Profile

Dr. Roba Zakariah Shaheen is an academic leader and built-environment researcher whose career spans university leadership, strategic urban development, design innovation, and institutional transformation. She currently serves as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Architecture & Planning at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a role she has held since 2024. Alongside this, she holds concurrent consultancy positions with KAU's Office of the Vice President for Business & Knowledge Innovation, the Deanship of Admission & Registration, and a confidential high-level governmental entity. Dr. Shaheen earned her PhD in Interior Design from the Cambridge School of Art, Anglia Ruskin University (UK), her MSc in Urban Policy & Practice from the University of Glasgow (UK), and her BSc in Housing & Interior Design from King Abdulaziz University. She is a University Researcher Fellow (2025) and holds an Artificial Intelligence Fellowship (2024). Her research and applied work sit at the intersection of quality of life, sustainable urban planning, smart systems, and design pedagogy. She is the developer of a modular smart outdoor furniture and has participated in leading institutional innovation initiatives including Campusthon, KAU's quality-of-life innovation challenges.