People Biography

Sabika Shaban is the Academic Journals and Publications Specialist at the College of Islamic Studies (CIS), Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), where she works across communications, project management, and strategic partnerships within the Dean’s Office. She manages the college’s graduate student journal Astrolabe, coordinates advisory board affairs, and supports the operational and outreach functions of the college.

Beyond her administrative role, Shaban is on a mission to reshape how Qatar engages with disability. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Cambridge, investigating family experiences of disability, inclusive health and education, and policy efficacy in Qatar and across the Arab Gulf. She is co-leading two HBKU-grant-funded research projects on autism and disability inclusion in partnership with the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MOEHE). She also founded the Qatar Disability Resource (QADR), a platform connecting families and practitioners to information and support. She serves on multiple national boards and task forces advancing inclusion for autism and disabilities broadly, and brings her work into public life through speaking, training, and mentorship, driven by a conviction that community-centered data can shift policies and mindsets for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in Qatar.