Achieving the Principal Fellowship has been one of the most meaningful milestones in my academic leadership journey. As an advisor to the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the University College of Bahrain (UCB), my professional path has always been guided by a deep conviction that education is not merely a sector, but a vehicle for national transformation.
My engagement with Advance HE started with a desire to benchmark our institutional excellence against global standards. Yet, through the PF journey, I discovered far more: a structured framework to reflect, refine, and realign the way we lead in higher education; not only administratively, but intellectually and ethically.
Principal Fellowship as a catalyst for institutional growth
At UCB, we believe that leadership must be lived; not only titled. My submission to Advance HE was not an individual claim, but a reflection of our collective vision. In fact, both myself and our university president, Dr Rana Sawaya, pursued Principal Fellowship together, making us one of the very few female leadership duos in the MENA region to hold this recognition concurrently.
Through the process, we revisited our governance frameworks, quality assurance strategies, community engagement policies, and academic leadership practices. The PF standards served as a mirror; allowing us to see what we were doing well, and what we could still improve.
We introduced initiatives such as strategic accreditation mapping, embedding the HEPSF into our professional development plans, and establishing a formal Advance HE membership for UCB. The PF journey became both a process and a product; one that continues to shape how we design, deliver, and evaluate impact at scale.
Empowering women in higher education leadership
Coming from a finance and accounting background, my early academic path was technical, data-driven, and often detached from broader policy discussions. But through Principal Fellowship, I was able to craft a new narrative; one that connects evidence with equity, and data with development.
As a Bahraini woman in a senior academic leadership position, I also recognise the representational responsibility I carry. The visibility of becoming a Principal Fellow is not just a personal success; it sends a message to other women across the Gulf: your voice belongs in boardrooms, in policy forums, and in global quality dialogues.
We are now mentoring a new generation of academics; particularly women; who are beginning their own Fellowship journeys. Our goal is to embed a culture where reflective practice, leadership development, and international benchmarking are not ‘add-ons’, but essentials.
Strategic alignment with national and regional priorities
Bahrain’s Vision 2030 emphasises innovation, education, and economic diversification. At UCB, our institutional development strategy aligns with this national agenda; and the PF experience helped us operationalise these goals through real frameworks.
Whether in NQF alignment, program review, stakeholder engagement, or research excellence; we are leveraging the Professional Standards Framework (PSF) 2023 principles to ensure that everything we do leads to measurable, sustainable change. This is especially critical as we expand our partnerships across the Gulf, including with ministries, accreditation bodies, and regional think tanks.
Lessons learned and a call forward
Looking back, I see Principal Fellowship not as the end of a journey, but as a renewed beginning. It has given me a language to describe impact, a structure to evaluate effectiveness, and a compass to navigate strategic change.
My advice to others, especially in the MENA region, is this:
Don’t underestimate the power of reflection. Your leadership story matters; and the PSF helps you tell it in a way that resonates, connects, and inspires.
We are proud to say that from a small island in the Gulf, we are contributing to a global conversation on quality, leadership, and transformation. And we’re just getting started.
Final words
If you're thinking about Principal Fellowship, ask yourself: 'What is the legacy you want to leave - not just in your institution, but in your region, your field, and the lives you touch?'
Then start writing your story.
Dr Amina Buallay has held senior roles in higher education leadership in Bahrain and received more than 10 prestigious international awards. She is recognised among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University for five consecutive years.