I concur with Winston Churchill-a British politician when he asserts
“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results”.
On this account, regarding my teaching,howevr,I just don’t look at the
result,rather,I am result-driven in my strategic leadership to enhance student
learning and performance, my approach is different and therefore I chose to
make a difference. I have been consistently making a difference and adding
value in Arab Open University-AOU; affiliated with Open University OU-UK. AOU
is the pioneer in blended learning in the GCC and MENA regions.
As a senior member in the Faculty of Business Studies, I have been
designated to the role of Program Coordinator of Arab Open University Kingdom
of Bahrain branch and General Course Coordinator responsible for course
development and monitoring in 9 AOU branches spread across the GCC and the MENA
regions comprising in Lebanon, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Palestine, Sudan and the Kingdom of Bahrain, since 2012.
The account of teaching and academic experience spanning over 20 years
led me to the awards of prestigious “Teaching Excellence Award”. Besides, the
Higher Education Academy HEA-UK, internationally accredited and renowned
organization that works with governments, universities and academics worldwide,
to raise the impact of teaching in higher education and to make teaching
better, has twice progressively certified and awarded me the prestigious and
coveted status of first, Senior Fellow-SFHEA, Fellowship reference PR184792 and
secondly the topmost, Principal Fellow-PFHEA, Fellowship reference PR222774 in
recognition of attainment against the UK Professional Standards Framework for
teaching and learning support in higher education.
I work as a change maker and promoter for enhancement across entire Arab
Open University institutions comprising of four different faculties: Business
Studies, Computer Studies, Language Studies and Education. These are in campuses
spread across diverse cultural and geographical sites in the GCC, Middle East
and North Africa-MENA regions. This includes collaboration with Open University
of Malaysia-OUM in Malaysia exclusively for post graduate programm. I manage, I
lead and I model the enhancement of teaching excellence beyond the institution
to champion excellent practice in learning and teaching pedagogic research.
In line with my role as higher educational developer, my impactful role
was the rollout, adaptation and implementation of mandatory industrial
attachment for all the expected-to-graduate students in all faculties. This was
practical based part of curriculum with practical innovation pedagogies
underpinned by employability in a changing world philosophy. These themes have
remained part and parcel of my career progression framework and approach. In
this regard, I had to make and take difficult decisions at the institutional
level about the justification and viability of this program and the way it is
integrated in the Open University-UK based modules which are conducted in
entire AOU faculties spread across different countries. This is In line with
the proposals in the OU-UK’s revalidation white paper and report designed to
improve and enhance teaching and learning standards.
The integration and outcomes of this Industrial attachment and training
have yielded significant impact on the entire university. It has positively
impacted on the university graduate students recruitment. As evidence,
statically there has been an impressive leap from 40% in summer 2018 to 72% in
summer 2020.
In 2019, at the request of the university’s Vice President for Academic
Affairs, I developed the university’s new Learning and Teaching Student
Experience (LTSE) strategy. I was able to draw upon learning from my
publication in business research http://ijmbr.infor/papers/v8/1-2pdf in which I
explored among other things the formulation of effective teaching strategy.
MEASURE MY EFFECTIVENESS:
My work has had institutional effective impact in four aspects namely:
The introduction of a new standard for online inclusivity which has
been widely adopted and exceeded approximately 85% of members of AOU and OUM
staff, meeting institutional expectations in the last for four years.
Remarkable enhancement in the improvements in the accomplishment of
students from previously underperforming cohort e.g., students with GPA less
than 2, also students from vocational and non-English speaking background.
Students’ numerical ratings of my classes have been very positive.
These ratings have often been accompanied by comments from the students that
expressed how my enthusiasm for the material increased their own
interest in the course. Further, and in my view, more importantly, many
students believed that their increased interest in the subject resulted in
improved performance and learning.
Significant impact on restructuring of the university’s assessment
committee to give emphasis and sustained prominence to learning, teaching and
assessment feedback and new norm of feedforward into Tutor Marked
Assignments-TMAs and Final Term Assessments-FTAs across all the university faculties.
This was in fulfilment and compliance to report and recommendation by Dr.Lyndon
Murphy-OU-UK appointed external examiner.
