With a Doctorate in Higher Education (University of Bath), two Masters’ Degrees in International Relations and Communication Management and experience working in academia, private sector, civil society organisations and development, she has long-standing experience in building bridges between different cultures and sectors. Her key areas of expertise are the stakeholder engagement, programme implementation, capacity development, institutional development, curriculum reform, and academia-industry partnerships. In her career, she has been involved in the design, implementation, monitoring and review of higher education development projects in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America. She has family origins in Europe and Iran and is fluent in English, German, French, Portuguese, Italian and Farsi.