Alumni Update
The entries below are updates from some of our Alumni on their achievements and current situations. The list is not exhaustive - should you have queries about any of these or our other Alumni please contact us at alumni@mbifoundation.com.
Antar Abdellah
(SOAS 2002/3)
Antar is at present the Professional and Organizational Advisor in a multinational project funded by USAID for developing the quality of education in Egypt. He is also the convener of the translation certificate programme at South Valley University language centre and in a year, he will be applying for a promotion, for an Associate Professorship in Education.
Previously he was a lecturer in TEFL at Qena Faculty of Education, South Valley University, Egypt, teaching TEFL, curriculum analysis, translation and linguistics. He has a PhD in Education (course design and language teaching methods) and recently celebrated the arrival of a daughter, Minnatallah. Antar's MA thesis from SOAS is published online on the site of the WORLD ARABIC TRANSLATORS' ASSOCIATION (WATA). His first book entitled 'Novice Translators' Guide', was displayed at the Cairo International Book Fair. He recently published another book called 'Horizons of Translation', as well as five papers on the internet and in national and international conferences. He has also published several other articles in the field of linguistics and translation. Ibrahim
Ibrahim Abdel Rahim
(INSEAD 2003/04)
Consultant at McKinsey & Company, currently working on a project in Dubai.
Rola Abdul-Latif
(SOAS 2003/2004)
Rola works as a Research Officer at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), a non-profit organization that supports democracy and elections around the world. Her role is focused on conducting research such as public opinion polling and other survey work to support IFES programs worldwide.
Ghina Abiad
(AUB 2002/03)
Working as a systems engineer in the IT & Development department at BLOM Bank, the largest bank in Lebanon.
Afaf Adwan
(SOAS 2002/03)
Had difficulties returning to Palestine and after a stint living and working in Cairo as a manager for Ramattan News Agency Afaf accompanied her fiance (now husband) to the US.
Amer Afiouni
(INSEAD 2002/03)
Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company in Dubai.
Khalid Alansari
(SOAS 2001/02)
Head of Environmental Planning in Qatar Petroleum. He works in Mesiaeed Industrial City which is administered and managed by Qatar Petroleum.
Tareq Al Abed
(UCL 2009)
Upon graduation, Tareq went back to Iraq for a few months and then won a scholarship from the Technical University of Dresden/Carl Gustav Carus faculty of medicine, Dept. of Radiation Oncology & Radiation Biology in Dresden city in Germany, as part of his MSc. distinction for 5 months. Tareq is hoping that with this radiotherapy training and FRCRO part 1 exam he will go back to Iraq and work on one of three machines that were imported to the country during the old regime but have never been installed. This important training will provide Tareq with the technical skills to operate these machines and he will be one of the first oncology radiotherapists in the country qualified and trained in Europe to help the many cancer sufferers in Iraq. We wish Tareq luck in his training and we look forward to hearing more good news when he is back helping his country.
Rana Al Akhal
(LEAD 2002/04)
Rana is Managing Director of her own NGO, developing a National Youth Policy, Strategy and Action Plan for youth in Jordan as a joint project between UNDP and the Government of Jordan.
