Message from the Vice-Chancellor

I am delighted to endorse the London Academy of Diplomacy in UEA London. Professor Ayad and his team bring a wealth of expertise and experience to Diplomatic Education and I hope you find time to read about their courses, reputation and quality in this brochure. Given current events and dramatic shifts in international power, few people can doubt the importance of effective and timely diplomacy. As a historian, I commend its study in all its forms.

The study of practical diplomacy is a natural one for the University of East Anglia. We have a track record of high-quality research and education in diplomatic history, politics, international relations, language, linguistics and communication studies. Additionally, the University has a much envied reputation in key areas that are recasting the diplomatic nexus, including environmental science, bio-science and international development.

The venue for the new courses is UEA London, our state-of-the-art campus on Middlesex Street, a few minutes' walk from Liverpool Street station. It is highly convenient for attendees from diplomatic missions and corporations. It is also set in an area of fascinating cultural history; illustrating the breadth and depth of London's role as a destination for international visitors and settlers from all over the world. I encourage you to visit UEA London to find out more about the international education we provide.

Professor Edward Acton

Vice Chancellor, University of East Anglia

Welcome from the Director of the London Academy of Diplomacy, Professor Nabil Ayad

nabil-ayad

Welcome to the London Academy of Diplomacy [LAD], University of East Anglia - London Campus. Our goal is to offer an outstanding programme in terms of course of studies, instruction, and facilities. Visit us, and we will explain our programmes while you examine our state-of-the-art facility.  We combine practice and theory, in terms of professional and academic, in a way that we believe to be unique among institutions offering programmes in similar areas of study. 

I was delighted to join INTO University of East Anglia – London Campus in August 2010 as Director of the LAD and also as Professor of Diplomatic Studies at Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands, www.nyenrode.nl

AMBASSADORS TODAY

Candidates on the Masters Degrees in International Diplomacy, International Business and Diplomacy, International Security and Diplomacy and International Communication and Diplomacy will immensely benefit from the resources and expertise of both universities and from a host of professionals and practitioners with a track record in working for governments and in teaching and training of diplomats and graduates aspiring for an international career.

I am pleased to welcome Dr Riad Nourallah who has been awarded a substantial grant by the Leverhulme Trust as Director of Research at LAD.

Previous Work

Prior to joining UEA London in August 2010, I pioneered in 1980 the introduction of integrated diplomatic training programmes at the University of Westminster and organised courses and training programmes for diplomats and other government officials from the Commonwealth, Arab World, Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, the Caribbean, Central Asia and China. Most of these training programmes were sponsored by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Council as well as groups sponsored by their own governments such as Kuwait, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and China.

I was also involved in the supervision of research students. For example, during the academic year 2009-2010, four of my research students were  awarded PhD degrees.  The titles of their theses were:

  • Towards an E-Government: The Case of Dubai
  • Diplomatic Negotiations: Romania's Accession to the European Union:  a Case Study.
  • Effective Diplomacy and Nation-Building: A Critical Study of the Tribal Diplomacy Adopted by three Arabian Gulf Clans (and its contribution to the Establishment of two modern nation states -1716-1826).
  • Paradigms in Caribbean Trade Diplomacy: Negotiating the Economic Partnership with the EU.


Since 1995, I have organised a series of international symposia entitled Diplomacy Beyond 2000 and Diplomacy in the 21st century in London and Paris for the benefit of the student body. The conferences have attracted members of the London and Paris Diplomatic Corps, senior UK government officials, academics and decision makers from overseas governments. Conferences included:

  • Diplomacy Beyond 2000, April 1995
  • Are Diplomats Really Necessary? , April 1996
  • The Information Explosion: A Challenge for Diplomacy, April 1997
  • Diplomacy and Divinity: Religion in International Relations, April 1998
  • The Impact of Technology on Intelligence and Security ,  March 1999
  • Ethics in International Practice April 2000
  • Divinity, Diplomacy and Development, May 2000, Paris
  • Refugees and Minorities in International Relations, April 2001
  • Institutional Corruption and Good Governance, May 2001, Paris
  • Media and Terrorism, December 2001, Paris
  • The UN and the Media in War and Peace, October 2002
  • Diplomacy and Gender, April 2003
  • Reforming the UN and the Future of Multilateralism , March 2004
  • International Security and the Dynamics of the New Diplomacy: Image Projection and Reputation Management, May 2006 (organised in conjunction with Foreign Affairs Canada)
  • The International Dimensions of European Values May 2007
  • Transformational Public Diplomacy: Shaping the Future of International Relations, April 2008 (organised in conjuction with the American Embassy, London and University of Southern California, centre on Public Diplomacy.)

In March 2012 we will organise the seventeenth international symposium in the series of Diplomacy in the 21st Century entitled:
Rethinking Diplomatic Practice, Global Commerce and International Security in the Age of Heteropolarity

At LAD, we will continue the tradition of innovation in diplomatic training and the conduct of international relations in a rapidly changing international environment.