It is with great honour and a profound sense of purpose that I welcome you to the Gulf Higher Education Network (GULF HE), a community dedicated to advancing excellence, collaboration, and innovation across the higher education landscape of the Gulf region and beyond. 

What began as an idea, a shared belief that educators across the region deserve a professional space for connection, reflection, and growth has now evolved into an internationally recognised network under the International Consortium for Educational Development (ICED). This recognition marks not an endpoint, but a milestone in our ongoing journey to strengthen academic practice and institutional development in a rapidly transforming world.

At GULF HE, we are guided by a commitment to Excellence, Innovation, Inclusivity, and Impact, the four cornerstones of our mission. These principles shape every initiative, dialogue, and partnership we cultivate. We believe that meaningful educational transformation stems not from competition but from collaboration, not from imitation but from shared creation, and not from isolation but from community.

Our purpose is to empower educators, academic developers, and institutional leaders to reimagine the future of learning and teaching in ways that are contextually relevant, globally informed, and ethically grounded. Through our professional development programmes, fellowships, and regional dialogues, we seek to foster a culture of reflective scholarship one that values evidence-based practice, creativity, and leadership in learning design and pedagogy.

GULF HE is more than a network; it is a movement one that connects people, ideas, and institutions through the shared pursuit of excellence. Our initiatives aim to build capacity, collegiality, and credibility across the higher education ecosystem by:

• Supporting the professionalisation of academic practice across the Gulf and MENA region.
• Facilitating cross-institutional collaboration and research in learning and teaching.
• Recognising academic impact through our GULF HE Fellowship Framework, which celebrates leadership, innovation, and scholarly excellence.
• Providing an inclusive platform for dialogue, professional recognition, and global engagement aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 4, 9, and 17).

As we enter a new era of transformation defined by artificial intelligence, digital innovation, and new forms of academic mobility GULF HE stands ready to lead. We will continue to expand partnerships, nurture communities of practice, and amplify the voices of educators who are shaping tomorrow’s universities today.

I invite you to join us in this shared journey to learn, lead, and inspire together. The strength of our network lies in the passion, professionalism, and purpose of its members. Together, we can reimagine what higher education can become, not just in the Gulf, but for the world.

Welcome to GULF HE, where vision meets collaboration, and where every educator’s voice contributes to the collective excellence of higher education.