Dr. Fariha Hayat Salman, Ph.D., SFHEA is an accomplished academic specializing in human-AI interaction, assessment innovation, and embodied learning research with more than 20 years of exceptional experience across higher education leadership, program development, and technical consultancy. She is a returning judge for the QS Reimagine Awards 2026.

An Associate Professor at the American University in Dubai, she leads graduate courses on Educational Technology and Human Development in the M.Ed. program. She advises student research and contributes to national and institutional AI-in-education initiatives through the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research’s (MOHESR) advisory group, the President’s Task Force on AI Effectiveness, and university committees on research, pedagogy, and academic innovation.

As a Fulbright Ph.D. alum in Learning, Design, and Technology from Pennsylvania State University and an MRes graduate from UCL Institute of Education, she brings a global, research- informed perspective to educational transformation.

Dr. Salman’s academic and leadership experience spans the USA, UK, South Asia and the UAE. A central focus of her leadership has been strengthening institutional capacity for teaching excellence, professional learning and digital transformation. She has led faculty development initiatives across a multi-campus university, directed an Advance HE Fellowship Program with 100% fellowship endorsement, and headed a Penn State-MIT research grant-funded AR project that overlaid a sustainable engineering curriculum on a solar house through crossover learning.

Dr. Salman’s current efforts advance responsible, practical, and future-facing approaches to AI and emerging technologies in education, with a strong commitment to empowering educators, strengthening learning ecosystems, and translating research into meaningful institutional practice. Her publications, conference talks, and professional workshops advance critical conversations on human-technology collaboration, technology-mediated assessment, and learning across formal and informal environments.