The MBI Al Jaber Foundation - Alumni Update

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.

Research Officer at the Aerospace Manufacturing Technology Centre, National Research Council of Canada. Mohab is currently also studying for his PhD from McGill University in Mechanical Engineering.

Zainab Taki is one of our current scholarship students from Iraq and is studying for her Masters degree in TESOL; Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, at the University of Westminster. Zainab is at present working on her dissertation which focuses on the importance of teaching culture alongside the English language. Her reason for choosing this topic is due to the fact that Zainab feels communication entails a lot more than just language; it takes in to 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. Upon her return to Iraq following the completion of her degree, Zainab hopes to become an English language teacher using both her experience here in England together with her broader knowledge of the language and culture, teaching English from new angles and using reformed methods.

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.

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.

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.

Consultant at McKinsey & Company, currently working on a project in Dubai.

Working as a systems engineer in the IT & Development department at BLOM Bank, the largest bank in Lebanon.

Management consultant at McKinsey & Company in Dubai.

Had difficulties returning to Palestine so she is now living and working in Cairo. She is a manager for Ramattan News Agency which is of Palestinian origin and has one of its branches in Cairo.

Developing a National Youth Policy, Strategy and action plan for youth in Jordan as a joint project between UNDP and the Government of Jordan.

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.

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 is now the Head of Princess FADWA Centre at the King Fahad Academy in London. She had a baby girl in January 2005. Samah previously held a post at Dar Al Hekma College.

Deputy Director of International Affairs at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman.

Won a scholarship to study a PhD program in Sustainable Development in Columbia University and is now in New York working on his PhD.

Head of Environmental Planning in Qatar Petroleum. He works in Mesiaeed Industrial City which is administered and managed by Qatar Petroleum.

Finished his MBA and is now in the United Arab Emirates looking for a good job opportunity.

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.

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.

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 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.

Working at McKinsey.

Usability Engineer and Business Analyst with an IT professional services company in Egypt called ITWORX. Yasmine has taken up photography as a hobby and writes short stories which she publishes in an e-group for Egyptians interested in art and culture.

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.

She is looking forward to starting a new job with the Risk Advisory Group in London after previously working at Asharq Al Awsat newspaper in London as an Assistant researcher/translator.

Working in Khartoum, with the United Nations Advance Mission in Sudan as a Political Affairs Officer.

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.

Regulatory Operations Specialist at Etisalat Telecommunications Corporation in the UAE.

Economist for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Dr Radwan is now a partner in a private Consultancy company working in the Field of Architecture & Urban Planning & Studies, working in the Middle East. Achieved his PHD Degree in Architecture in May 2007. Formerly assistant Lecturer in Architecture in the College of Fine Arts, Helwan University. Ahmed has previously been involved in the design of the premises of two universities one in Khartoum, Sudan and the other in Adama, a city in Ethiopia.

Working for Kolmar Petrochemicals at the Middle East Trading Department, London.

With Booz Allen Hamilton, an international consultancy, in the Beirut office. Outside professional life, he and his wife have had a daughter called Anna.

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.

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.

Started her PhD programme at Queen Mary, University of London in Autumn 2004.

Sara is an Investment Analyst Associate in Hedge Funds working for NCB Capital. 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.

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.

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.”

Starting with Shell Egypt soon.

Sales Consulting Manager for the Middle East & North Africa Region for Oracle Corporation.

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.

Currently doing her PhD in POLS at Cairo University.

Associate in Mergers & Acquisitions for Citigroup.

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.

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.

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.

Credit trader at JPMorgan, London.

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.

Working for a research and consultancy company entitled Arab Advisors Group which specialises in the communications, media and technology markets of the Arab world and produces reports, research notes and forecasts for sale to its clients: local and multinational telecom, media and IT companies, non-profit organisations, and government bodies. Nadine is a Research Analyst.

She is as an instructor at Dar Al Hekmah College, Jeddah. She is pursuing further studies in the field of health.

Working at Dar Al Hekma College, Jeddah.

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.

Worked in Administration at Effat College on her return to Saudi Arabia.