By Claire Davenport

Are you interested in breaking into Egypt's growing market for entrepreneurship but not sure where to start? Want to know where the current market is headed?

According to knowledge platform Wamda, startups in the Middle East and North Africa attracted $3.94 billion in funding in 2022, with Egypt emerging as one of the top three markets for investment. Yet, there are many barriers to entry, from lack of capital to risk of failure, which can make a career as an entrepreneur seem like a daunting prospect to many.

To demystify the current startup ecosystem in Egypt and what it takes to break into it, we sat down with Ayman Ismail '95, '97, Abdul Latif Jameel chair in entrepreneurship, associate professor in the Department of Management and founding director of the AUC Venture Lab, Egypt's first university-based accelerator program.

Below are Ismail's insights into the current startup climate in Egypt and his tips for getting started, pitching your venture to potential investors and more!

What has the startup climate historically looked like in Egypt?

The tech-enabled startup movement in Egypt is around 15 to 20 years old. Linkdotnet -- one of the very first ventures to exit in 2011 -- was founded by a team of AUCians. It was a fantastic deal that created a lot of energy, and since then, there's been so much growth in terms of startups, investments and enablers.

Where is the Egyptian startup scene headed?

Five years ago, venture capital investments in Egypt were around 20 million to 50 million dollars. Starting 2020 and 2021, it jumped to 400-450 million each year. That's a huge growth in investments in that sector. In the next few years, I would expect a lot of growth in the quality of startups and number of investments.

Where does AUC and the Venture Lab fit into this picture?

In 2013, we launched the AUC Venture Lab, our startup accelerator. Now, it's the top university-run accelerator in the Middle East and Africa.

Our objective has always been to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem and put AUC in the heart of that space. We've supported more than 300 startups since the activation of our flagship accelerator program and more than 100 others through different programs under the lab.

What are these other programs?

AUC Angels, our investment network; a capacity-building program to transfer our knowledge to program managers running similar initiatives at other universities or companies in Egypt; and a launchpad that funds early-stage tech startups.

What does the AUC Venture Lab look for when assessing startups?

We see if the problem is worth solving and if it's operating in a fast-growing, innovative space. We also evaluate whether the team can bring this kind of idea to life. Do they have the right mindset? Are they competent, visionary and ethical?

Do you have any advice on pitching a startup to a potential investor?

A lot of people think of pitching as a selling job. I think a better way to understand it is as a matching opportunity. If I'm just trying to convince someone to invest, I am only telling them what they want to hear so I can sell. But if my objective is to understand what the people on the other side have in mind -- what they've done before and whether our goals match -- then the conversation takes a very different tone.

Do you have any suggestions for fundraising outside of traditional capital?

If you can bootstrap with investments from your savings or family and friends, that's amazing because investments come with a lot of constraints. And there's a big movement for bootstrapping right now.

Are there any risks with sustaining a startup once it's gotten off the ground and been active for a few years?

There are several points where companies can fail. People usually think about the new idea stage, where the startup is not yet defined and you have very little money. But there is another high-risk stage, which is when you move from being a fast-growing startup to a mature company and are building sustainable revenue streams and looking for stability to grow the business organically at a rate that fits the market. This is one of the biggest failing points; people reach a ceiling and they don't know how to transition into a profitable business.

Is there any sector you see taking off in the next few years to look out for?

The most obvious is anything related to artificial intelligence, which is a global trend. The second is sustainability, green economy and climate resilience. That space is evolving quite rapidly, and I'm expecting it to grow gradually in Egypt. The third, which I think is very relevant to Egypt but more difficult to get into, is healthcare. It's a big opportunity with a very interesting market.

By Abigail Flynn

A simple, colorful and addictive puzzle game that swept nations in the 1980s and 1990s, Tetris is known today in households from Moscow to Mexico City and is among the most played games of all time in the World Video Game Hall of Fame. Organizing falling blocks into complete lines, the game can quickly jump from relaxing to panic-inducing in a matter of seconds. Entertaining as that may be, Tetris can also provide us with more than just temporary bursts of adrenaline.

Jacquelyn Berry, assistant professor in AUC's Department of Psychology, is exploring the ways that humans learn through Tetris in hopes of understanding how people learn to do complex tasks and improve their performance over time -- an important component of human cognition.

"My goal is to change how people learn through what is called 'reinforcement learning,'" Berry explains. "By providing live feedback to people while they do complex, multifaceted tasks, in this case Tetris, I can track how their performance improves. I hope this will help us understand how complex skill learning works."

So how does it work? Berry's research design uses artificial intelligence to provide live feedback to the player, which informs them if the move they just chose was good or bad. If the participant sees a green light, that means they made a good move; if the light is red, they chose poorly. The level of feedback varies: Some participants receive only results-based feedback, while others receive live AI feedback for each move they make. Some receive both AI feedback and general feedback. By comparing these three learning conditions, Berry is able to see which level of feedback is teaching people to perform the best.

"There are a ton of things we could use this information for -- virtual reality, medical surgery, robots."

Berry's preliminary findings show that live AI feedback improves performance, particularly when paired with results- based feedback, but the research is still in progress. She hopes that the eventual results can be applied to many fields.

"There are a ton of things we could use this information for -- virtual reality, medical surgery, robots -- basically any complex task that includes a human using a computer to interact with their environment," she says.

But Why Tetris?

"Why not Tetris?" Berry responds. "First, the game is very popular with hundreds of millions of players. It's also perfect because a participant's native language won't affect their ability to play and anyone can easily learn to play, which makes it much more accessible."

