Debunking myths, Farid shared firsthand tips on the do’s and don’ts of engaging with people with visual impairments:

Face to Face

1. Don’t assume we need help. Ask first.
2. If we do need help, it will only relate to visual impairment. We don’t need help with everything.
3. Communicate with us on how we would like to be assisted so there is mutual respect for each other’s space. Don’t ask someone to lead us out of a place. Speak to us directly on how we would like to be guided.
4. Offering help is thoughtful and appreciated, but don’t go out of your way to accompany us wherever we go. Sometimes giving directions is all we need.
5. Don’t treat us differently than people around us. If we’re standing with a group, there is no need to grab a chair for us or get us coffee. Don’t give us front-row seating. These are nice gestures from well-intentioned people, but they make us feel uncomfortable.
6. You don’t need to raise your voice to speak with us. We only lost our eyesight; our other senses are not affected.
7. If two people, including a person with a visual impairment, are talking to you or asking a question, address them both. Don’t just speak to the sighted person. We can sense it.
8. The tools we use are not toys for others to fool around with. My cane is indispensable for my safety and existence.
9. Avoid grabbing or pulling someone’s cane, even if you’re trying to help that person move around. It’s dangerous and invasive. You can ask to hold one end of the cane while we hold the other.
10. Don’t scream “Be careful” or honk at us when crossing the street. It distracts rather than alerts us.

“I always insist on the collective because this is how you change history,” says Bahia Shehab (MA ’09), professor of practice in the Department of the Arts and co-editor of Revealing, Recording, Reflecting: Graphic Women from Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA), the first publication of its kind to document the work and legacy of contemporary women designers.

“This landmark book is about the ‘us’ of women,” says Shehab, who founded AUC’s graphic design program in 2011. ‘When people hold the book, I want them to recognize women’s voices in the Arab world. They are beautiful, they are colorful and they are varied. And they’re not limited to the geography of the Arab world. We are everywhere.”

Full of vibrant images, the book emerged from a collaborative initiative aimed at documenting and celebrating the contributions of SWANA women in the field of design. It all started when four women graphic designers from different institutions — Shehab from AUC in Egypt, Huda Smitshuijzen AbiFarès from Khatt Foundation in the Netherlands, Yasmine Nachabe Taan from the Lebanese American University in Lebanon and Soukeina Hachem from Shape interior design studio in Morocco — decided to research and showcase the work of Arab women designers. “We are four women from various parts of the region who came together to reflect, collect and reveal stories of Arab women designers,” says Shehab. 

Not only were they tapping into an undocumented frontier, but their research process was atypical. “The normal route usually involves archives and a lot of reading,” explained Shehab. “But for this book, we decided to do something else: We opened up our research to a bigger community. So we were four curators, not authors. The idea is that it is a collective story of over 80 Arab women graphic designers that we are telling together, so there isn’t a single authority or voice.”

The first step for the co-editors was to focus on themes, the types of stories they want to tell. For Shehab, the choice was clear. “I love everything about Arabic design — its calligraphy, letters and typography — so I chose to work on Ladies of Letters: women who are as passionate about Arabic letters as I am. Each of us worked on a topic that she felt eager to explore in-depth.” 

The book explores themes of Visual Storytelling by Women, Engaged Image-Making for Social and Political Commentary, Ladies of Letters (connecting generations of women writers and designers) and Navigating Diasporic Identities. Focusing on the work and impact of Arab women graphic designers, illustrators, calligraphers and typographers, the book includes critical writing, testimonials, primary documents and artwork.

 The co-editors proposed the project online, collecting reflections on the different themes through Zoom panels and collaboration with a cultural space in Berlin, Germany for people to share their insights and recommend women in the field who can be featured in the book. “That physical space became our living research space, with sticky notes, observations, posters and new books. It was the first time for us to experiment with collective crowd-sourced research, and it was an enriching experience,” Shehab says.

Questionnaires were then sent out to women graphic designers, asking them to tell their own stories. “In the book, we are not reflecting on how they feel or assuming the meaning of their work. They are choosing what stories they want to tell — in their own words,” affirmed Shehab. 

What are some of the biggest shifts in business school education?

The focus of business schools almost two decades ago was to produce leaders who transform corporations, boosting profit. Revenue was the prime goal. Now, business schools not only look at shareholder interest but also stakeholder interest — in other words, pressing societal concerns, such as sustainability, climate change, ethics, diversity, inclusion and governance. This represents a complete shift in business education around the world, and every school — from Africa to North America and around the world— is looking at how to consistently modify the curriculum to be timely and relevant. Shareholders are still key, but it’s all part of a bigger communal interest, now dubbed as social impact. This reflects the new role of business schools as a convener: a connector of stakeholders and an initiator of conversations around both global and local issues.

