QF education leader chosen for ACE Fellows Programme

An education leader from Qatar Foundation (QF) is the first person in Qatar – and only the second in the Gulf region – to be selected for a prestigious international fellowship programme. Hend Zainal, executive director of Strategy, Management and Partnerships at QF’s Higher Education Division, has been accepted into the American Council on Education (ACE) Fellows Programme.
The year-long top-level leadership development programme cultivates knowledge and skills, while connecting participants with global higher education leaders, thereby equipping the participants for leadership roles in higher education. The programme is administered by the ACE, the leading umbrella higher education organisation in the US. It was established 58 years ago and has prepared more than 2,500 emerging higher education leaders. After a rigorous selection process, ACE Fellows participate in a long-year leadership development programme.
Of the 36 ACE Fellows selected for the 2023-24 academic year, Zainal – an alumna of two of QF’s partner universities – is the only one from outside the US. “I am delighted and proud to be chosen to be part of such an internationally renowned fellowship programme, and extremely grateful for those who recommended me as an ACE Fellow,” she said.
“Education is both my work and my passion, and through my time in this programme, I plan to maximise the opportunities for gathering and exchanging knowledge it will offer so that I can bring these back to Qatar and support the advancement of QF’s higher education strategy, as well as higher education in Qatar as a whole."
“Since joining Qatar Foundation, I have been able to envision Hend's promising career in higher education leadership and also to witness her passion and dedication. I am impressed by her outstanding professionalism, great communication skills, significant intercultural empathy, and strong analytical capacity,” said Francisco Marmolejo, president of Higher Education at QF.
“The ACE Fellows programme has a proven track record of developing agile leaders, and it fuels the expansion of a talented and diverse higher education leadership pipeline,” said ACE President Ted Mitchell.