According to Berry, accessibility is an important consideration in any research project. She explains that the field of psychology has had a long history of "convenience sampling," or choosing participants who are easy to locate. Since most psychology research is conducted at universities, much of the findings are skewed toward the demographic of psychology college students who join a study for class credit. It's also heavily Western-centric, she says.

"While the data from these types of studies is still valuable, conducting research with this limited demographic makes it more difficult to generalize findings to the rest of the world's population," Berry explains. "As a researcher in Egypt, I hope to remove some bias from research by including individuals outside traditional educational circles, going beyond a student population to represent people from different socioeconomic backgrounds."

Adding to accessibility, Berry's research can be conducted with the tap of a smartphone using a research app. Since participants do not need to come into the lab, she can reach players from all over, allowing more diversity among participants than she would have studying AUC psychology students alone. From this, she gains a more comprehensive understanding of human learning.

While Berry's goal is to examine populations beyond AUC, the University is still an integral part of her research process. Berry began her research in Egypt as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in 2019 and developed her Tetris study after COVID-19.

"Working at AUC has given me the opportunity to make the Tetris AI tool a reality," she says. "Cognitive psychology is fairly new to this region, so there is a lot of growth potential. I'm excited to see what the future holds."

By Kara Fitzgerald Elgarhy

The video game industry is booming across the Middle East and North Africa. Playing on a console, PC or smartphone, there were more than 65.3 million gamers in the region in 2021, with revenues reaching $1.76 billion in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt alone, according to a 2022 report by Niko Partners. As the industry continues to ascend the leader boards, more opportunities arise every day for local talent to find their place in the game.

There's just one glitch in the code, observes Ahmad Saqfalhait, associate professor of practice and associate chair of AUC's Department of the Arts. "Most game design professionals in the industry are self-taught," he explains. "Because their training is primarily either technical or visual, they compensate for the design aspect of game development by wearing multiple hats."

To support the development process, AUC introduced a new game design minor in Fall 2022, bringing together students from different disciplines to learn the role of a designer in game development. A collaboration between AUC's graphic design program and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, the minor will equip students to join a flourishing industry that has surpassed three of the biggest entertainment-related industries combined: music, film and sports, according to Saqfalhait.

The perks don't stop there. "In addition to their economic value, game applications have expanded and evolved to cover various purposes, from educational and social to medical and psychological -- all playing on our need to have fun and engage," Saqfalhait said.

Communicating Culture

Much like the industry, the program is fast on the rise. Saqfalhait and students are working to further spread awareness and interest by holding gaming activities on campus, such as hosting group Nintendo Switch sessions. "Not only do students enjoy playing, they also reflect on Nintendo's success in the gaming industry," Saqfalhait explained. "Nintendo is a school of design. It maintains a DNA and philosophy in its offerings. I want to channel this in the minor."

Moreover, Saqfalhait believes that Nintendo's work offers important lessons for AUC students about cultural expression and identity.

"If Nintendo, a Japanese company, borrows ideas from the outside, it reinterprets them and makes them its own, with mutual respect for both cultures," he said. "This concept of thinking locally and regionally is emphasized throughout the semesters of the game design minor so that students are not just making copies of existing games."

For instance, Nintendo's famous Animal Crossing video game introduced many international players to Japanese culture. Originally developed for a limited audience in 2001, the playful village- building game now features an array of international flavors, from bamboo baskets and cherry blossoms to Arabian thobes and Moroccan dresses.

"Nintendo is a school of design. It maintains a DNA and philosophy in its offerings. I want to channel this in the minor."

Sophomore Tarek Kassab, a longtime gamer and fan, was drawn to the minor for this very reason. "I started to notice that such a powerful entertainment tool can be used to push forward political and cultural messages," he reflected. "For example, games made in Japan tend to portray Japanese society -- traditions, food, celebrations and culture. And because video games are highly interactive, these small additions naturally resonate with players. I wanted to learn game design to create games that are entertaining while also spreading my Egyptian and Arab culture."

The locally grounded character of game design at AUC was always intentional, according to Saqfalhait. However, one unexpected outcome has been the resulting buy-in and support from the Egyptian community. Outside of their coursework, game design students have had the opportunity to work directly with community and creative partners on the design and development of games for local impact.

Last semester, students worked with UNICEF and Karim Aboul-Enein of Largelabs game development studio on an arcade game prototype that makes children indirectly associate healthy snacks with fun activities through play. A separate student group has been working since July 2022 in collaboration with Megawra - BEC to create a game for children that will strengthen their sense of neighborhood ownership and connection to their communities by presenting them with their rich culture and history.

These extracurricular projects reflect a guiding principle of AUC's approach to game design: integration within the industry. "It's difficult to gain hands-on experience in game design in Egypt because the industry is not yet thriving here. AUC's practical approach is a substitute source for direct experience in the field," said Kassab.

Still, AUC's game design project is far from final. The pioneering minor program, itself an organic result of feedback and learning from a smaller seed, is poised to blossom into a fully fledged major -- addressing more skills, reaching more students, and building more industry and community connections.

"A few years from now, AUC will graduate students who are equipped and ready to join and reinforce game design in Egypt," Saqfalhait affirmed.

Explore AUC's Game Design minor.

By Devon Murray

Step back in time to 1973, when, in the midst of the Arab-Israeli conflict, Egypt and Syria launched an attack on Israel on October 6, catching the world off guard. Known as the October War, this conflict and its results signaled a major shift across the region's political landscape and United States foreign policy in the Middle East.

