tapping into the enormous potential of the ICT latest developments.

In his key book Quality and the Future of Higher Education, Dr. Mansoor presents a unique vision and insights, and draws a clear roadmap for the future universities to become hubs and clusters of knowledge creation and dissemination. The book reflects his hands-on leadership style and vast experience while taking the helm at the world’s first smart university, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU).

With a successful career hinged upon unbundling universities and bringing about sea changes to higher education, Dr. Mansoor has launched a number of flagship initiatives under the umbrella of the Smart University. This gives the University the competitive edge to lead change and raise the bar for excellence in higher education in the region. These initiatives include the award-winning Smart Campus, the Emirati Programmer, Sawti, in addition to other initiatives like introducing gamification into the learning experience.

Dr. Mansoor Al Awar has established numerous awards in fields related to education, including Feigenbaum Leadership Excellence Award, Juran Chair, and many others.

In recognition of his magnificent career and glorious achievements, Dr. Mansoor Al Awar has received numerous accolades such as Golden Order of Merit, on Arab World Good Governance, from Tatweej Academy; ICT & Knowledge CEO Excellence Award by Middle East Excellence Awards Institute; Gold Medal and Title of "God Father of Quality in Policing" from Crown Prince of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum; and Distinguished Government Employee award, by Dubai Government Excellence Program, and others.

Dr. Al-Awar has many professional memberships of local, regional and international academies and organizations related to education. He is a constant guest and a revered invitee as a sought-after academic and public speaker, at numerous international high-profile education and business conferences, including but not limited to UNESCO's flagship ICT Mobile Learning Week in Paris, Ellucian Live in Denver, University of Southern Queensland (USQ) Graduation Ceremony, Australia and many more.

Dr. Al-Awar has published a collection of books, researches, scientific papers and articles discussing education and related principles of knowledge, including quality, excellence, creativity, innovation, leadership and others.

For more information:

http://www.mansooralawar.ae/