Dr. Esmat Zaidan

Dr. Esmat Zaidan is an Associate Professor at the College of Public Policy at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), where she also serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Vice Chair of the HBKU Faculty Senate. She is ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists by Elsevier and Stanford University in recognition of her academic impact and contributions to interdisciplinary policy research. With over 22 years of experience spanning academia and international development organizations—including the World Bank, UNDP, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)—Dr. Zaidan brings a strategic lens to sustainable development, public administration, institutional reform, and reconstruction as well as economic development policies.

Prior to joining HBKU, Dr. Zaidan served as Director of the Honors Program at Qatar University and as an Associate Professor of Urban Planning and Development. She also held the position of Assistant Professor of Urban Planning and Sustainability at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) and was a lecturer in Development and the Environment at the Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, where she completed her master’s and PhD degrees.

She has been extensively involved in strategic planning, curriculum design and restructuring, conceptualization of new academic initiatives, scientific research and evaluation, partnerships with stakeholders at the national, regional, and international levels, and team leadership and capacity building. A strong advocate for the role of university faculty in societal progress, she currently serves on the Executive Committee of the International Public Policy Association (IPPA) and as Vice Chair of the Association of Middle Eastern Public Policy and Administration (AMEPPA). She is also a member of the Global Advisory Board for the “Jobs in the Circular Economy” initiative led by the Circle Economy Foundation, the World Bank, and the International Labour Organization (ILO).