Today, on the war's 50th anniversary, we look back not on the battlefield, but on Cairo -- and AUC -- to understand what life was like for AUCians in wartime. Drawing from a series of oral histories and clippings from The Caravan found in the University Archives, we explore the varied experiences of students, faculty and staff in October 1973.

Whispers of War

What are the signs a country is headed toward war? Tim Sullivan, provost emeritus and former professor of political science, who landed in Cairo just before October 1973, sets the scene.

We arrived on September 16, 1973, which is obviously 20 days before the war. So we didn't have much time to get adjusted to Egypt before that. Most places had windows painted blue. That would mean you could have the light on at night, and it couldn't be seen by a plane that might drop a bomb on you. There were sandbags everywhere. ... The Sheikh Rihan entrance to AUC had a barricade in front of it..

Of course, we didn't plan to arrive in a war zone. You know, obviously, the Arab-Israeli conflict had been going on since the establishment of Israel. And one knew you were going into a place where conflict was, in a sense, endemic. But there was no inkling that war was imminent. It looked like something of a stalemate, actually.

For Jayme Spencer, librarian emerita who served as the director of public services at the AUC Library for more than 43 years, October 6, 1973 began as any other day.

It's a Sunday. And we are invited out. In those days, we did not work on Sunday.

She recalls going to a barbecue at the home of a colleague who lived by the Pyramids.

And at some point toward the evening, we got ... a knock on the door. The sun had already pretty much gone down. And some army people came in, and all started talking. ... Apparently, as it was translated to us, you know, "How can you be doing this? A day that you, your country is at war! And you have foreigners with you!" ... And they said, "Pack everything up and get out of here immediately. Go to your home."

I think they painted the headlights of the cars blue so that they wouldn't show ... because all of a sudden we were of course in curfew and darkness.

According to Spencer, the University remained open the following day, though not everyone showed up.

People were waiting for the University to make an official announcement. And we didn't know how long [this was] going to happen. Were we going to, you know, be defeated immediately, and that would be the end of it? But as it turned out of course, it lasted much longer.

Classes Canceled

Walid Kazziha, political science professor who has been with AUC since 1972, describes the community's initial reaction to the war.

In 1973, when the war broke out, students were up in arms, faculty were very much fired up with what was happening. And then we get this statement from the Vice President... [Ahmed Abdel Ghaffar] Saleh or something, who says, "Classes will be held as usual."

The faculty called for a meeting, and we met. [President] Thoron came personally to that meeting.

Thoron laid it out and said, "We're fully in support of Egyptian efforts to regain its land in Sinai, and the University cannot be opened as usual, you know. Now we will have to think of a way to support Egypt in its war effort. And the students are proposing [to] do some medical service ... and support here.

Of course we didn't have classes. We were listening to what was on the radio, and no one at that point could go and give a lecture. Let's face it. And then after the war, we came back and that was it.

Helping Hands

Spencer recalls students immediately organizing to support the war.

[The students] quickly mobilized themselves, the ones who could, to support the war. I know I went in two or three days and rolled bandages.

Farkhonda Hassan (MSc '67), professor emerita in the School of Sciences and Engineering, took her students to Kasr El Aini Hospital to help with cleaning and gathering supplies.

We took four big wards in Kasr El Aini. ... The students were running around bringing sheets from the factories -- clean ones, clean sheets, pillowcases.

While at the hospital, Hassan ran into a number of celebrities, including Tahiya Carioca, an Egyptian belly dancer and film actress, whom she asked to bring a food processor to prepare meals for patients who were having difficulty eating.

I used to put the rice and the vegetables and the meat and have [the patients] drink it. ... This made them more healthy. And [the hospital] used to have visitors coming to us and reporters from all over the world to see. This [is] where AUC is. And [these were] the students, girls and boys. And teachers. So I was very happy. We stayed there for about two months.

War Stories

Sullivan describes how Cairenes got their news about the battlefront during the war.

[At AUC], we had meetings during the war, no classes, and [I would] come in on the train. And people are excited, they're talking. I didn't know what the heck they're saying, but they've all got newspapers and they're pointing to stories and there are pictures. I can't read Arabic at the time, but they've got pictures of stuff that's going on in the war.

During the war, something happened [that] I was immediately made aware was unusual. ... Egyptians were getting news from Egyptian news sources. Now, let me explain what I mean by that. Up to that time, if, you know, the Egyptian, I will have to call it upper middle class or even elite -- they would have access to what was going on in the world and in Egypt by listening to the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation] or the VOA [Voice of America] or Radio Monte Carlo. Radio Monte Carlo was a big hit, and the reason was simple: It was news that was actually news. It wasn't censored. It wasn't interpreted through some political screen. So if they want to know how their troops were doing, how the war was going, they would listen to Monte Carlo, they would listen to the BBC. They would also listen to or watch television news, what little there was. And if they found the BBC and Egyptian news were saying the same thing, they were thrilled. Because it [means] the government is telling us the truth.

Life Goes On

Despite the war, many living in Cairo in October 1973 were able to enjoy hobbies and make connections with others. Spencer reflects on social life during this time.

We didn't have a curfew during the day, so if I didn't go roll bandages or do whatever else it was I was doing with the students and other faculty members, I had a group of people that I went out horseback riding [with].

And then as it started to get toward dark, we'd always make [our way] back home. However, within every quarter, I would say, Zamalek, Garden City, Maadi, people violated the curfew as they wished. Some of my closest friends happened to live just a block and a half away from me on Tolombat [Street]. We spent many a night till about 9:00 or 10:00, playing cards and just sitting around talking.

