Areas of Expertise
- Executive Leadership
- Leading Change
- Architecture and Urbanism
- Sustainability
- Cultural Change
- Smart Sustainable Cities
- Environmental Social Governance
- Digital Transformation
- Compliance
- Quality Assurance
Education
- PhD Urban Sustainability and Cultural Change, University of Sheffield, UK, 2015.
- Master of Conservation and Regeneration, University of Sheffield, UK, 2012.
- BS.c Architecture, University of Bahrain, Bahrain, 2010.
Biography
Experienced in enabling sustainable organizational change in both the public and private sectors. A Board Member of INVITA Bahrain and the Director of Quality Assurance and Accreditation at the University of Bahrain. Leading cross-organizational teams and playing an active role in maintain quality and assuring compliance. Managing the development of institutional performance and academic excellence.
An Associate Professor holding a Ph.D. in Urban Sustainability and Cultural Change. Published 30+ publications aspiring to contribute to the understanding of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) requirements, Architecture and Urbanism, and Smart Sustainable Cities. Deeply knowledgeable and passionate about developing strategies to communicate and embed sustainability aims and ambitions and improving the effectiveness of ESG reporting. Experienced in ESG reporting frameworks, ISO standards and TCFD and GRI disclosures requirements.
The first Bahraini GRI Certified Sustainability Professional holding a number of professional certificates in sustainability, in addition to being a certified expert in blockchain technologies by the Blockchain Council, a fellow of the British Academy of Higher Education and an Associate of the American Green Building Council.
Won the Golden Lion award for Bahrain with teammates in the Venice Biennially in 2010 and the RIBA’s president’s award in 2012. Also obtained the Emerging Scholar Award in 2018 and the Smart Urbanism Award in 2019. Enabled the university to win the Blackboard Catalyst Award for Leading Change in 2020 and Anthology's Excellence in Innovation Award in 2022.
Chairs the Board of Directors of Bahrain Smart City Society and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Technology and Business Society in Bahrain and the UK Alumni Network of the British Council in Bahrain.
Achievements
- 2020 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Leading Change (Through Covid-19).
- 2019 Smart Urbanism Award, Bahrain Smart Cities Summit 2019.
- 2018 Emerging Scholar Award, the Design Principles and Practices Conference, Barcelona-Spain.
- 2012 RIBA President’s Award for Outstanding Research: The Best Architecture Masters Thesis in the Uk.
- 2010 First Prize at the University of Bahrain Senior Projects Competition.
- 2010 Venice Biennale Golden Lion Award.
Affiliations
- Advisory Board Member, Women in Tech, Bahrain Chapter 2023-Present
- Advisory Board Member, Technology and Business Society in Bahrain 2023-Present
- Board Member, INVITA Bahrain. 2022-Present
- Chair of the Board of Directors, Bahrain Smart Cities Society. 2021-Present
- Board Member, UK Alumni Network Bahrain -British Council-. 2019- Present
- Board Member, Technology and Business Society in Bahrain. 2021-2023
- Member, Executive Committee of the Regional Center of ICT (RCICT). 2019-2023
- Member, Executive Committee of eLearning Officials. 2019-2023
- in Universities and Higher Education Institutions of the GCC.
- Other fellowships and memberships with organizations in Bahrain and abroad such as the UK HEA, the AI Group in Bahrain, the U.S. GBC, the AIA, and the Bahrain Society of Engineers.
Grants & Contracts Awarded
Research Funding 140,000$
Publications & Presentations
- 2024 Shams, D. S., & Alkhalifa, F. (2024). Sustainability assessment of new building designs: a review for a region and occupancy-specific accessible tool. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1080/17452007.2024.2357610
- 2023 B.Karam and F. Al-khalifa, “Driving strategies to achieve social sustainability in the built environment to facilitate human well-being”, 6th Smart Cities Symposium (SCS 2022), 2022 p. 38 – 43, DOI: 10.1049/icp.2023.0318
- 2021 Alkhalifa, F. (2020) An approach to define smart sustainable urbanism locally through expert’s perspective. International Journal of Sustainable Building Technology and Urban Development, 12(1), 14-26. https://doi.org/10.22712/susb.20210003
- 2021 Alkhalifa, F. (2020) ‘Designing smart and sustainable vertical urbanism: a rational for air-use planning in downtown urban areas’. The International Journal of Architectonic, spatial and Environmental Design. 15(1): 57-70. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2325-1662/CGP/v15i01/57-70
- 2020 Alkhalifa, F. et al (2020) ‘Examining the visual effect of trypophobic repetitive pattern in contemporary urban environments: Bahrain as a case for Middle East countries’. Journal of Architecture and Urbanism. 44(1): 44-51. DOI: 10.3846/jau.2020.11142
- 2019 Alkhalifa, F. (2019) ‘Achieving Sustainable Urbanism Through Architectural Education: A move back to a learning by doing pedagogy’. The International Journal of Architectonic, spatial and Environmental Design. 13(4): 1-16. DOI: 10.18848/2325-1662/CGP/v13i04/1-16
- 2019 Alkhalifa, F. (2019) ‘Adaptation of international sustainability rating tools to Bahrain: a comparative analysis of eleven systems’. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research 13(1): 169-193. DOI:10.1108/ARCH-12-2018-0022
- 2018 Al khalifa, F. (2018). Bahrain World Trade Center: an Environmental Experimental Design. In S. N. Samman (Ed.), Human Factors and Ergonomics for the Gulf Cooperation Council: Processes, Technologies, and Practices. London & New York: CRC Press. ISBN 9781498781893
- 2018 Al Khalifa, F. (2018). Hope, utopia, and creativity in higher education: pedagogical tactics for alternative futures. Journal of Higher Education Research & Development. http://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2018.1467589.
- 2017 Al Khalifa, F. (2017). Autonomy in Architectural Education: A Bahrain Prespective. Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research, 11(2), 24–33.
- 2016 Al Khalifa F (2016). Achieving Urban Sustainability in the Island City of Bahrain: University Education, Skilled Labor, and Dependence on Expatriates. Urban Island Studies, 2, 95-120.
- 2013 Al-Khalifa F (2013) An urban healing agenda for reform in Bahrain: where the dweller falls into the urban gap and the sailing boat hits the skyscraper. In: Brebbia CA (ed.), Sustainable Development and Planning VI, Wessex: WIT Press Publishing.
- 2013 Al-Khalifa F (2013) Potentials and constraints of urban sustainability in the Arabian Gulf: the case of Bahrain and Kuwait. In: Zubir SS and Brebbia CA (eds), The Sustainable City VIII, WIT Press Publishing.
- 2012 Al-Khalifa F (2012) An Urban Healing Agenda for Reform in Bahrain: Where the Dweller Falls into the Urban Gap and the Sailing Boat Hits the Skyscraper. University of Sheffield. Winner of the RIBA President's Awards for Research 2013.