The concept of inclusion has been around for many decades, with those in the education field witnessing a wide range of practices, from high-quality, well-supported services to very limited opportunities for students to succeed in mainstream classrooms.
Dr. Eric Kamal Hilgendorf was most recently Vice President of MENA at The Quad Initiative, where he concentrated on organizational performance and development, education entrepreneurship, leadership development and succession, and organizational advancement and diversification. Dr. Hilgendorf was also Associate Dean of Community and Education Engagement at New York University Abu Dhabi, where he created innovative programs that advanced national and institutional priorities for the university. Over his seven years, he created sustainable programming in the areas of K-16 pipeline building, teacher advancement and professional development, organization and school development, leadership and identity, resource and enterprise planning, and institutional advancement. Prior to this, Dr. Hilgendorf served as Director of Education Operations for Vanderbilt University in the UAE, where he steered several educational programs encompassing educational leadership, coaching and assessment models, trajectory planning and professional development for 20+ schools. In advance of that, he was Co-Director for Technical Support for the National Center for Performance Pay (TIF) at Vanderbilt University, where he won an Emmy for a film he co-produced (A Matter of Principals).
Dr. Nelius Jansen van Vuuren has over 30 years’ experience in education. Starting as a mathematics teacher, Dr. Jansen van Vuuren progressed into educational management, serving as a school principal and school development officer for various schools, while also advising organisations on development practice, ethics, and organisational leadership. He has also taught various MBA and education leadership courses for different universities. Dr. Jansen van Vuuren has also served as a school inspector and was tasked with staff development and leadership improvement practices in various countries. He has published various articles in the field of education and continues to conduct research on best practices in educator professional development. A member of the editorial board of an international journal in education, Dr. Jansen van Vuuren has also supervised masters and doctoral students from various institutions. He is a member of the Cambridge Council for the UAE.
Mr. Nidal Abounajem has a proven track record in teacher training, school development, and improvement within the field of education. A certified Master Trainer from ATD in the USA, Mr. Abounajem is also adept at designing and delivering comprehensive training frameworks and programs that enhance educators’ leadership skills, instructional methodologies, and track overall professional growth and development. He demonstrated success in fostering positive school cultures and driving continuous improvement initiatives such as the Carnegie Improvement Science program, SMART school transformation initiative with Pearson.
University City, Sharjah
United Arab Emirates