While out and about, Spencer and a friend discovered a group of stranded American tourists who were meeting at the Hilton in Zamalek every night. Most of them had been vacationing in Cairo when the war broke out and were now waiting to be evacuated safely from Egypt.

Because of course the embassy was trying to get them out. And I think they ended up going out through ... a boat from Libya. And they had to pay for it.

Spencer and her friend were invited for breakfast with a Catholic family one morning.

They noticed that we were taking the sugar out of the container at the table and they said "Why is that?" And I said, "Well, sugar is being rationed right now, and we don't have any." And so they started saving their sugar. I think it was about three, four days before they actually got away. So we had a huge stash of sugar from them, from the Hilton.

And for about the next two years, this family used to send like a little care package back to

Cairo. It would take months, several months to get here, and be full of sugar and just, candy, and well wishes, and maybe a book or two. I lost track of 'em many, many years ago, but it was just one of those kinds of things -- you bond with people in a certain way, you know, in a catastrophe, where you're swept up by the circumstances. But what was important for me was the fact that they were so positive about Egypt. And they had enjoyed their time here. They really didn't have an agenda ... They were curious to see how it was going to turn out.

For Sullivan, adjusting to life in Cairo during this tense period was a great way to get to know Egyptians.

It was actually a good introduction to the country and the people. A better introduction than AUC could have possibly organized because ... you could see people under stress. My father always said there are a couple of ways to really understand what people are like. ... So one test is what happens when you get in the wilderness? It's a Hobbesian test. What do you do when there is no law, when there is no order, when there is no government? How do people behave? And another one is when you're under great stress. Well, the whole country was under great stress. And they behaved well.

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By Devon Murray

Ahmed Elshireef is a 19-year-old computer engineering sophomore from Tanta, a recipient of AUC's Egyptian Public Schools Scholarship and co- founder of the award-winning speech therapy app, Lothgha. After just two years on the market, Lothgha boasts 55,000 users and dozens of success stories. Recently, Elshireef and the team won first place nationally at the Hult Prize competition and moved on to be among the top six teams at the Global Finals event in London.

AUCToday sat down with Elshireef to learn more.

What inspired you to start Lothgha?

Two important people in my life have speech disorders: my brother, who has a lisp, and my friend and co-founder, Hamza Abu-alkhair, who has had a stutter for 20 years. Speech issues can cause people to lose job opportunities and contribute to increased bullying and subsequent psychological problems. Hamza and I found that there were no virtual speech therapy solutions available in Egypt, so we decided to build an app that would offer just that.

How did you turn this into a reality?

Hamza and I started working with a speech specialist adviser to digitize the treatment that is usually performed in speech centers. We then tested it on 100 users through a survey. Each one of them was completely cured of their speech issues by using our program.

Today, Lothgha has been running remotely in Egypt for two years. We have about 14 full-time employees, six part-timers and 16 volunteers from all over the country. We are a team of expert developers, marketers, speech therapists and designers.

Tell us about Lothgha's mission and values.

Lothgha is more than just an app; it's a community dedicated to giving each voice the story it deserves. We're helping Arabic speakers who have speech issues improve their communication in 38 days through daily exercises, AI-powered assessments and a direct line to speech professionals around the world.

Mentorship is also big for us. We support the community through our volunteer program, which is open to everyone who wants to learn programming, make a difference and show the world what Egypt can do.

Two years in, what impact has Lothgha had on users?

With 55,000 users, we are proud of our many success stories. Lothgha has helped a 55-year-old grandfather reconnect with his grandchildren, supported an Arabic teacher who was bullied by his students for his speech issues and enabled many others to enroll in mass communication and military universities where fluent speech is a requirement. These stories keep us aware of the great responsibility we have to support those in need.

Having helped so many people when I'm just a sophomore in university makes me proud of what we have been able to achieve. It always amazes me what people can do -- whether that's me, the team or our users.

How did you initially get Lothgha off the ground?

We first entered the Apps UP 2022 Huawei Global App Innovation Contest. We won Best Arabic App Award and Best Social Impact Award for the Middle East and Africa, securing $20,000. We used the money to build a team and enter other competitions for startups that have a social impact, such as theGoodwill Incubator, where we won first place and EGP 100,000.

It's a funny story, but we got major funding and mentorship after losing the StartSmart competition in Saudi Arabia. There, we met an amazing and experienced Saudi entrepreneur who invested in us and became our partner, guiding us through the financial process. It was then that Lothgha became a true startup.

Recently, Lothgha joined the Hult Prize, where we competed against 10,000 applications, won the national competition -- securing another EGP 100,000 in funding -- and made it to the top six at the Global Finals event in London. We are always juggling many competitions at once. Not only do they help with funding, but they also bring up the morale of the team. Winning makes us happy!

• Elshireef (center right) at the Hult Prize Global Finals event in London
• Elshireef and Abu-alkhair at the Global Finals event in London
• Elshireef and Abu-alkhair in London
• Elshireef and Abu-alkhair in London

Photos courtesy of Ahmed Elshireef

Lothgha is more than just an app; it's a community dedicated to giving each voice the story it deserves.

What challenges have you faced?

As exciting as the startup world can be, it is also stressful, especially competitions. You're representing your country and everyone who has supported you, which is a lot of pressure. As a student, it can also be hard to balance work with my studies.

Thankfully, my professors are very helpful and understanding, and my parents also keep me in line to finish my studies. What has helped me work-wise is delegating tasks to other managers, recruiting strong people who can handle these tasks and freeing time responsibly without causing slowdown within the company.

Speaking of free time, how do you spend yours?

