Biography
Professor Dr. Haitham Abdulrahman Ahmed Al-Awad Al-Samarrai holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy of Media from the College of Media, University of Baghdad.
His research interests center on journalism, digital and new media, and public relations. His professional mission focuses on contributing to the enhancement and quality of academic education based on the highest international, regional, and local standards, as well as advancing scientific research in the fields of communication sciences, digital media, and public relations.
Dr. Al-Awad has an extensive academic career. He joined Umm Al Quwain University in 2016 and has served as Head of the Mass Communication Department since 2017, when it was a college. He was later appointed as Dean of the College of Mass Communication when it became Umm Al Quwain University in 2019, a position he continues to hold. He also served as an Assistant Professor in the Mass Communication Department at Al Khawarizmi International College in Abu Dhabi in 2015. He founded and chaired the Department of Public Relations and Advertising at City University College of Ajman (CUCA) in 2013. In addition, he worked as an Assistant Professor in the College of Information, Media, and Public Relations at Ajman University in 2005, and as Vice Dean of the College of Journalism and Media at Zarqa University in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 2012. He was also an Assistant Professor at the Gulf University in Bahrain’s College of Administrative and Banking Sciences, Department of Media and Public Relations, for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs in 2010, and a lecturer at the College of Media, University of Baghdad, in 2001.
Dr. Haitham Al-Awad has achieved numerous academic accomplishments and accreditations. He is recognized as an expert in establishing and developing curricula for Mass Communication programs in accordance with the standards of the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) in the United Arab Emirates. He is the founder of the "Crisis Communication" program at the College of Mass Communication, which is the first of its kind among universities in the Arab world and the Middle East. This program was accredited by the CAA of the UAE Ministry of Education in September 2023.
He led the team that obtained international accreditation from AQAS for the College of Mass Communication at Umm Al Quwain University for six years (2021–2024). He also headed the team that developed the Master's program in Digital Communication at the College of Mass Communication at Umm Al Quwain University, which was accredited by the CAA in 2025. Furthermore, he led the team that secured final accreditation for the Mass Communication programs (Journalism and New Media, Public Relations) from the CAA in 2018, and he also led the team for the re-licensing of these programs from the CAA in 2023.
He is an active member of various associations and unions. He is a full member of the Sociologists Association in the Emirate of Sharjah and serves on the advisory board of the peer-reviewed journal Social Affairs (issued by the Sociologists Association). He is also a full member and silver medal awardee on the URID international research platform. Additionally, he is a certified trainer for several institutions and government ministries in the United Arab Emirates.
Terminal Degree: Ph.D. in in Media Philosophy (University of Baghdad, 2000).