Fahmia Al-Fotiah
(University of Westminster, 2008/09)
Fahmia is back in Yemen after finishing her MA in International Relations. As a journalist and with her new specialisation in this field, Fahmia will carry on contributing to the development of her country and the empowerment of Yemeni women. Upon her return to Sana’a, Fahmia has joined the NGO SAVE as the local coordinator for Yemen. Fahmia’s experience as both a journalist and a teacher make her a valuable contributor to SAVE Yemen and SAVE Global. Fahmiya is participating in a SAVE Conference in Vienna in early March 2010, with 25 women from all over the world, where she will present a paper about SAVE Yemen activities. SAVE Yemen will celebrate Mothers' Day in a different manner this year as they are planning a mothers' campaign to engage Yemeni mothers in combatting extremism and terrorism, a topic on which Fahmia just completed pilot research. http://www.women-without-borders.org/news/163
Fadel Al Hababi
(Westminster 2000/01)
Working at Central Laboratory and Blood Bank in Riyadh as a specialist in the Virology Department. He is involved in two main research work areas: remote sensing for Rift Valley Fever Virus in Jazan Region in Saudi Arabia and the clinical complication of Rift Valley Fever Virus on vision. Both research projects are funded by the King Abdulaziz for Science and Technology City. Fadel's MSc dissertation has been published in the Clinical Virology Journal, ref: F. Al- Hababi, W. Tong, Talal Salam; the Significance of 'anti HBc only' in the Clinical Laboratory. Journal of Clinical Virology 00 (2002) 1- 8. He is currently in Berlin for two months at the Robert Koch Institut of infectious disease training in special molecular virology work.
Ammar Al Naimi
(UCL 2004/5)
Ammar is currently living in Frankfurt, working as a Junior doctor. He has started his training in gynaecology and has been nominated as a Fellow in the SOLE Breast Cancer Research Project.
Muzna Al-Quaiti
(SOAS 2002/03)
A huge congratulations goes out to Muzna who recently got married! Muzna has taken a year’s leave from Dar Al Hekma College in Jeddah where she is a lecturer of Contemporary World History and also English Language Proficiency classes. She is now is Cairo with her husband for a few months and during this time, she hopes to take some history and art courses which will prove beneficial to her line of teaching, work and personal interest.
Samah Al-Safady
(Goldsmiths 2003/04)
Samah is now the Head of Princess FADWA Centre at the King Fahad Academy for Special Needs and Learning Support in London. She has appeared on two live TV shows discussing Special Education. She currently lives in London with her husband and two daughters Sarah and Eman. Samah previously held a post at Dar Al Hekma College.
Farouk Al-SalihSafady
(LSE 2008/9)
On his return to Yemen, Farouk obtained a contract with IFAD/UNDP in Sanaa.
Sulaiman Al-Shandoodi
(LSE 2000/01)
Deputy Director of International Affairs at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.
Saifedean Ammous
(LSE 2003/04)
Won a scholarship to study a PhD program in Sustainable Development in Columbia University. On complection of his PhD he has returned to the region and remains in academia.
Jihane Assaf
(AUB 2002/04)
Finished his MBA and is now in the United Arab Emirates.
Dania Sami Assi
(AUB 2002/04)
Dania is now in Philadelphia on a program organized by the US State Department for leaders in the Middle East. She was selected along with 36 other women from the Middle East and North Africa region. The participants will be in the US for six months, where they will each have one month executive education at Wharton to be followed by the opportunity to intern in a US firm.
Majida Awashreh
(SOAS 2000/01)
Senior Civic Engagement Specialist at one of the American Relief and Humanitarian Organizations in Palestine, called the Cooperative Housing Foundation. Majida is currently responsible for implementing the civic engagement program with a project called Local Democratic Reform, which focuses on strengthening the capacities of Palestinian local governments as well as promoting public participation and oversight among civil society. This project will see the launch of 4 civic programs after Ramadan: strengthening communication mechanisms between public-local councils; national campaign on good governance; shadowing local youth councils and hosting the first ever conference on the partnership between local government, the private sector, and civil society.
Majida formerly worked with the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ) in Palestine on April 1st 2007. She was a project advisor for a new project entitled Local Councils and Civil Society Development Program, a new program launched in January 07 which is expected to go until 2014. She was the first local or international woman to assume such a high post in the GTZ Palestine office.
Previously Majida was Senior Grants and Capacity Building Officer for a USAID-funded project called "Civil Society & Democracy Strengthening Project" or TAMKEEN for short which is the Arabic equivalent for "strengthening". It was a 6-year, 32million dollar project that expired at the end of March 2007.
