Dr. Rana Sawaya is the President of the University College of Bahrain and an Associate Professor with over 27 years of experience in higher education. She has held senior academic and administrative leadership roles and has taught several undergraduate and postgraduate courses in business and management. Dr. Sawaya has supervised MBA theses and authored numerous publications, conference papers, and book chapters in refereed international Journals.
She is actively engaged in professional education circles and previously served as Chair of Node (Network of Organizational Development Experts ), and currently in the ExCom of Node and a member of Gulf HE as part of their Eminent Leaders. Dr Sawaya has participated as a keynote speaker, panelist, and judge at various international conferences, as well as chaired two international conferences. Her leadership has been internationally recognized through the Iconic Women Leadership Award (2024), the Middle East Leadership Award (2025). Dr. Sawaya holds a PhD in Business Administration from Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University (France), an MBA from the Lebanese American University, and a BBA from the University of Balamand. As well she was recently granted in August 2025 the Principal Fellowship from Advance HE in recognition of her sustained strategic leadership and impact in higher education.
