Dr. Abu-Dayya has more than 32 years of international experience in the areas of industry R&D,  technology innovations management, academia, systems engineering, business development, and venture creation. 

In 2008, he led the initiative to establish QMIC (Qatar Mobility Innovations Center) as the first R&D and innovation institution in Qatar with a focus on developing and deploying home-grown digital platforms and solutions in the areas of Intelligent Mobility and Smart Cities. These platforms and solutions were powered by emerging technologies including: IoT, AI, location intelligence, and embedded sensing.  Dr. Adnan served as the founding Executive Director (CEO) of QMIC from Jan. 2009 to Sep. 2024 from its offices at the Qatar Science and Technology Park (QSTP). From April 2007 to Dec. 2008, he was the Chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department at Qatar University.

Before moving to Qatar in 2007, Dr. Adnan worked for 10 years at AT&T Wireless in Seattle, USA where he served in a number of leadership positions covering emerging products & technologies, product realization, systems engineering, IP and R&D management. Before that, he worked as a Senior Manager at Nortel Networks in Ottawa, Canada, and as a Senior Consultant at the Communications Research Centre in Ottawa, Canada.

Dr. Adnan served as the chairman of the Advisory Board of the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department of Texas A&M University in Qatar from 2014 - 2023,  and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Qatar Auto Museum from 2020 - 2024. Dr. Adnan was the recipient of the first Qatar Foundation Annual Innovation Award in 2015.

Dr. Abu-Dayya received his PhD. in Wireless Communications from Queens University, Kingston, Canada in 1992. He has 10 issued patents, and more than 115 referred publications.