Shaswar Baban
(Westminster 2007/08)
After completing a Masters degree in Mobile, Personal and Satellite Communications, Shaswar returned to Iraq (Kurdistan area). He is currently looking for a job. However, as he is very ambitious and full of great ideas, he is hoping to continue studying and begin working towards his PhD soon.
Ahmed Badawi
(LSE 2000/01)
Research Associate at SOAS and an Associate Fellow at the Institute of Development and Peace, University of Duisburg-Essen where he is Project Director: Beyond Managing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Toward a New People-to-People Agenda (Grant from the United States Institute of Peace). He is the author of numerous articles in journals and working papers on politics in Palestine. As a PhD student at Humboldt University in Berlin, he is also working on his PhD thesis, tentatively titled "Political Economy of Development, Economic Theory and the Dynamics of Policy Failure: A Prospective Evaluation of US Governance and Democracy Promotion Policy in the Arab World".
Lobna Ben Salem
(Westminster 2000/01)
Lobna is now the proud mother of two girls, expecting her third child in a few months. She is still teaching English at the University of Tunis and has recently started a very ambitious research project concerning women's literature of the third world. She is the first in the academic circle to have undertaken this kind of research. She participated in a conference in March 2005 at the University of Sousse.
Achraf Cherkaoui
(INSEAD)
Working at McKinsey.
Heba Mohamed El Araby
(AUC 2002/2004)
Heba is a Marketing Communication Manager for one of the main Leasing companies in Egypt – CORPLEASE (Corporate Leasing Company Egypt S.A.E). Heba joined the company in March 2007 and managed from that time on to change the corporate image of the company and to initiate various marketing activities. By initiating the establishment of a Marketing Communication Department, she added to the awareness of the market of leasing as a whole and CORPLEASE in particular. Previously Heba was Marketing Manager at the Modern Sciences and Arts University (MSA University). She was responsible for all marketing activities related to the university and building the image of the university in the minds of the parents and students as the best providers of British Higher Education in Egypt.
Mohammed El-Hammuri
(Westminster 2002/3)
Regulatory Operations Specialist at Etisalat Telecommunications Corporation in the UAE.
Yasmine El Mehairy
(Westminster 2003/04)
Yasmine returned to Cairo after she finished her degree and joined ITWorx, one of the largest IT service providers in the region where she was keen on introducing many of the concepts she learned during her experience in the UK. After a while, she wanted to utilize her skills in a growing company, so Yasmine joined OpenCraft, a small IT services company that believes in and promotes the open-source and free software movement. In 2009 she moved to ‘Al Masry Al Youm’, Egypt’s largest independent newspaper as the web portal project manager where she and her team launched the new interactive portal. With that project over, she is currently working as a freelancer. Yasmine has also been active on starting a small home business of handmade greeting cards that was launched in October 2008 and the project has became profitable. The cards, currently available to order on Facebook as well as in three locations in Cairo, include occasion-specific cards for birthdays, Christmas, new babies, etc. and Egyptian and Arabic cards as well as generic cards. Further information on her cards is available on her website http://zewwcards.blogspot.com/.
Adham Fahmi
(LSE 2001/02)
Working in an IT company called Information Technology & Services Co. (ITSC) in Egypt as a Project Manager with responsibilities in Bill Collection, Telecom, Money Transfers, and Security. He is also studying to become a Chartered Financial Analyst. Adham's LSE dissertation is in the process of being published in Arabic by The Alliance for Arab Women (NGO). The Title in English is Human Capital, Gender & Development: a Critique of Egypt's Software Industry.
Rana Feghali
(SOAS 2000/01)
Has recently left her job with Risk Advisory Group in London after previously working at Asharq Al Awsat newspaper as an Assistant researcher/translator.
Rania Hadra
(SOAS 2000/01)
After a spell working in Khartoum, with the United Nations Advance Mission in Sudan as a Political Affairs Officer, Rania is now at the UN in New York.