I have initiated and supported the work and network of colleagues in OU
UK, nine AOU campuses across MENA regions and OUM-in Malaysia, via Microsoft
Teams, Zoom or GoToMeeting thereby finding ways in which they can share and
exchange scholarly views and clear integrating strategy as well as to evaluate
the sustained operational efficacy and impact of the strategy in vogue. Knowledge
drawn from my own publications and other sources were useful in this regard;
Habil, S (2020) Strategic Management of HRM Practices and Innovation
Performance in the High Tech Fiberglass Sector in Bahrain: Mediating Role of
Organizational Innovation, Available:
http://acdmhr.theiaer.org/archive/v2/v2n3/p1.html
Soleman M, Umair A, Habil S, Fazluz Z (2020) Strategic Management of HRM
Practices. Digging Deep in Students` Engagement in Bahrain: Contributions from
Academic Self-Efficacy and Academic Resilience Available:
http://ijmbr.info/papers/v8/1-12.
Mini,J& Habil,S (2012) Micro Learning As Innovative Process of
Knowledge Strategy
Feedback International Journal of Scientific and Technology research
Volume 1 Issue II, December 2012.
Burgstahler, S.(2015)Unusual Design in Higher Education, Harvard
University Press.
In 2018, as my teaching and learning task augmented and expanded, it
took significant impactful role of leading all academic staff development which
are connected to learning and teaching across the AOU and
its constituent composes and faculties spread across the Gulf and MENA
regions including the Open University of Malaysia to which AOU is affiliated
for post graduate studies.
Given the AOU’s vast size and diverse geographical presence of its constituents
within its different faculties, planning for academic staff development needed
a dynamic and sustainable strategy. In this regard I developed an underpinning
which:-
Had a collaborative program of activities. I found this worked out
smoothly because I was the head of Faculty of Business studies,besides,Program
Coordinator, hence I had networks within the GCC,MENA regions, United Kingdom,
India and Malaysia among other networks across the globe.
Adopted the form of self-sustaining group of modus operandi e.g.
heightening the teaching staff number HEA-UK Fellows who could consequently
support more Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Inspired by my teaching experience and knowledge of “Systems Thinking”
which I derived from integrating OU-UK based module into AOU programs of four
faculties, I conceived that, development of teaching staff is a “System” which
needed and needs to reach the desired level of accomplishment in a dynamic and
ever changing world, particularly in the pre, during, and post COVID19 global
pandemic scenario.
The core impact of this was my initiative and creation of institutional
“WAR” against plagiarism to ensure that key and critical pedagogic principles
continue to be at the heart of teaching, also to inculcate best practices
directed to delivering ethically high quality teaching. The implementation of
anti-plagiarism policy and consequent introduction and implementation of
plagiarism detector; Turnitin software, which was appreciated and approved by
Open University-UK Validation Services Committee, was not just a milestone of
my achievement ,but another game changer.
As head and leader of program in Faculty of Business Studies of AOU and
its constituents, while undertaking curriculum review, I consulted extensively
with upper leadership teams in both AOU and OU-UK, besides relevant
administrative support staff and students, thereby focusing on integration of
modules into program resulting into a system that allows students from
different academic and cultural background to be taught and to learn
harmoniously. This principle is especially critical in AOU where humanities,
business and Computer Sciences are taught in the context of interdisciplinary
approach and information. In this background, I wrote a statement of shared
mission to inform our conclusion.
The statement mentioned a rationale for integrating modules T205-Systems
Thinking into BUS310-Strategic Management in A changing World, resulting into
one comprehensive module B325-Managing across Organisational Boundaries. The
curriculum was comprehensively implemented in 2017/2018 academic year and has
since yielded result of 58% reduction in the number of OU-UK based core modules
offered and taught in AOU faculties with NO specific loss of choice to
students, specifically the “Expected to Graduate students” across all four
faculties in the Arab Open University.
I together with my team consistently review curriculum and as need be,
revise the teaching approach, incorporate introduction of some small cohort
teaching and associated pedagogies as well as fine-tuning rationalization of
OU-UK based modules as well optional/elective modules.
In the recent passed I chaired a university working group on program and
module delivery. The central time tabling office had expressed concern that it
was infeasible to create conflict-free time tables for
students in some faculties in AOU campuses in Lebanon,Egypt,Sudan and
Palestine. The course of action that I proposed and lead was outlined to
conform to and accommodate couple of critical imperatives:
To place academic interest first but permit academic to plan with
better sense of what is practical and deliverable. Cross the board consultation
enabled me and the team to establish pedagogic principle around the virtue of
module choice and preference within any given curricula and program areas. With
approval of both the OU-UK and AOU authorities, the resultant fine-tuned
toolkit has henceforth informed discussion and rationalized decision as part of
the University Learning and Teaching Process thereby empowering professional services
staff as well as front line teaching and lecturing staff to effectively engage
with reflection, quality teaching and pedagogic discourse.