Most of my hobbies are related to programming and side projects that have helped me learn from my mistakes and grow. I spend a lot of time with the AUC Robotics Club, where an amazing team of robotics enthusiasts and I are working on making a replica of the Stars Wars character BB-8. Recently, we won first place at an American Society of Mechanical Engineers robotics competition for our vine robot, created with a flexible design inspired by natural vines.

I don't drink hot beverages like coffee or tea as I know I will get addicted to them. What sustains me is the thrill of each new adventure I get myself into, and the adrenaline rush is enough to keep me up for days.

What first piqued your interest in programming and robotics?

I was born and raised in Saudi Arabia and moved to Egypt when I was only 12 years old. When I came here, I felt alone. My only friend at the time was my laptop, Kali, which I used to attend online courses for programming and robotics. Eventually I attended the course in person, where I was encouraged by the owner of the robotics center to join competitions.

I ended up winning the Young Inventor Competition when I was 13 for a robot called Robotica and second place in the 2020 FIRST LEGO League Egypt. My skills were also boosted when the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools. No school meant more time for programming, so I went in headfirst and learned everything I could.

What advice do you have for others who are new to competitions?

The most important thing isn't to win or lose but to learn from experiences and build your network of people with similar interests. Always push yourself so you can find out all that you are capable of doing.

Where do you see Lothgha in five years?

We recently realized that we are sitting on a treasure trove of data that can help even more people. By the end of this year, we will have collected around 30 million voice records, which could be used to improve speech recognition systems that don't yet have the ability to understand individuals with speech impairments. Through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, we have reached out to companies with established speech recognition systems like Google, Apple and Amazon to discuss partnerships.

Our dreams are growing every single day, reaching for higher skies. We're trying to do something bigger -- help more communities and reach more people. Wherever I say we will be in five years will certainly change after five years have passed.

Watch video of the award-winning speech therapy app.

Earlier this year, Salma Awad boarded a plane heading to Athens. Watching Egypt disappear as she crossed the Mediterranean, her emotions teetered between excitement and anxiety. Having traveled before, she carefully researched her destination's culture, food and tourist traps and was ready to reach out to locals for friendship and guidance.

After just four months living in Greece, which included hiking a volcano, becoming an expert in using charades to overcome language barriers and eating plenty of souvlaki, Awad returned to Cairo -- the same person outward, but inward, forever different.

"Life-changing" is an oft-used term when people reflect on travel. Exiting the comfort zone and exploring a new city and culture can have a profound impact on a person's worldview. Sometimes, such a change is immediately noticeable, while at other times, we don't recognize the shift until long after we return home.

Now back at AUC, Awad, an architecture senior, shares some of her memorable experiences and insights about her semester abroad at The American College of Greece.

___

I believe that Greece picked me.

The first thing I was drawn to was the country's abundance of nature. I am a nature-driven person. I can spend hours staring into the sea's horizon or listening to the songs of birds and the rustle of leaves as the wind passes through. When I first googled the campus in Athens, the greenery surrounding the campus spoke to me. I knew that it was my place to go.

Same, but Different

Egyptians and Greeks have very similar cultures, from the way we talk and our mannerisms to the food we eat. But there are differences.

Early on in my travels, I experienced the bystander effect, which isn't really a thing in Egypt. My roommate, who is also Egyptian, and I had just finished our first grocery run, and it was a 30-minute, uphill walk back to the dorms. Our bags began to rip, and our groceries spilled onto the sidewalk. Panicking, we looked around to find people staring, yet no one offered help. We laughed it off, but this was a big shock: realizing that this reaction isn't always present in other countries. I think this challenge of cultural norms made us more independent and taught us how to handle -- and laugh off -- stressful situations.

Life Lessons

No matter the duration, living in another country comes with emotional challenges. The biggest challenge there was being away from my family. It may sound small when I write "four months," but I haven't been away from my family for that long before. There were days when I felt homesick -- especially during Ramadan and Eid -- and I'd cry to them and tell them how much I missed them. Other days, I'd remind myself, and be reminded, that this is a great opportunity to learn, grow and develop as a person, so I should make the most out of this experience.

The most important thing I learned was how to face my fears. My professors, friends, roommate and family all challenged me to do this in different ways. In my Color 1 class, I learned that when I'm afraid to do something, I should close my eyes and open my ears to my gut. One's gut feeling is powerful and can help navigate through fear. My professor taught me that it's okay if my painting comes out terrible or ruined. Sometimes it's about the process and not the outcome because the outcome will happen eventually. It's the process that needs to be worked on.

While abroad, I realized I forgot that I believe in magic -- which for me, is the product of the colors and emotions within a space. When I think of a memory, I remember how a particular room or part of nature made me feel, and what its color was. Moving forward in my education and career, when I design a space, I want to make sure that I remember to make it feel colorful, kinder, welcoming and, most of all, magical.

Unpacking Wisdom

I feel very lucky and grateful for the eternity of the study-abroad experience. It helped me figure out what I want and need in my life and career, as well as how I wish to pursue my academic work. Travel makes you aware of your true likes and preferences when you are on your own. It teaches one more empathy and understanding of differences. Everyone's experience is by far different from the other, but if you remind yourself to enjoy all that comes, no matter how different, challenging or experiential, you'll understand how it was all worth it.

Most importantly, remember to bring back your experiences home with you. It can be challenging at first, but your learnings aren't restricted to the place you acquired them. You come home and continue to learn from them.

When you return, I suggest reflecting intensely on your experiences, including what you liked and what you wish you could improve for next time. The realization of how you matured and your increased ability to read situations and people will be one of your greatest moments.