Ingy Hammad
(SOAS 2001/02)
Won a Fulbright grant for a Teaching Assistantship at the University of Illinois, USA as part of Ingy's PhD studies. From May, Ingy will be back in Cairo, as assistant lecturer at the Department of Linguistics, Helwan University.
Roua Hijazi
Economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Basel Jebril
(SOAS 2001/02)
Working for Kolmar Petrochemicals at the Middle East Trading Department, London.
Mardiros Kaloustian
(INSEAD 2002/03)
Previously worked with Booz Allen Hamilton, an international consultancy, in the Beirut office. He is now located in Paris working as an Associate Director for a company called Invus. He and his wife have had a daughter called Anna.
Hassan Kassouf
(AUB 2002/04)
Preparing for a Geology Conference in Madrid in June 2005. He has had a summer internship with a Canadian petroleum company in the United Arab Emirates and in the oil fields of the Yemeni desert.
Laith Kawther
(Westminster 2007/08)
After finishing his Masters in Journalism at Westminster, Laith has returned to Iraq and is working as a Producer for the BBC.
Abdalla Ahmed Fekry Mahmoud
(AUC 2002/04)
Currently pursuing an MBA at AUC. He is also working as a Security Consultant at IBM-ISS. He has published and presented papers at conferences.
Noura Mansouri
(Queen Mary 2003/04)
Noura is at the writng up stage of her PhD dissertation. Her working title is: "Carbon Management for Sustainable Development: An Examination of Potential Technological Transition Paths of the Saudi Arabian System of Innovation to a Cleaner Energy Economy" at the School of Engineering and Material Science at Queen Mary, University of London. Noura is married and has a daughter, Aya. She is now living in Jeddah.
Sara Mansouri
(City 2003/04)
Sara is an Investment Analyst Associate in Hedge Funds working for NCB Capital in Bahrain. Presently she is also undertaking a 5 week training course with Goldman Sachs. Previously Sara was an Associate Executive at NCB (National Commercial Bank) in Saudi Arabia working in two divisions: Treasury Management and Risk Management.
Talar Markossian
(AUB 2002/04)
In the first year of a PhD programme in Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Talar has a Graduate Research Assistantship along with her studies.
Mohab Meshreki
(AUC 2003/04)
Research Officer at the Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre, National Research Council of Canada. Mohab has graduated with a PhD Degree in 2008 McGill University in Mechanical Engineering.
Heba Mostafa
(AUC 2002/04)
Heba Mostafa has been a lecturer at the American University in Cairo, teaching a course titled Foundations of Design and Color at the Department of Performing and Visual Arts since February 2006. She has also been teaching at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology’s department of Architecture since February 2004. Heba is going to attend University of Cambridge, Department of Architecture to pursue her PhD, starting in October 2007.
Heba was a participant in the 2nd International Conference for Mediterranean Architecture at Misr International University in 2003 with a paper titled “Designing in a World of Shifting Paradigms: Early Islamic Design Processes and the Formulation of Responsive Architectural Design. She was also a participant in Cairo University’s Department of Architecture 3rd annual Conference in 2005, titled “Appropriating Architecture and Taming Urbanism in the Decades of Transformation” with a paper titled “Urbanism in the Bigger Picture: Contextualizing the Message of the Islamic Urban Code between Isfahan and Istanbul in the 16th and 17th c.”
Salma Nagy
(LSE 2003/04)
Since her graduation, Salma has been working for Shell Egypt mainly focusing planning and economic valuation of new oil and gas projects. she has now been promoted to a regional role covering the Levant region as well as Egypt.
Fouad Michel Nakhle
(AUB 2002/04)
Fouad is a public sectior account manager for Microsoft Lebanon.
