Dr. Susanna Karakhanyan is Director of Higher Education Regulation & Licensing at the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), UAE, former President of INQAAHE (2015-2021). With advisory experience in nearly 40 countries, she has led tertiary education initiatives for UNESCO, the World Bank, the Council of Europe, and the Asian Development Bank.

Her expertise includes tertiary/higher education governance, policy, quality assurance, curriculum modernization, including micro-credential design and delivery, and academic integrity. Dr. Karakhanyan holds an M.S.Ed from the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD in Social Sciences from Radboud University Nijmegen. One of her major contributions to the body of knowledge in TE QA evolves around founding and leading Global Trends in Higher Education Quality Assurance – a research project carried out once per five years exploring trends in tertiary education systems globally.