There are two simple ingredients to know if you've actually changed: It's all about reflection and the habits you created in your time abroad. Believe you did change. You just need to sit with yourself and reflect on all the good, bad and everything in-between circumstances and situations you've been through during your time abroad.

By Dalia Al Nimr

In his book, Age Is Just a Number, the late Charles Eugster recounted his experiences as a retired dental surgeon. He revived his passion for competitive rowing at age 63, ventured into bodybuilding at 87 and embraced sprinting for the first time at 95. His remarkable achievements include securing 40 gold medals in World Masters Rowing, claiming world championship titles in 200-meter indoor and 400-meter outdoor races, and setting world records for his age group in various sports. Eugster died in 2017 at age 97.

While not everybody can be record- breaking athletes at an older age, it's up to each individual to make the most of their time in this life. "Age is really just a number," said Mohamed Salama, professor at AUC's Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology. "Healthy aging is all in the mindset."

This year, Salama is launching "AL- SEHA [Health]: A Longitudinal Study of Egyptian Healthy Aging," the first nationally representative panel study on aging in Egypt. The first of its kind in the Middle East, the study aims to fill knowledge gaps to help set policies and effective healthcare strategies that improve the lives of the country's elderly population.

AUCToday spoke with Salama on AL-SEHA and what it takes to be happy and healthy.

What is healthy aging?

The word "health" in itself does not connote the absence of disease. Healthy elderly people still have illnesses. The true definition of health is improving one's quality of life. This notion of health is becoming correlated with the term "happy aging," whereby as people age, they are content, independent and engaged in community activities while maintaining a good physical quality of life.

A 2023 paper published in Cell journal argues that aging is a reversible process, based on experiments with mice. Can aging be reversed? Can the body "reset itself?"

Reverse aging is too ambitious. Such experiments have been successful with reverse aging in mice through gene manipulation in a controlled experimental setting. However, humans have different exposures and ways of living. So theoretically yes, the body can reset itself in a controlled environment, but realistically, this can't happen because you can't control all of the variables around you. This is the problem with basic research: oversimplification.

What's a more realistic approach?

Applied research, which is more accurate and aims to improve quality of life while postponing or slowing down the aging process. It's normal to have a decline in cognitive and other functions as you get older. Our role as scientists is to postpone this to 80 or 90 years of age, especially since life expectancy is increasing. So we're looking at a gradual, not sharp, decline that can be accommodated and doesn't hit elderly people hard.

How does that happen?

There are two tracks to study aging: purely biological, which ignores the complexity of human beings, and a social science path, where scientists study human experiences throughout life. The best approach merges both tracks, and this is where longitudinal studies come in.

How does the AL-SEHA study work?

Before getting into the aging phase, which begins at around 45 or 50 years of age, we follow up with individuals who are in good physical and mental health. We do this every couple of years for a decade or two. At age 60, we examine when the decline happens and identify possible contributing factors: Is it specific experiences they went through, such as work, diet, sports or marriage? Is it where they live or how much education they have completed? Embracing the complexity of human beings is a main pillar in longitudinal studies, and such determinants provide us with real-time data to analyze.

"We need to embrace aging and understand its determinants. It's a normal process."

How do you use this data to assess cognitive aging?

We identify modifiable risk factors. So far, there are 12: lower levels of education, physical inactivity, air pollution, excessive alcohol, smoking, head injury, infrequent social contact, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, depression and hearing impairment. If we can control them, we'll probably be able to postpone, decrease, slow down and, in some cases, eliminate the risk by up to 40%. We basically match each of these lifestyle aspects with biological factors.

Can you illustrate this from everyday life?

Take education, for example. The number of years of education is directly proportional to cognitive functions. The more educated you are, the lesser the chance of cognitive decline. Continuing education and graduate studies are even better. Also, people who are skilled in memorization have a high cognitive reserve, meaning their brains are resilient to new demands and damage and are therefore less likely to develop cognitive diseases later on. Family coherence, or the degree of love from primary caregivers, also affects cognitive functions among the elderly. Even coffee can protect against neurological diseases and cognitive decline. Studies have shown that four cups of coffee a day could help prevent Parkinson's and dementia. On the other hand, stress, trauma and pollution can negatively affect cognitive processes.

Why are aging studies important?

There has been a growing global interest in healthy aging studies because they reveal the challenges and opportunities that will face the world in the future, especially in low- and middle-income countries that suffer from a lack of data in this field. Aging studies can help prevent the development of major diseases, such as cancer and dementia, including Alzheimer's.

What is different about the study you're conducting?

AL-SEHA is the first to apply the U.S.- based health and retirement survey, which has been implemented on a global scale, to the Middle East. With longitudinal studies, it's important

to understand the human condition in one's own country versus others. For example, a study conducted in a war-torn country will be different from one where there is no conflict because human experiences and exposures stand in stark contrast.

Why start with Egypt?

Egypt is the most populated country in the Middle East and the third in Africa. Although the country's population is relatively young, the number of elderly people is rising. Egypt is in an ideal position to prepare its population for healthy aging to help reduce access inequities and age-based discrimination while facilitating the evaluation of current health policies.

How big is the project?

It started in 2021 with a pilot study in coordination with AUC's Social Research Center and will expand to include about 20,000 participants aged over 50, representing all of Egypt's governorates. The study will span at least 10 years, with researchers following up with participants every two years to track changes in their health. We will collaborate with government agencies, civil society and nonprofit organizations in Egypt, in addition to the SHARE project, which researches the connection between policy and quality of life for European citizens and beyond.

