Prior to joining GCU London, Professor Nabil Ayad was the founder and Director of the Academy of Diplomacy and International Governance, Loughborough University London (November 2014 - October 2017). He pioneered the concept of presenting integrated postgraduate Diplomacy programmes in the UK and has over 30 years of experience directing innovative postgraduate degrees in Diplomacy and associated disciplines for staff of governments, international and regional organisations and multinational corporations as well as graduates aspiring for an international career.

He was also the founder and Rector of the London Academy of Diplomacy at the University of East Anglia, London Campus. Professor Ayad also established the Diplomatic Academy of London at the University of Westminster and was Head of the Department of Diplomacy and Applied Languages. He has authored and edited a large number of studies on diplomacy and has lectured extensively on Diplomacy, International Relations and Security, the Media and the Impact of Information Technology on Diplomatic Missions and Government Departments, at various Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Diplomatic Training Institutes and universities around the globe. Lectures have been delivered in Australia, Russia, Austria, Jordan, Qatar, Egypt, France, Italy, Malta, Kosovo, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, the UAE, Indonesia, Croatia, Thailand, the USA, Montenegro, Malaysia, Spain, Uzbekistan, Italy, China, Germany and in the UK (Universities of Reading, Salford and Birmingham).