With over 15 years of comprehensive experience in the field of education, I have developed a strong expertise in designing and implementing training programs tailored for highly talented educators instructing gifted students.

My journey began as a primary school teacher, where I honed my pedagogical skills in classroom management and effective teaching methodologies. Following the completion of my doctorate degree, I transitioned to a role as a faculty member at Abu Dhabi University and the Emirates College for Educational Development, specializing in delivering educational diploma programs. During this tenure, I provided extensive support to educators across various disciplines, focusing on topics such as classroom administration, technology integration, and assessment design.

Subsequently, my career path led me to join the UAE Ministry of Education as a dedicated trainer for public school teachers. In this capacity, I facilitated over 100 educational training initiatives aimed at enhancing the professional development of both educators and school leaders. My responsibilities encompassed the entire training cycle, from conducting needs assessments to designing curriculum content, delivering workshops, and evaluating the effectiveness of training interventions.

While serving at the Teachers Training Institute, I was instrumental in assisting educators in overcoming challenges that hindered their classroom performance. My proactive approach to identifying and addressing instructional issues has significantly contributed to fostering a culture of continuous improvement within educational institutions.

This wealth of experience has equipped me with valuable insights into the unique needs and challenges faced by educators working with gifted students. I am passionate about leveraging my expertise to empower teachers with the knowledge and skills necessary to nurture the academic growth and personal development of their exceptionally talented learners.

Joe Kennard (FLPI) is the co-founder of PurpleMedia: multi-award-winning specialists since 2003 in the creation of bespoke, engaging, and highly creative digital learning solutions, apps, and platforms.

Joe has spent over 20 years at the forefront of innovation in learning technology and learning design in the Learning & Development industry. He founded PurpleMedia in response to his frustrations with the poor quality of training solutions available to him while in a commissioning role at a major telecoms provider. Using his early career experience in a variety of sales and marketing roles, and his education in filmmaking at New York University, he worked to introduce the best practices of the advertising, marketing, and creative industries into learning (focused, as they are, on engagement and behavioural change).

Concepts key to these industries can transform the effectiveness and ROI of an organisation’s training. Consequently, Joe continues to be a passionate advocate of adopting a ‘campaign’ approach; focusing on personalisation and ‘what’s in it for me’; emotional engagement and storytelling, with clear and distinctive creative; and campaign evaluation and measurement of impact.

Joe and the PurpleMedia team work with top international brands across a variety of sectors (from telecoms to logistics; retail to hospitality), delivering solutions for learners worldwide, in over 50 languages.

Mohamed Hamza is an authority in leadership assessment and development, with an impressive track record as a facilitator, assessor and coach. He has made significant contributions in over 10 countries spanning the GCC, Europe, and Africa. Presently, he is a Senior Client Success Director at Mercer Talent Enterprise, where he assumes the crucial responsibility of designing, developing and delivering an array of cutting-edge leadership assessments and development solutions to esteemed clients.

Hamza is an ICF (International Coach Federation) Coach and holds ICF PCC credentials, as well as serving as an associate faculty member at CCL and as an executive coach at Ashridge. Mohamed has worked as a coach for more than 70 organisations in over 10 countries across the GCC, Africa, and Europe. He has coached over 3000 leaders from different levels, ranging from future leaders to senior executives, and worked with multiple Fortune 500 organisations in Europe to help their leaders achieve their organisational goals and lead more successful lives. Hamza has also delivered numerous succession planning leadership assessments for organisations such as NEOM, Saudi Arabian Military Industries, and Abu Dhabi School of Government amongst a few.

He has successfully trained and qualified over 200 professional coaches. He has also designed and overseen the delivery of multiple leadership development journeys. He teaches ICF certification qualifying programs at the International School of Coaching and is a member of the AUC Triple-Crown University faculty staff. When he is not working, Hamza enjoys spending time with his family. He also enjoys playing basketball, playing video games, reading history, listening to music, or immersing in other cultures when travelling abroad.

As Tabreed's former Vice President of Human Capital, Sarah AlBakeri led the department with comprehensive initiatives to cultivate a strong company culture, drive large-scale employee experience programmes, and implement effective rewards and talent management strategies.

With more than a decade of experience in Human Resources, her seasoned leadership has played a pivotal role in Tabreed's success. Under her guidance, the company secured six prestigious awards in 2023 and three accolades in 2022, building upon a history of numerous other achievements. These recognitions encompass distinctions such as Best HR Team of the Year, Best HR Practices, Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Excellence in Health & Wellbeing, and Excellence in Women Empowerment, bestowed by esteemed regional institutions.

In addition to her responsibilities at Tabreed, Sarah holds board positions in companies such as Tabreed Operation and Maintenance Company and Bahrain District Cooling Company. She has earned two Executive Master’s degrees: the first from INSEAD, one of the top business schools, in Executive Masters in Change, and the second, an Executive Master’s in public administration with Distinction from Zayed University. She is a Certified Professional by the Society of Human Resources Management and an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation. Sarah brings expertise in Organisation and Relationship System Coaching and Leadership Circle Profile to her diverse skill set, as well as being a public speaker and influencer in other platforms.