What's the main message you wish to convey through this research?

Aging is not a disease. If people view aging as a biological problem or illness, their life expectancy falls back four years. There is still a misconception that the elderly should retire and stay at home. On the contrary, working reduces the chances of a sharp decline in health and cognitive functions. We shouldn't make the elderly feel like they have a problem. There will be some decline, of course, but one can remain healthy at 70, 80 and even 90 years of age. We need to embrace aging and understand its determinants. It's a normal process and shouldn't be accompanied by major morbidities or lethal diseases.

By Claire Davenport

The educational card game Al Foora brings new meaning to the word "monumental." The game, created by AUC student Lena Boraei, teaches children about important antiquities, highlighting 30 significant landmarks in Cairo's Al Khalifa neighborhood.

Players compete by placing down the top card in their hand and comparing numerical categories about the monuments on their cards such as "size" and "century." The player with the highest number in a given category wins that round. Boraei, a history and graphic design junior, spent hours researching each building. She developed the deck as part of an internship with Athar Lina community initiative.

• Boraei at the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
• Boraei holds up a card depicting the Mosque of Qanibay al-Rammah in front of the monument in Cairo's Citadel Square, photo by Ahmad El-Nemr
• Boraei holds up a card depicting the Sabil Umm Abbas in front of the monument, which is currently undergoing renovation, photo by Ahmad El-Nemr

Athar Lina, which translates to "The monument is ours," is a conservation project that aims to engage citizens in preservation efforts and reframe monuments as community resources. Their programs are all geared toward creating a sense of ownership between Al Khalifa residents and their cultural heritage. The project is managed by Megawra - BEC, a partnership between Megawra, an architecture firm focusing on conservation and heritage management, and the Built Environment Collective, a cultural and urban development NGO.

Boraei was connected to Athar Lina for her History of Cairo class, taught by Pascale Ghazaleh '93, '97, associate professor and chair of AUC's Department of History. Through the course, Ghazaleh wanted to give students the chance to get out of the classroom and engage in current debates around preservation and tourism.

"A question that has fascinated me for a long time is, 'Who owns things that are supposed to belong to everyone?' I thought the students should be immersed in these conversations," Ghazaleh explained. "I want them to understand that the city is theirs too and that they are part of the struggles over its past and future."

Inside Khalifa

Boraei had the idea for Al Foora on a field trip to Al Khalifa with her class. She recounted seeing a shop in the neighborhood where they sold artisan products and games that reflected the history of the area. "I thought, 'Why not do it for monuments in the neighborhood and direct it toward children?'" she said. "They see these buildings every day but might not know anything about them."

Al Khalifa encompasses the area stretching from Ibn Tulun Mosque to the Al-Sayyida Nafisa shrine and contains monuments dating as far back as the ninth century. But despite being on UNESCO's World Heritage List, some antiquities in the neighborhood are at risk of demolition or degradation.

"There is a problem there with sewers, and the water is starting to erode buildings from the ground up," Boraei explained. "Some could collapse."
Additionally, neighborhood residents can have complicated relationships with the nearby monuments. While these landmarks have the potential to generate income, shape local identity and function as community hubs, residents often lack control over the maintenance of these spaces and the potential impact of tourism on both themselves and the surrounding areas.

"These monuments are a part of their lives. People use them for prayer, commerce and other activities," Ghazaleh explained. "Having said
that, their sense of ownership is often at odds with the official discourse about preservation, which is oriented toward tourists." Games like Boraei's can raise awareness of these issues and enable children to connect with their heritage -- making sure these landmarks don't get lost in the shuffle.

Looking ahead, Boraei would love to make card games featuring monuments from other neighborhoods around Cairo. "I want to keep history exciting and show it to people in a more artistic format," she said.
More than anything, Boraei wants the game to be fun. "When people play it, I want them to take something from it and enjoy their day," she said. "Otherwise, it's just information about monuments, and that's less enticing."
 

While AUC's New Cairo campus is surrounded by modern developments, Cairo as a whole is a treasure trove of historic Islamic monuments. We spoke to two of AUC's experts on Islamic architecture about some of their favorite buildings and the fascinating history around them, including a few hidden gems -- some only recently reopened to the public.

What makes Cairo unique is its exceptionally long history of urban development as a capital city, combined with its lack of devastating conquests such as those suffered by Baghdad or Damascus. "Of any Islamic city, Cairo probably has the greatest range and density of monuments," remarks Bernard O'Kane, professor of Islamic art and architecture. "It has wonderful monuments from all the major dynasties -- Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman and Khedival.

Now open after 10 years of renovations is the Suleiman Pasha Mosque inside the Citadel of Saladin. The mosque is one of the earliest Ottoman monuments in Cairo, built soon after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517. For that reason, Pascale Ghazaleh '93, '97, associate professor and chair of AUC's Department of History, describes the mosque as "a perfect balance between Mamluk and Ottoman styles," emphasizing its unique position between two of Egypt's historical dynasties. "It has quite a warm and intimate feeling," observes Ghazaleh, in contrast with the imposing scale of the surrounding Citadel walls.

The Suleiman Pasha Mosque also has "one of the finest painted interiors of any 16th-century Ottoman building" anywhere in the world, says O'Kane, who affirms that original Ottoman artwork of this type can hardly even be found in Turkey, as most mosque interiors were painted over in the 19th century. For art historians, the mosque is "a fabulous example of the early Ottoman style," as O'Kane puts it.