EVIDENCE OF MY IMPACT:
Based on the above articulated rationale, actions processes and
outcomes, I can assertively vouch that my innovative academic and
administrative role has had impact institutionally, nationally and
internationally in five major spheres:
I have had impact on the university by broadening its scope and
portfolio of graduation and development programs.
I have influenced the adaptation, at national and international level
of the radical “War” against plagiarism creating mechanism and policy for its
awareness, detection and prevention.
I have supported, validated and inspired colleagues in the diverse
faculties of Business studies, Computer studies and Language studies by the
assignment of proportionate teaching load and associated pedagogies.
I have enabled the university to adapt and implement effective policy
and strategy to guide the development of teaching and learning, thereby
ensuring that key principles and best practices are adopted across the
institution with over 85% attested efficacy.
Higher Education Academy-HEA-UK conferring and awarding me
distinguished and outstanding status of Senior Fellow and consequently top most
Principal Fellow, I have since enabled the university to have the first
generation of Senior Fellows-SFHEA-UK passing on sustained influence by
creating further opportunities for academic staff development and establishing
effective organizational policies and strategies for sustainably supporting and
promoting others in delivering high quality teaching and support for learning
by means of pedagogic interest cohorts.
The overall focus of my research program, based on my academic
qualifications of PhD in Bank Management, Master of Philosophy in Bank
Management, Master of Bank Management and B.Com (Hons) in Advance Accounting
and Auditing, is to provide learners and practitioners with information and
tools that will enable them to become better researchers and stewards of innovative
and sustainable management system, specifically in the banking industry which
is facing several challenges due to competition in the banking sector,
technological change, increasing non-performing assets, rising customers’
expectations, increasing demand of profitability, and others.
I take pleasure as a proven and seasoned academician and awardee of
double accreditation by Higher Education Academy; HEA-UK, the prestigious and
coveted status of, first Senior Fellow-SFHEA, Fellowship reference PR184792 secondly
the topmost, Principal Fellow-PFHEA, Fellowship reference PR222774 in
recognition of attainment against the UK Professional Standards Framework for
teaching and learning support in higher education. To ensure a sustained and
successful commitment to, and engagement in, continuing professional
development related to academic, institutional and other professional practices
by means of an integrated approach to academic practice comprising of research
and publications.
In view of the above, I strongly believe that Continuing Professional
Development-CPD,specifically in research and publication is key and very
critical to my professional practice as a result-driven performer, Program and
Course Coordinator and as an active researcher.I continue to develop my
professional practice through exchanging scholarly expertise with colleagues
and peers within Arab Open University and across the borders. I have achieved
this by objectively engaging with sustained quality scientific research and
publications in high ranking and Scopus indexed journals, besides attending
research related CPD events and fora. Hence, I regard CPD as pivotal to any
sustained academic practice and leadership in education sector.
Examples of these are seeded in significant parts of my resume and
covering letter. By this I demonstrate that I engage actively in my own
development, consequently I am able to use and apply my own research findings
through development to inform and transform others beyond Arab Open University
AOU in the GCC and MENA regions i.e. (Lebanon, Oman, Jordan, Kuwait, Kingdom of
Bahrain, Sudan, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Palestine) extended to, and including
Open University UK, Alagappa University-India, Open University of
Malaysia, Nairobi University-Kenya and Open University UK among others.
Consequently, I outreached to the global community of learners and various
institutions of higher learning across the globe. THE Asia Universities Summit
was one such forum.
Through this I have been exposed to cross cultural learning through
research collaboration, my broad cultural experience was underpinned by
emphatic pedagogy and respectful reciprocal learning and acquisition for best
practice in research which has underpinned my ability to adopt homogenized
evidence –informed scholarly approaches within the curriculum and to my
sustained professional development by means of extensively collaborating with
the dynamic scientific pedagogical research community.
This is a significant substance because it empowers my knowledge of
pedagogy to be consistently sustained at the fore front of research practice
and continued professional development process. I frequently attend scientific
research related workshops and conferences such as:-Digital Teaching and
Research in Higher Education Institutions by Macromedia University for Applied
Sciences-Germany. New Trends in Research Dissemination for Increasing Presence
and Impact by Knowledge E-Writing and Publishing and Research Article by
Knowledge E-Program leaders online Program by Advance HE-UK, Leading Teaching
and Learning: Programme Leaders and Researchers By Advance HE-UK, Mobile
Learning in Digital Technologies Online by Advance HE-UK Pearson Professional
Leaders of Learning Certificate courses certified and issued by Harvard etc.
My role and experience as an educator and leader at AOU has enabled me
to progressively develop a focus on pedagogical research.
I have collaborated
and engaged with colleagues in diverse but related disciplines to research,
submitted and published high impact interdisciplinary research articles