Professor Emeritus of Sociology Former Dean, College of EducationAmerican University in the Emirates

Professor Mohammed Aboelenein is a Full Professor of Sociology and the Dean of the College of Education at the American University in the Emirates (Dubai).
He served at the United Arab Emirates University for 25 years, where he was appointed Chair of the Department of Sociology and Director of the General Education Program. Holding a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-
Madison, USA, his research interests encompass social policies, the sociology of education, environmental sociology, and global studies.
Professor Aboelenein has published in reputable journals, including Cogent Education, Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, Nature Environment and Pollution Technology, and Perspectives on Global Development
and Technology.
He served as the Principal Investigator for a collaborative research project between UAE University and Sultan Qaboos University and has also conducted research for the Marriage Fund and the Ministry of Community Development in the UAE. He has participated in several international conferences, supervised, and served as a viva member for master’s and Ph.D. theses at Arab and international universities. He has reviewed several publications for Arab and international journals, research awards, and faculty promotions. He is the translator of two books: Cultural Evolution by Ronald Inglehart and Depressive Love by Emma Engdahl.
He is the Editor of the Egyptian Journal of Social and Behavioral Science and a member of the Advisory Board of the Journal of the Faculty of Arts at Alexandria University, Egypt. In 2024, Professor Aboelenein was invited as a keynote speaker at Northeast Normal University in China, where he received a Letter of Appointment as an Expert at the Disciplinary Innovation and Research Base for Moral Education of Adolescents.

PhD, Associate Professor of Spanish, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, College of Arts & Sciences

Dr. Meghan McInnis-Domínguez is an Associate Professor of Spanish at the University of Delaware, where she has taught a wide range of courses spanning Pre-Columbian poetry to contemporary Latin American literature.
In her classes, Dr. McInnis-Domínguez takes a dynamic approach to make Hispanic literary texts accessible and relevant to students today. She integrates current media trends and cutting-edge technological tools like social media, AI language models, and other digital platforms. Her teaching philosophy guides students to thoughtfully utilize modern technologies not just to deepen their understanding of literature, but to develop valuable skills for an evolving workforce.
She has integrated AI in her teaching from spring 2023 forward, using it to help students develop critical thinking skills in relation to writing and textual analysis.
Based on her data gathering of students’ perceptions of AI and her use of LLMs and image generators in the classroom, she has created a YouTube channel, AI for the Humanities. This channel explores the intersection of Generative AI and Humanities education, covering topics such as the latest developments in Large Language Models (LLMs), their benefits, challenges, ethical considerations, and practical applications in the classroom.
In this Tech Tuesday session, we’ll explore how AI can be used creatively to bring literature and historical figures to life. Meghan McInnis-Domínguez will demonstrate how AI tools can craft original poems and images to accompany and interpret readings and generate dynamic dialogues with long-dead authors or literary characters.
This presentation will highlight the playful and educational potential of AI, offering a hands-on look at how technology can deepen our connection to cultural and historical content in unexpected ways.
Perfect for those curious about AI’s role in creative fields, this talk will showcase how artificial intelligence is opening new doors for storytelling and engagement.

Professor of Science Education, College of Arts and Humanities Sciences, A’sharqiyah University, Oman

Professor Abdullah bin Khamis Al-Ambusaid is a professor of curriculum and science teaching methods, and currently serves as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Education in the Sultanate of Oman.

He received his PhD from the University of Glasgow in 2000 in the field of science education. Previously, he held several positions at Sultan Qaboos University, including Director of the Center for Humanities Research, Dean of Graduate Studies, and Head of the Curriculum and Instruction Department.

Over the course of his career, he has supervised more than 80 master’s and doctoral theses in the field of science education at Sultan Qaboos University. He has published and had accepted more than 200 research papers in Arab and international journals in the field of science education and has authored 12 books on science teaching.

In addition, he has co-authored more than 10 chapters in books edited in both Arabic and English, covering science education, environmental education, and health education. Professor Al-Ambusaid also works as a consultant and trainer for several educational development projects in Amman.

He has presented numerous working papers and attended more than 45 local, regional, and international conferences and seminars in the fields of national education, science, and sustainable development. Furthermore, he serves as a member of the editorial board of several educational journals at the local, regional, and international levels.

PUSAT PENGA JIAN BAHASA, LITERASI & TERJEMAHAN

Applied Linguistics; Discourse Studies (including Critical Linguistics, Text Linguistics, Mediated Discourse Analysis, CDA, Genre Studies, Genre Analysis, Conversation Analysis, Social Interactions Analysis—Macro and Micro—Semiotics, Multimodality, Health Discourse, Professional Discourse, Social Media and Public Discourse); Educational Linguistics (including Language Planning and Policy, Language in Educational Institutions); Intercultural and Cross-cultural Communication (including Intercultural Interaction); Language Acquisition (including First Language Acquisition, SLA, Bilingualism, Foreign Language Learning, Malay as a Second/Foreign Language); Language, Media and Culture (including Social Networks, Impact on Society—Age and Gender—and Audience Perception); Sociolinguistics (including Language, Culture and Society, Language Change, Social Dialects, Regional Dialects, Multilingualism, Language Maintenance and Shift, Language Planning, and Linguistic Minorities).

University of Business and Technology

Dr. Mohamed Fekry is an Associate Professor of Architecture and Design. He received his Master’s and Ph.D. in Architecture from Cairo University, Egypt, in 1999 and 2004 respectively.

His doctoral thesis, entitled “The Role of Criticism in Architectural Education: An Experimental Model for Enhancing the Architectural Students’ Critical Skills in Design Studio”, focused on developing higher-level mental skills among architecture students.

The experimental model applied in his research increased student participation in design studios, encouraged stronger presentation skills, improved the ability to connect design concepts with appropriate solutions, and enhanced students’ capacity to analyze and provide constructive criticism of design projects.

Dr. Fekry taught Architecture and Design at Cairo University between 1995 and 2009, and later at Umm Al-Qura University in Saudi Arabia from 2009 to 2013. He is currently teaching capstone projects and design studio courses at Effat University, Saudi Arabia. His main concern now is to pass on his practical design experience to younger architects while developing educational courses that reflect these concepts for architectural students. His research interests include the design process, architectural theories, and urban conservation.