Dr Jassim Al Awadhi is an expert and visionary leader in Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence strategy and implementation, with over two decades of experience shaping strategic technology agendas across the telecommunications, government, and innovation sectors in the UAE. Holding a PhD and a strong academic foundation, Dr Al Awadhi brings a unique blend of scholarly insight and practical leadership to the forefront of digital innovation.

Throughout his career, he has led transformative initiatives that redefined service delivery models, orchestrated large-scale digital ecosystem deployments, and championed AI integration strategies across critical industries. His work bridges the gap between technological advancements, organization readiness strategy, and human-centric design, enabling sustainable, scalable, and inclusive growth while fostering cross-sectoral collaboration.

Dr Al Awadhi is a keynote speaker and thought leader, regularly invited to address international conferences on topics ranging from AI implementation and smart government to future foresight, education technology, organization readiness for digital transformation, and AI implementation strategy and framework. His engagements span high-profile platforms focused on AI and cognitive technologies, national AI strategies, HR innovation, fintech, and modernization of public and private services' customer experience and journeys.

Passionate about lifelong learning and responsible innovation, Dr Al Awadhi is committed to empowering the next generation of leaders by fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government to build future-ready, tech-savvy societies.

Professor Kaka before joining Curtin university, spent one year as the President of Applied Science University in Kingdom of Bahrain. Prior to this he served as the Provost and Vice Principal of Heriot Watt University Dubai, a position he has held since 2010. He led and grown the HWU Dubai campus to a student population of over 4000, 250 staff and a growing research culture. Prof Kaka's contribution to the transnational education in general and to the Dubai's education landscape in particular has been immense. Before this he spent 9 years at Heriot Watt Edinburgh campus and was involved in several senior roles including the Director of the MENA hub and the Director of Learning and Teaching. He was also the leader of the construction economics and management research group.

He started his academic career at the University of Liverpool where he spent 9 years there as a full time faculty member of the Liverpool School of Architecture and Building Engineering.

Prof Kaka is also a Professor of Construction Economics and Management and has an international reputation for research on the planning, management, and control of construction projects. Author of more than 150 publications, he has held numerous funded research grants with impact demonstrated by the extent of citation and direct industrial application. He is a fellow of the RICS and member of the editorial boards of a number of international academic journals. He has supervised more than 30 PhD students to completion, many of which have developed into senior roles in governments, industry and academia.

Maria Semykoz is People Strategy Consultant for Al Futtaim Group, where she helps guide the people side of the company's AI powered transformation. Over the past 12 years she has helped leaders in retail, CPG, financial services, and aerospace redesign cultures, operating models, and supply chains. She started writing on AI and future of work back in 2011, when her research for Gallup explored the shifts needed for AI-ready organizations. Outside her core work, Maria experiments with practical AI tools as a hobby - including building a skincare search engine with 3,000 daily users and an AI based regulatory monitoring solution - giving her a front row view of how technology and human experiences intersect.

Komal Badar is the Regional Talent Development Manager at Savills Middle East, bringing over a decade of experience across aviation, retail, and real estate industries. Starting her professional journey at just 18, Komal has carved a powerful path built on resilience, purpose, and an unwavering commitment to personal and professional growth. She is deeply passionate about empowering women, developing future leaders, and creating inclusive, people-focused learning environments. Komal's story, from navigating early career transitions to becoming a business owner and advocate for women in leadership - serves as an inspiring example of what it means to lead with courage and impact. Today, she is a strong voice for mentorship, career resilience, and the power of self-belief.

Learning and Development Leader with over 22 years of experience driving talent development initiatives across global organizations, including ICICI Bank, IBM India, IBM Middle East, and Emirates NBD.

Currently serving as Senior Learning Partner -- International at Emirates NBD, Nitin leads the learning strategy and execution for all international locations of the bank.

He is a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD®) and a PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®), with deep expertise in:

• Designing scalable, role- and skill-based learning programs
• Implementing and managing Learning Management Systems (LMS)
• Measuring ROI and business impact of learning initiatives

Nitin also heads the School of Data Sciences at Emirates NBD, empowering over 21,000 employees globally through curated, skill-based learning paths focused on AI, data, digital, analytics, and emerging technologies.

Akbar Khan is a seasoned HR professional with over 20 years of expertise in learning and development, employee experience, and talent management. Currently leading Learning & Development and Employee Experience, he designs strategic learning ecosystems that align employee skills with organizational goals. His innovative approaches include gamified learning, microlearning, and AI-powered nano learning modules. Akbar actively promotes holistic employee well-being through initiatives addressing mental, physical, and financial health, enhancing workplace culture. He collaborates with leading digital learning platforms and has successfully designed and launched his own learning and employee experience platform integrating engagement, recognition, and learning.

An avid public speaker, Akbar enjoys engaging diverse audiences, sharing insights on HR innovation and employee development. His broad experience covers leadership development, mentoring, professional certifications, performance management, LMS implementations, and psychometric assessments. Certified in executive coaching, strategic planning, and corporate communication, Akbar passionately leverages AI to elevate learning outcomes and employee engagement.

Ameera Youssef is the Chief Executive Officer of Acorn Research, a leading healthcare AI innovation firm headquartered in Dubai. With over a decade of experience driving large-scale digital transformation in healthcare, Ameera is recognized as one of the region's foremost voices in predictive health systems, value-based healthcare, autonomous platforms, and national-scale AI deployment.

She has led the design and implementation of world-first technologies, including the AI-based National Life Expectancy and Disease Prediction Platform, national PROM and PREMs value based healthcare platform and the Medical Necessity and Billing Rules Engine, which incorporates more than 15,000 + clinically validated, adjudication and medical coding rules. Her vision has been instrumental in transforming healthcare delivery from fragmented and reactive systems to predictive, autonomous, and data-driven national platforms.

At Acorn Research, she has spearheaded the development of cutting-edge solutions in value based P4P national platforms, clinical documentation improvement (CDI), claims optimization, autonomous AI coding, fraud detection, and AI-enabled decision support. Under her leadership, the firm launched the first AI Innovation Hub in Dubai Healthcare City in Jan 2025, dedicated to advancing generative AI, population health analytics, and regulatory-grade digital health infrastructure.

Ameera's work has supported regulators, payors, providers in achieving measurable improvements in outcomes, efficiency, and system transparency.

She holds a Master's degree in Finance and a Bachelor's in Economics, and continues to advise on national strategies for AI governance, value-based care, and digital health policy.

Ameera is passionate about building the future of value based healthcare, and invites collaboration with fellow innovators, regulators, and data scientists to shape what's next.