Professor Nabil Ayad is the Director of The Academy of Diplomacy and International Governance at Loughborough University in London and is the founder and former Director and Rector of the London Academy of Diplomacy of the University of East Anglia’s London campus. He has over 30 years of experience training groups of diplomats and officials and has advised governments on setting up institutes for diplomatic training.

Professor Ayad also founded and served as Director of the Diplomatic Academy of London and headed the Department of Diplomacy and Applied Languages at the University of Westminster. Professor Ayad has developed training programs for officials sponsored by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office from the Commonwealth, Central Asia, Eastern and Central Europe and diplomats sponsored by many governments including Kuwait, Iraq, Tanzania, Swaziland, Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. He also has experience establishing and presenting training programs for groups sponsored by the Chinese Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Peoples’ Liberation Army, Central Communist Party, National Development and Reform Commission, State Council Information Office and Beijing Security Police to prepare for the Olympic Games.

Professor Ayad pioneered the concept of presenting postgraduate Diplomacy programmes integrating theory and practice in the UK and has over 30 years of experience directing innovative postgraduate degrees in Diplomacy and the associated disciplines

Professor Ayad has lectured extensively on diplomacy, international relations, security, media and the impact of information technology on diplomatic missions and government departments. He pioneered the concept of exploring the impact of information technology on diplomatic practice and coined the phrase “virtual diplomacy.”

In addition, Professor Ayad has organised nineteen international symposia focused on exploring and predicting the emerging patterns in diplomacy in the 21st century. He received two honorary degrees of Doctor of Science in recognition of his contributions to the development of educational programmes in international relations and diplomatic training.

Professor Ayad acted as Chair of the UK Forum on Diplomatic Training. He is a member of the International Forum on Diplomatic Training (IFTD), International Institute for Strategic Studies and Royal Institute for International Relations (Chatham House). He received the Diplomat Magazine Annual Award in April 2012 for his distinctive contribution to diplomacy in London and around the world.