Dr. Taimur Sharif Joins AUK as Dean of the College of Business

On August 1st 2025, Dr. Taimur Sharif joined The American University of Kurdistan (AUK) as the new Dean of the College of Business. Prior to joining AUK, he served as the Head of Business School at Birmingham Newman University and Dean of the School of Management and Economics at the University of Kurdistan Hewler. Earlier, he served as Director of the Faculty of Business and Management at Muscat University, Dean of the Faculty of Business and Chair of the Department of Finance and Accounting at Abu Dhabi Alhosn University, and worked for the London South Bank University as a Senior Lecturer in Economics.

He earned his doctoral degree in International Business and Economics from London South Bank University, MSc in Quantitative Methods in Economics from Stockholm University, and MA and BA (Hons.) degrees in Economics from Aligarh Muslim University. Awards and recognitions include the Principal Fellow award from Advance HE, UK; Chartered Manager of the Chartered Institute of Management, Canada and UK.

Dr. Sharif’s research strand includes finance, economics, and management. He has published in journals such as Annals of Operations Research, Research in International Business and Finance, Journal of Policy Modelling, International Journal of Finance and Economics, Applied Economics Quarterly, Electronic Commerce Research, and International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management.

He has quality assurance experience as an External Examiner for the BSc Business Management program of the University of East London and BSc-Islamic Finance dual degree program of Leeds Beckett University and MAHSA University, Malaysia. Since 2015, he has examined forty PhD/DBA theses for universities in Australia and the UK.

As a transformational leader, I will continue to develop and nurture an innovative team and support system for the design and delivery of student-centered and industry-focused curricula; enhance student engagements as co-creators and enrichment opportunities; provide students personalized and experiential learning services; above all, develop learners as responsible citizens reflecting socio-economic and environmental awareness and commitments.