AUCians across disciplines made their voices heard in Dubai, United Arab Emirates at COP28, the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference which is the world’s largest climate conference. Faculty, students and alumni shared their expertise on topics such as green buildings and education, showcased award-winning sustainable startups, and delivered powerful speeches. Read more about AUC at COP28 below.

Learn more about the University's Climate Change Initiative.

Sherif Kamel ’88, ’90, ’13, professor and founding dean of AUC’s School of Business, has been appointed to the board of the Central Bank of Egypt as a financial expert.

“I truly appreciate the trust and confidence placed in me, and I look forward to working with the other board members to advance the bank's vision and achieve its strategic objectives,” said Kamel.

Such an appointment signifies AUC's dedication to excellence and service, showcasing the high caliber of its faculty and alumni, who are go-to experts in their fields. “AUC takes great pride in its commitment to serving Egypt through the exceptional contributions of its alumni and faculty, and Dean Sherif Kamel is a prime example of that,” said President Ahmad Dallal. “Dean Kamel is an invaluable leader at AUC and an internationally respected authority in his field. He exemplifies AUC's deep commitment to serving Egypt through its experts, research and partnerships.”  

“Honored and delighted by the opportunity,” Kamel noted, “As dean of the School of Business, my appointment to the board reflects the invaluable opportunities the faculty of The American University in Cairo are given to contribute their knowledge and expertise to serve our society, especially at a time of continuous transformations with its different challenges and prospects.”

“Dean Kamel is an invaluable leader at AUC and an internationally respected authority in his field. He exemplifies AUC's deep commitment to serving Egypt through its experts, research, and partnerships.”  

A Journey of Excellence

Such distinctions are not new to Kamel, whose connection to AUC spans 40 years, during which he earned three academic degrees and spent nearly three decades as a faculty member.

At AUC, during his tenure as dean, AUC’s School of Business received the triple-crown accreditation in 2014, making it among 1% of business schools worldwide as well as the only business school in the Middle East and third in Africa to achieve this prestigious recognition, which has been reaffirmed over the years. It has also been ranked by Eduniversal among the top 100 business schools in the world every year since 2012 and among the best business schools in Africa for the last seven consecutive years. In addition, the AUC Venture Lab, established during Kamel’s time, is the first University-based incubator in Egypt, classified among the five most promising university incubators in Africa.

“As dean of the School of Business, my appointment to the board reflects the invaluable opportunities the faculty of The American University in Cairo are given to contribute their knowledge and expertise to serve our society, especially at a time of continuous transformations with its different challenges and prospects.”

Outside AUC, Kamel’s list of achievements is equally impressive. He serves as vice chair and chair-elect of the board of directors of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the oldest global accrediting body for business schools with the largest network of schools, educators, learners and businesses worldwide. He will serve as the board’s chair for the 2024-2025 academic year and is now heading its Innovation Committee. Kamel was recognized by AACSB in 2018 as one of its Influential Leaders Challenge Honorees, being a business leader who influences business education. He also served as a trustee of the International Management Board of the Association of MBAs and the Business Graduates Association.

Kamel is a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt's Board of Governors and previously served as the board’s president from 2019 to 2021. In addition, he is deputy chair of CEMS (Community of European Management Schools) - The Global Alliance in Management Education, of which AUC’s School of Business is a member. A prolific author, he has published numerous scholarly articles and books, the most recent of which is Leading Change in Challenging Times: Lessons of Disruption and Innovation from Egypt – Thoughts, Observations, and Reflections (2022).

Passionate about education, Kamel holds a bachelor’s in business administration, an MBA and a master’s in Islamic art and architecture from AUC as well as a PhD in information systems from the London School of Economics and Political Science. 