Ibrahim Natil
(Westminster 2001/02)
Ibrahim is currently undertaking a PhD in politics at the University of Coventry. He is Director of the Society Voice Foundation, and NGO in Gaza which has just signed a contract with European Commission to implement a one year project "Empower Women's Political and Social Participation in the Gaza Strip". SVA aims to build the leadership capacities and knowledge of political participation, legislation, and democratic governance of 600 young women leaders. Ibrahim’s primary role is that of being responsible for conducting a preliminary analysis on current legislation and its impact on honour killing crimes. He manages a Committee which recommends either amendments to existing legislation or a new draft law criminalizing honour killings and all forms of violence against women.
Sherine Mahmoud Negm
(AUC 2002/04)
Currently doing her PhD in POLS at Cairo University.
Rita Obeid
(LSE 2002/03)
Associate in Mergers & Acquisitions for Citigroup.
Mary Pandazos
(AUB 2002/04)
Since 2005, Mary has been working at the University of Balamand (UOB) as a Medical School Assistant to the Dean in the Faculty of Medicine & Medical Sciences.
Ahmed Hosney Radwan
(LEAD 2002/04)
Dr. Radwan graduated from the Imperial College of London in 2004 as part of LEAD cohort 10 and is now a partner of a private consultancy company working in the field of Architecture & Urban Planning and Studies working on projects mainly in the Middle East. He achieved his PHD Degree in Architecture in 2007. Having previously worked as an Assistant Professor of Architecture teaching in Helwan University, MIU & AUC, Ahmed is now working as an Assistant Professor of Architecture at the College of Fine Arts. Ahmed has been involved in the architectural design of many projects in Egypt, Sudan, Syria, KSA, Jordan, Iran and Ethiopia.
Alaadin Rady
(INSEAD 2002/03)
Alaa is now Managing Director of Emmaa Financial Services. On leaving INSEAD, Alaa became a consultant for Bain & Company, based in Paris but dealing with the Middle East market. He then spent six months travelling doing development work all over the world. In Maniapure, a city in the Amazon basin in southern Venezuela, he led a camp for 60 local children and 9 adults teaching crafts, sports, and educational topics. He then travelled to Mongolia on a cultural restoration project in Baladan Bairavan, restoring some of the cultural heritage buildings. He moved on to Africa traveling in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland, working on an environmental development project saving and breeding lions that are now endangered species in Africa, and lived with some indigenous tribes, which he considers a superb cultural exchange experience. Alaa then went on to work with Master Foods (Mars Company) as a Market Manager for Algeria, starting up a business from scratch. After two years and the successful startup of operations in this new market, Alaa moved to Mozambique where he took part in a project to attract foreign direct investments to the north of Mozambique with an NGO called TechnoServe. He returned to Egypt in February 2007 where, with 4 partners, he started a boutique investment bank and strategy consulting firm called Enmaa Financial Services.
Monette Saade
(Westminster 2002/01)
Working as a Project Manager in Heritage Management for the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage. She has previously worked at the American University of Beirut as an Archaeologist, at the Lebanese Ministry of Tourism on the All Seasons Magazine as an Editor and at the InterContinental Phoenicia in Beirut as an Administrative & Training Manager. She also assists her town in developing a tourism plan.
Abdurrahman Khaled Saif
(Westminster 2008/09)
Abdulrahman received his MA with Merit from Westminster University in Journalism Translation. For more details (in Arabic) please read an article in Al Thawra Yemeni Newspaper about his achievements. The article talks about Abdulrahman’s achievements as the first Yemeni researcher to complete such a degree. His thesis, titled ‘’ The Basis of Making a News Item’’ discusses the main principles of Arabic-English translation of news and focuses on the importance of the journalist 's knowledge of customising the news when translating. http://althawranews.net/detailes.aspx?newsid=29539
Ahmed Mohamed Salih
(Nottingham 2004/2005)
Head of the Department of Medical Microbiology, Medical College, Duhok University in Iraq. The Medical Microbiology Division was established in 1994 in the Medical College in Duhok. Ahmed got the position of Head of the Department shortly after his return from the UK and the completion of his MSc. He has researched bacteria causes of otitis media in children and antibiotic sensitivity of the bacteria isolated from patients with otitis media.
