Dr. Rana Sawaya, President of the University College of Bahrain (UCB), represented the university as a key speaker at the 7th MENA Higher Education Leadership Forum (#MENAHELF) held in Dubai from September 28–30, 2026. As part of her engagement, she also participated in the pre-forum workshop titled “Leadership Framework for MENA Higher Education: Building Adaptive Leadership Capacity.” Under the overall theme “Global Challenges, Local Impact,” the forum gathered prominent leaders to discuss shaping a resilient future for higher education.
Dr. Rana participated as a panelist in Focus Group 2 on “Industry-Academia Partnerships for Local Development.” She shared valuable insights on strengthening bridges between universities and industries to drive innovation, enhance graduate employability, and support sustainable regional growth.