With a first-place finish, Yara Ebeltagi, finance major with a minor in economics; Malak Elshennawy, finance major with a minor in economics and mathematics; and Joudy Aly, business and entrepreneurship major, made AUC proud at the Arab Fintech Challenge held at GITEX Dubai 2023. Creating an app called 'Mini Money' that incentivizes youth financial literacy, their project was selected out of international teams from across the region for its capacity to go beyond traditional savings methods and motivate youth with a unique rewards system. 

The students began this startup project as part of the Entrepreneurship and Innovation course taught last spring by Moataz Darwish '95, associate professor of practice in the Department of Management at the School of Business and team mentor. 

"The entrepreneurship project is a cornerstone in this course, with a clear learning outcome of generating a world-class experiential learning experience for students and equipping them with a mix of academic rigor and relevant  practical tools to help them succeed in the outside world," said Darwish. "The students were trained on all aspects of designing an entrepreneurial venture, from framing a customer problem to designing and prototyping a business model to delivering a powerful pitch. The process is very demanding and requires a variety of pedagogical techniques, including experiential workshops, case studies, guest speakers, investor assessment simulation, one-on-one coaching as well as personality and entrepreneurial tests and simulations with support from AUC's Career Center and Eonomics Behavioral Lab."

The Arab Fintech challenge is a competition powered by Fintech Egypt, initiated by the Central Bank of Egypt and sponsored by the EG Bank MINT incubator.

Hear some thoughts from the team about the project, collaborative aspects and the competition process:

Yara Elbeltagi 

“Our collaborative journey in shaping our FinTech solution was enriched by the diverse personalities within our team. Dr. Moataz's endorsement of these differences proved to be a success, as they seamlessly enhanced our decision-making process. 

Joudy is the most practical of us, always thinking rationally, Malak is extremely analytic and focuses on the details, always making sure our information is backed, and I felt like I brought forward the creative angle that helped bring our idea to life. 

Since developing the idea initially, these distinct strengths enabled clear communication and efficient development, allowing us to develop Mini Money in synergy. 

Joining the regional competition unlocked a plethora of opportunities for us. To begin with, we gained an internship at Mashreq Bank which was extremely eye-opening and offered us hands-on exposure to the job market. We also got the opportunity to join a three-month FInTech incubation program organized by MINT by EG Bank. Networking was and still remains a great benefit from our participation; we continuously meet professionals and individuals who serve as mentors and give us real advice based on their experiences as well as unlock new opportunities for us."

Malak Elshennawy

“Although the three of us were majoring in either finance or entrepreneurship, our knowledge about FinTech was limited, having been recently declared. Still, our brief moment of hesitation did not stop us from competing, because we have always been committed to succeeding in everything that we did. More importantly, our professor believed in our abilities and urged us to compete. 

Our winning FinTech startup, the Mini Money gamified app with an embedded wallet, is designed to help parents track their children’s spending, increase their financial literacy and give them benefits whenever they save up, such as discounts at their favorite gaming store.  We were continuously changing and updating the app based on feedback from parents, bankers, venture capitalists and AUC faculty. Innovation is a continuous process, and over time, our startup has prospered and changed with help from all these mentors who have changed our perception of both the problem and the feasibility of our solution."

Moataz Darwish, faculty mentor

“The main problem the students tackled in this project was the lack of financial literacy among the youth population. Generally speaking, children don't have an efficient way to track or manage their spending, let alone savings. They possess a limited grasp of the importance of responsible financial management. 

Through the team's Mini Money project, youth will be able to monitor their spending and be incentivized to save through the gamified app experience. The app helps prepare the future generations in financial prudency and efficient financial decision making. The project also serves  parents by helping them  monitor and mentor their children's finances. The solution also signifies the contribution that AUC aims to provide by preparing its students to tackle sizable problems in the Egyptian and emerging markets  with innovative tech and business model endeavors. 

This project was enabled by the tremendous support we receive from the School of Business and the entire AUC community. Nothing is more rewarding to me than to realize my life mission in mentoring and coaching my students to realize their potential and enhancing AUC’s positioning in Egypt and beyond.”