Umbreen Shaikh

I am a positive psychology practitioner specializing in cross-cultural coaching and coaching for leadership, innovation, and professional and personal growth. I design and deliver content and trainings for organizations to maximize performance and employee wellbeing.

I'm certified through the European Mentoring & Coaching Council, and my coaching techniques incorporate creative tools to build confidence in clients, drawing on my experience as a certified trainer in Innovation and Entrepreneurship Education from Stanford University. In addition, I use positive psychology practices aimed at empowering organizations and clients to unlock their full potential and maximize growth.

I have extensive experience mentoring students and faculty in my six years at Zayed University, where my roles involved teaching, research and advising. I was engaged in two major UAE Ministry of Education initiatives; to promote innovation education through training university professors across the UAE as well as to develop and teach curriculum for one of the country’s first happiness and wellbeing courses.

In addition, I am deeply committed to social and humanitarian causes, with an emphasis on education for refugee communities. My training at the European University Institute in Italy led me to work with large international humanitarian organizations like Save the Children in Lebanon as well as regional NGOs such as Small Projects Istanbul and Karam Foundation in Turkey, where I designed and delivered positive psychology workshops for Syrian refugee youth as well as offered trainings for their employees.