Dr. Hesham Metwalli

Director of Accelerator and Special Programs | Professional Development

Hesham Metwalli has extensive strategic and state-level experience in both higher education and K-12 education. He is a Senior Fellow at the Australian Graduate School of Leadership.

Hesham has contributed significantly to educational reforms across various regions. As a founding member of the Dubai School Inspections Bureau, he served as a Senior Inspector and spearheaded community partnership projects before advancing to Abu Dhabi, where he held the position of Director of Inspections and Education Quality with Tribal Group. His leadership in inspecting and managing inspections of over 350 schools across the UAE and the MENA region is widely recognised, as is his role in developing the inspection frameworks for both Abu Dhabi government schools and Dubai Schools. In addition to his inspection work, he managed a national project for the UAE Ministry of Education, training and preparing 700 education reform leaders in partnership with Pearson Education, the UK National College for Leadership, and Nottingham University. His diverse expertise also includes holding senior education leadership roles in Australia, further highlighting his influence in shaping educational quality and leadership across different contexts. He is a certified Lead Auditor from PwC, Efficacy Reviewer from Pearson Education and Leadership Facilitator from the National College for Leadership in the UK. He is also a certified University Reviewer from QAA the leading body of higher education quality management in the UK. He also completed the certification program for supervising doctoral studies with the University of Oxford.

Tahani Awad
Master Trainer, Professional Development

Ms.Tahani Awad has over 25 years’ experience in education, training, and professional development. Having worked as a consultant in instructional leadership with UNICEF, Ms. Awad also served as a training specialist at the Queen Rania Teacher Academy, worked with the CADER Company as a Master Trainer, and worked in UNRWA as Arabic language teacher. Additionally, she has served as a school principal. Ms. Awad also has experience as Head of International Sections in the private sector, and she worked with the King Abdullah Fund for Development in ‘Demoqrati’ project with the MOE in Jordan. Ms. Awad was also chosen as an educational expert within the project of Jordanian women experts in 2020 to represent women from the education sector, which was in cooperation with the Hivos Organization and Radio Al-Balad, as it aims to empower women in the field of leadership and enhance their visibility in the media scene. She is a board member of the Palestinian Creativity Foundation. Ms. Awad was chosen by the Harvard Graduate School of education to be a convener of the Middle East Professional Learning Institute for the wider region.