Ziad Shaaban
(LSE 2001/02)
Ziad is working in Dubai for EFG Hermes. He joined EFG after 4 years at JPMorgan in London as a credit derivatives trader and is now running the credit desk at EFG. He has also finished his CFA charter.
Reem Shaath
(LSE 2001)
Reem is the Vice President of Business Development, Saudi HRD. Here she has been mostly involved in upgrading the HR & Management Consulting services which they offer, introducing new training products and tools, with a strong focus on psychometric testing and assessment centres. By doing this she has opened many channels for the training & development of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prior to this, Reem worked in HR for PepsiCo International.
Reem has also been heavily involved in promoting and raising funds for a project called the "Arab Digital Expression Camps", aimed at children aged 12-15. These camps, which take place during the summer, aim to teaching Arab children on how to express themselves 'digitally' through different tools, be it graphic design, sound & music, digital video or animation. The main idea behind it is to develop the skills of Arab youth so that, through the use of advanced digital technologies, they can create their own ideas; ideas that reflect their culture, identity and hopes.
Abdulmonem Sulimon
(INSEAD 2003/04)
Abdulmonem, of Sudan, graduated with an MBA and is now working in the UAE as a Strategy Manager for a company called Limitless.
Zainab Taki
(Westminster 2007/08)
Zainab graduated in 2008 with a Masters degree in TESOL, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, at the University of Westminster. Her reason for choosing this topic is due to the fact that Zainab feels communication entails a lot more than just language: it takes into account body language, habits and belief systems. Zainab's goal is to improve English language teaching methodologies in Iraq, in a way that prepares Iraqis to function effectively in any English-speaking country. She has now returned to Iraq and is hoping to become an English teacher, utilising her experience in England and her broader knowledge of the language and culture to enable her to teach English from new angles and using reformed methods.
Nadine Usta
(SOAS 2003/04)
After three years of working for Arab Advisors Group, a research and consultancy company which specialises in the communications, media and technology markets of the Arab world in Jordan, Nadine is now working as a Media & Telco Consultant for a consultancy firm in London focusing on projects in the Middle East. She is currently working on a project that aims to build high-quality, low-cost housing in the Middle East and Africa, starting with Jordan.
Sayeeda Walker
(Kings 2003/04)
She is as an instructor at Dar Al Hekmah College, Jeddah. She is pursuing further studies in the field of health.
Sharia Walker
(Kings 2003/04)
Working at Dar Al Hekma College, Jeddah.
Tarek Younis
(SOAS 2001/02)
Regional Representative and Head of Music for a British theatre company that aims to promote the building bilateral ties between the UK and the Middle East through theatre and cultural interaction. He is also Music Composition and History lecturer at Jordan University's new Faculty of Music, a consultant Ethnomusicologist for The Information and Research Centre at the King Hussein Foundation in Amman, and other institutions. He also organizes concerts.
Sophie Zanoon
(SOAS 2002/03)
After working for some time in higher education in Saudi Arabia, Sophie joined the British Council in Dubai and from 2007 - 2008 worked as a Project Manager for Schools and also for Social Partnerships. Sophie’s remit stretched across all the UAE and she was involved in many Educational projects including linking schools in the Gulf and the UK through the Connecting Classrooms Project. She also planned and sponsored a seminar with an Arts charity for children named ‘START’ to invite a UK artist to the region to give a seminar on the Artist as an Educator.
She was involved in the planning of the Springboard project, which targets women’s personal and professional self-development and publicised, ran the UAE sections of the student art expedition ‘Offscreen’ and assisted in the ministerial visit to the Moving Young Minds Seminar. Sophie later organised a competition to select UAE delegates for "Learning from the Future" held in Dubai April 2008. In September 2008, Sophie moved to Al Ain to work as Head of Operations with a British Organisation, SSAT (Specialist Schools and Academies Trust) and is managing the setting up of their new office.