Another standout monument of Cairo is perhaps more well known: the massive Sultan Hasan mosque-mausoleum complex. "The fact that it's so big is surprising, given that it was built while the Black Death was raging in Egypt -- which you would automatically think would be an adverse factor, as there wasn't a lot of labor or money to go around," says O'Kane. "In fact, the opposite was true: Because so many complete families died, there was no one left to inherit, and the money went into the state coffers instead."

Visitors may also notice that the walls of the complex are pockmarked, particularly those facing the Citadel. These were not part of the original design, to put it mildly, O'Kane explains. "When a Mamluk sultan died, there was no fixed method of succession," says O'Kane. "So frequently, coteries of emirs battled each other for power in the streets.

At one stage, they found that the walls of the Sultan Hasan complex were so massive that they could support cannons, which these groups dragged up onto the roof and started firing toward the Citadel. Not surprisingly, the Citadel fired back. Fortunately, the walls were so massive that they just left a few dents in the stonework without causing the building to collapse." The fortress capabilities of the complex proved such a threat to the Citadel's supremacy that Sultan Al-Mu'ayyad had its staircases demolished to prevent cannons from being brought onto the roof, says O'Kane.

• The Sama'khana, illustration by Em Mills
• Sinan Pasha Mosque, illustration by Em Mills
• Suleiman Pasha Mosque, illustration by Em Mills

"Of any Islamic city, Cairo probably has the greatest range and density of monuments."

Just down the street from Sultan Hasan is one of Ghazaleh's favorite architectural sites, reopened after years of painstaking restoration. The Sama'khana is a historic Sufi theater built by the Mevlevi Order for mystical performances of song and dance.

According to Ghazaleh, the building is "a palimpsest of different styles" and sports a brilliant 19th-century, Ottoman-style painted wooden ceiling and dome, which have been restored by a joint Italian-Egyptian team of artisans. "They did everything very carefully by hand, which is in stark contrast to many other restoration projects that we see being undertaken by contractors," she notes. After years of work, the Sama'khana is open once again and hosts live performances open to the public.

Ghazaleh concludes with a site far from the typical medieval core of Islamic Cairo. The Sinan Pasha Mosque in Boulaq is "off the beaten path in the sense that it's in a part of Cairo that was far from the center of religious and cultural life," better known as a fluvial trading hub. The mosque "gives an idea of how diverse Ottoman rule was and how it adapted to different environments," she explains. Seeing the Sinan Pasha Mosque in the middle of modern Boulaq, a dense neighborhood of high-rise office towers and apartments, is like seeing an old friend," says Ghazaleh. "It feels somehow comforting."

By Claire Davenport

Carbon is a major indicator of climate change. In the last century, the amount of carbon in our air has exponentially risen to a record high of over 400 particles per million -- a level reached on Earth only millions of years ago. Yet while carbon emissions have a volume measurable in units of metric tons, calculating the amount any given country, organization or even person is emitting yearly is a difficult task.

When AUC initially decided to measure its carbon footprint in 2011, it faced similar challenges. However, since the first task force was commissioned to assemble this data, the University has lowered its energy consumption by 35% and published six climate footprint reports. "We measure everything in these reports, from our water and electricity use down to our composting and recycling activities," said Khaled Tarabieh, University architect and associate professor of sustainable design in the Department of Architecture.

AUC is a pioneer in Egypt and the region in terms of measuring and publishing its carbon footprint. The University's desire to share its knowledge in this area is what inspired the idea to create AUC's Data Hub for Climate Change Mitigation -- a new initiative that is in its initial phase and will bring together AUC faculty from diverse disciplines to share measurement tools with higher education institutions in the region.

As Tarabieh, the project's principal investigator (PI), noted, "The dream team of Co-PIs is formed of faculty who are experts in their specializations and in what they can contribute to this ambitious project: Nouri Sakr '13 (computer science), who is a leader in building data hubs; Ali Awni (business), who specializes in operations management and environmental policy; Omar Abdelaziz (mechanical engineering), who focuses on building mechanical and energy systems; Ahmed El-Gendy (construction engineering), whose work centers on environmental and water resources; and Sherif Goubran '14 (architecture), a sustainability expert and one of the key contributors to AUC's carbon footprint report."

Despite AUC holding instructional events with other universities to share how it puts together its climate footprint report, there weren't tangible results, Tarabieh said. "This is not due to a lack of interest, but rather to a lack of resources for collecting information and conducting data analysis in a validated and institutional way," he noted.

The data hub overcomes these barriers by allowing AUC to create a centralized database across higher education institutions in Egypt and beyond. AUC faculty members will train other institutions on how to collect their energy data, analyze the information, and pass on insights and learnings. "Through the hub, we will be able to scale the methodologies and best practices we've successfully piloted at AUC, equipping other institutions across Egypt and North Africa with the ability to measure their carbon footprints and take action. It will also help us aggregate and assess trends over time as well as across universities and countries while compiling best practices in tackling climate change."

Data hubs can operate as a mechanism for accountability. Once other institutions are presented with their climate impact, they will have more of an incentive to make a change. Tarabieh believes this will create channels for universities to collaborate in the fight against climate challenges.

"We hope that a data hub like this could ultimately inform how many institutions -- banks, hospitals and airports -- measure their carbon footprints, drawing on the hub for best strategies to lower their emissions," he said. "The more measurable data within the hub, the more institutions can learn how best to be energy-efficient and, most importantly, know the areas of their operations to control their daily emissions. This way, sustainability is more than a goal. It becomes a value."

He added, "For me, this topic isn't just strategic for our operations but for our future as well. It's not about competition. It's about the achievement of a higher level of building performance and data acquisition, and what a consortium of higher education institutions can put together for others to follow."