Professor Fakir Al Gharaibeh is an academic and researcher in Social Work and Social Policy, currently serving as the Director of the Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Director of Center for Family and Child Studies (CFCS) at the University of Sharjah, UAE. He holds a PhD from Curtin University of Technology, Australia (2006), and has completed advanced training in teaching and learning in social work at Brunel University and the University of Reading in the UK.

 

Professor Al Gharaibeh's research interests cover social innovation, and digital humanities, alongside critical topics such as mental health, divorce, refugees, child abuse, criminal justice, and Arab youth. He is a prolific author with numerous publications in both national and international journals and serves as a consultant on family policies for various organizations, successfully securing multiple research grants across various levels.

 

He is the founder of several research centers, research labs, and professional diploma programs at the University of Sharjah. Additionally, he established the Emirati Youth Research Fellowship Program and founded the "An Hour of Volunteering" initiative. He has also participated in establishing graduate programs in Criminology, Social Work, and Applied Sociology since 2010. He organized, along with his team, the first International Conference on Applied Research in Humanities and Social Sciences, which featured the participation of distinguished scholars, including Nobel Laureates.

 

Professor Al Gharaibeh has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Leadership Award in Research and Graduate Studies from the University of Sharjah, along with Distinguished Faculty Awards in Community Service, Research, and Teaching from the university and various government agencies. In recognition of his efforts, he received the Sharjah Voluntary Work Award for Research from the Government of Sharjah in 2011. He has worked as a researcher and lecturer at several Jordanian Universities since 1998 and served as the Head of the Social Work Department at Al-Balqa Applied University.

 

He also served as a guest editor for a special issue of The Journal of International Women’s Studies, published by Bridgewater State University, highlighting his commitment to advancing scholarly discourse on women's issues. Furthermore, he has been part of the team that designed the Family Policy of Sharjah. Since 2008, he has served on the Editorial Board of the International Social Work journal, published by Sage. He is a member of many international professional bodies and Associations such as the American and Australian Social Work Associations.​