Dr. Tarifa Al Zaabi

Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi joined ICBA as Deputy Director General in August 2019. She has 20 years of executive and leadership experience in higher education institutions, developing services and strategies through innovation, research, and capacity development.

A social scientist by training, in her current role, Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi promotes sustainable agricultural development and transformation of food systems through capacity development, women and youth engagement, as well as agripreneurship. She has launched several programs focused on capacity development such as the ICBA’s Youth Engagement Society (ICBA YES) and contributed to the development of the Arab Women Leaders in Agriculture (AWLA) fellowship program and the training of AWLA fellows.

Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi has also presented ICBA’s research-for-development work at many major international conferences and forums, including the international workshop on land degradation and habitat loss on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia; the international workshop titled “Emergent Materials & Water Energy Nexus: Concepts, Methodologies and Future Applications” by The Arab-German Young Academy of Sciences and Humanities (AGYA); and the Global 24-hour Digital Marathon: Food for Earth by FAO, the Future Food Institute and FAO E-learning Academy. She was also part of a Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics workshop organized by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to support women in STEM education.

Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi serves on advisory committees and groups, including the UAE’s Ag-Tech Development Committee which aims to transform the country’s agricultural technology sector and enhance domestic food security, and the Global SME Policy Network (GSPN), which is a global initiative that aims to provide data-driven policies for government and international organizations for SMEs from G20 countries. She also participated in the International Forum on Innovation in Agri-Food Systems to achieve the SDGs organized by FAO, which intended to bring model examples of innovation and digital solutions to support smallholder farmers and agripreneurs.

Prior to joining ICBA, she was Director of Dubai Women’s College, Higher Colleges of Technology. She is also an edupreneur and a winner of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum SME Award as Businesswoman of the Year 2015. Most recently, she won an Emirates Women Award 2020 in the category Best Career Achievements.

Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi is a graduate of the UAE Government Leaders Program (Executive Leadership) and is certified as a trainer by the UAE Government Leaders Program to represent the UAE internationally and deliver training to local and foreign governments. She holds a Ph.D. in Education (Management and Educational Leadership) from the British University of Dubai and an Executive MBA in Business Administration with honors from the University of Sharjah and a Bachelor of Applied Science in Business Administration from the Higher Colleges of Technology.

Dr. Tarifa A. Alzaabi has represented the UAE at various local and international conferences and has co-authored several education-focused studies and academic papers.