Dr. Abdulla Al Karam

Dr. Abdulla Al Karam is an engineer by trade, a leader by profession, and an educator at heart. Dr Abdulla Al Karam was Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), responsible for the quality and growth of Dubai's private education sector, including early learning centres, schools, universities and training institutes.

Dr. Abdulla Al Karam applied a partnership and collaboration-driven strategy to Dubai's private schools sector, resulting in improved student outcomes in international assessments such as PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS. Under his tenure, Dubai's private school sector expanded to 320 private schools across 17 different curricula, with top international school groups such as Nord Anglia, ISP and Cognita setting up in the emirate. Dr Abdulla was recognized as the inaugural recipient of SchoolsCompared's 'Outstanding Contribution to Education' Award in 2019.

Dr. Abdulla holds a PhD in computer engineering from the University of South Carolina. He began his career working as a software engineer in the United States and France, before heading the Research Unit at Dubai Internet City. Prior to the formation of KHDA, Dr. Abdulla held the post of CEO of Dubai Knowledge Village, which ushered in the International Branch Campus with a remit to diversify the educational landscape in Dubai. He also served as Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Award for Distinguished Academic Performance and as Chairman of the Dubai Government's Human Resources Committee. He was a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Education 2010.

Dr. Abdulla Al Karam led the KHDA since its foundation in 2006, and His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum expressed appreciation of Al Karam's work, stating that 'their significant contributions have played a vital role in raising service standards and excellence in Dubai'.