The Saudi Arabian government has appointed Dr Sumayyah bint Sulaiman bin Abdullah Al Sulaiman, a specialist and expert in smart city designs, as the new CEO of the Architectural Arts and Design Commission, it has been announced.

Citing a decree by Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan, a report by Saudi Gazette said that the new commission will be in charge of several functions through which it will develop the arts of architecture and design in all their domains.

These include drawing up the sector’s strategy, laying down regulations, issuing licenses for related activities, encouraging investment in the field, providing training courses and professional programmes, supporting intellectual property rights in pertinent fields, and other regulatory functions.

The report added that Dr Al Sulaiman obtained her doctorate degree from the University of Newcastle in Britain in 2010, said the report.

She also obtained a post-doctoral fellowship from the Ibn Khaldoun Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, it stated.

This is in addition to management qualifications from MIT in domains such as ‘Post-smart cities: Latest designs and technology, an executive program titled ‘Negotiations and Influence’, and an executive degree in management and leadership, as well as a certificate in strategy and innovation, said the report.

She has occupied the post of Dean of Faculty of Design at Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University since 2017 and is a member of the Municipal Council in the Eastern Province Municipality.

She also participated as an appraiser in the first Saudi national pavilion in the 16th International Libinali Venicia Architecture Exhibition in Italy.