Now, business schools not only look at shareholder interest but also stakeholder interest — in other words, pressing societal concerns, such as sustainability, climate change, ethics, diversity, inclusion and governance. 

What challenges do business schools face in keeping their programs relevant?

The main challenge is working effectively within the market matrix. Some 40 years ago, business schools were looking at verticals, mainly disciplines that encompass marketing, finance, accounting, management, IT, strategy and HR. Twenty years later, they started examining horizontals, such as digital transformation, sustainability, data science, innovation, governance and others, and how they intersect with and complement the management verticals. But now, even this matrix, with the intersection between the verticals and horizontals, is not enough. We need to examine the implications on a variety of areas, including business, trade, services, industry, globalization and talent transfer. The difficulty lies in developing an adaptable curriculum that remains valid and relevant in this ever-changing landscape.

The difficulty lies in developing an adaptable curriculum that remains valid and relevant in this ever-changing landscape.

Do you see AI as a friend or foe?

AI has been around for much longer than many people realize, from Winston Churchill’s 1943 underground Cabinet War Rooms that housed the British government’s command center during World War II to human-computer interaction and expert systems in the 1980s to AI as we know it today. It has been gradually affecting our lives and is here to stay. In fact, we’re still scratching the surface. In education, AI affects not just what and how we study but also the facilities and resources available, enhancing productivity and efficiency — and it’s going to mature more and more. These are all positives, of course, but the downside is that AI raises concerns around issues such as ethics, bias, intellectual property rights, accuracy and trustworthiness. The key is learning to use it responsibly. In business education, AI is preparing students to lead in a fast-paced, tech-driven world. AI will not replace humans, but students who are better trained, educated, exposed and adapted will replace those who lack these fundamental skills. I like to think of it as augmented human intelligence backed by advanced technological innovations. It is not artificial.

Why would a business student choose to study business in Egypt instead of the United States or Europe?

Internationalization is not just confined to students traveling and studying abroad; it is an ecosystem. What we do here at AUC — similar to many business schools worldwide — is create cross-cultural exposure for students through international faculty, transnational case studies, incoming international students, global competitions and joint capstone projects in collaboration with other universities. For instance, our Doing Business in the Middle East program, now in its 16th year, gives AUC students the opportunity to interact firsthand with their peers  from prominent institutions around the world, including the University of Chicago, Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Manchester Metropolitan University, China Europe International Business School and McMaster University. Students from both sides exchange perspectives on current business issues in the region through academic classes by our faculty experts, visits to industries and NGOs, as well as meetings with business executives, entrepreneurs, alumni and government officials. AUC students, in turn, also visit business schools in other countries and benefit from the same global experience.

What we do here at AUC — similar to many business schools worldwide — is create cross-cultural exposure for students through international faculty, transnational case studies, incoming international students, global competitions and joint capstone projects in collaboration with other universities.

How do you see business education evolving in the next decade?

The future of business education will highly depend on the intersection of people, technology and data. Just as open working spaces are becoming prevalent, there will be open learning spaces. Less time will be spent in the classroom, and more time will be spent off campus in companies, factories, as well as civil society and community development organizations. Business schools and higher education at large are going to be completely different. The knowledge is there online, so what can faculty uniquely offer that students don’t already have access to? It’s the critical thinking approach that they bring to the classroom. Faculty will not deliver content but will instigate conversations to come up with solutions, and this will be enhanced through hands-on programs such as Cooperative Education (Co-Op), internships and experiential learning opportunities. This approach — teaching students how to think, not what to think — develops leaders who are innovative, adaptable and creative problem solvers.

This approach — teaching students how to think, not what to think — develops leaders who are innovative, adaptable and creative problem solvers.
 

During Sherif Kamel’s tenure as dean, the Onsi Sawiris School of Business earned its triple crown accreditation, placing it among the top 1% of business schools worldwide; maintained its Financial Times global ranking in executive education; and expanded its international footprint through new partnerships and affiliations. Kamel has championed innovation in teaching and learning, launching the region’s first Co-Op Program as well as integrating sustainability and global challenges into the curriculum. He is the immediate past chair of the board of directors of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and serves on the board of directors of the Central Bank of Egypt. A renowned scholar, Kamel published his debut book, Leading Change in Challenging Times: Lessons of Disruption and Innovation in Egypt, a collection of his reflections and observations on the school’s institutional history as well as business leadership advice.