Dr. Rabaa Al Sumaiti is an Emirati education leader whose career spans over two decades of shaping national education policy, elevating school systems and contributing to the management of school operations across the UAE. She holds a Doctor of Education (EdD) in International Management of Education from the British University in Dubai, in collaboration with the University of Birmingham, UK; a Master of Education (MEd) in Special Education from the University of Bristol, UK; and a Bachelor of Science in Education from Zayed University, UAE.

Her efforts have been instrumental across the UAE’s most influential education entities; including the Ministry of Education, Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE), the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Zayed University and the Dubai Autism Centre.

Throughout her career, Dr. Rabaa has worked at the forefront of designing national education strategies, leading large-scale educational transformational projects and contributing to launching new education institutions. She has overseen the operational rollout of school systems, aligned school quality frameworks with global benchmarks and contributed to advancing the UAE National Agenda for education.

Her foundational experiences as a faculty member at Zayed University and early intervention therapist at the Dubai Autism Centre shaped her deep-rooted commitment to inclusion and child development. She supported students with special needs, trained future educators, contributed to academic accreditation processes and directly supported families through early intervention therapies.

Dr. Rabaa also represented the UAE on leading international education platforms. She serves as the UAE’s official delegate to both the OECD PISA Governing Board and the IEA General Assembly and has shared her expertise at global forums including Qudwa, Expo 2020, BELMAS International Conference and the Gulf Research Meeting. She also served as a Board Member of the Queen Rania Teacher Academy and was a member of the UAE National Council for the Arabic Language.

Committed to continuous growth and learning, Dr. Rabaa is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program, the Young Leaders Program, in addition to executive education programmes at the Harvard Kennedy School and University of Chicago. Her published research spans themes of national identity, parental involvement, school inspection frameworks and the global leadership potential of Emirati students.