Course Leader – Professional Education Programme on Food System Resilience and Food Security

Background and Rationale
Food security and the resilience of food ecosystems are pressing concerns globally, with heightened urgency in regions such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which relies heavily on imported food and operates within a climate-challenged environment. The UAE’s current food systems face significant risk in the event of border closures or global supply chain disruptions. While pockets of innovation exist, the broader system lacks the capacity, literacy, and collaborative structures needed to respond quickly and effectively to crises.
This professional education programme will address the urgent need to build resilience by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration, developing decision-maker food literacy, enhancing capabilities in data use and agritech, and identifying scalable solutions through challenge-based learning.
Objective of the Procurement
To procure a highly qualified Course Leader to design, develop, and deliver a professional education programme focused on building food system resilience and food security in the UAE. The programme should draw upon local and global expertise, incorporate challenge-based learning, and be tailored to the policy, economic, environmental, and technological realities of the UAE.
Scope of Work
The selected Course Leader will be responsible for:
Programme Development
Designing a modular, professional-level curriculum (in-person, online, or hybrid) aligned with the following overarching objectives:
Critically examine systemic vulnerabilities in UAE food systems.
Foster collaboration across government, private, and research sectors.
Build food systems literacy among decision-makers and emerging leaders.
Advance knowledge and application of agritech and data-driven agriculture.
Identify and scale innovative practices and capabilities.
Programme Delivery
Leading the delivery of the course in collaboration with selected experts and guest lecturers.
Facilitating interactive, challenge-based components (e.g., workshops, simulations, scenario planning).
Incorporating case studies and applied projects relevant to UAE and comparable international contexts.
Expert Engagement
Identifying, inviting, and integrating global and local subject matter experts across the domains of:
Food security policy and economics
Agritech and climate-resilient agriculture
Data analytics and agricultural informatics
Supply chain logistics and critical infrastructure
Community and ecosystem resilience
Evaluation and Iteration
Designing tools to assess learning outcomes and participant engagement.
Iteratively refining content based on participant feedback and contextual shifts.
Key Deliverables
Detailed course design and curriculum plan
Instructional materials (slides, readings, datasets, activities)
List of confirmed expert contributors and guest speakers
Schedule and delivery plan (cohort model or rolling intake)
Evaluation framework and post-programme impact assessment
Final report summarizing outcomes, feedback, and recommendations for future offerings
The ideal candidate or team should demonstrate:
Proven experience in designing and leading professional or executive education programmes
Subject-matter expertise in food systems, sustainability, resilience, or related fields
Strong facilitation skills with challenge-based or experiential learning models
A robust network of global and regional experts relevant to the topic
Familiarity with the socio-economic, environmental, and political context of the UAE or the Gulf region