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By Sara Ali | This regular guest-written column appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday

Sara Ali. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

Team leader Sara Ali is an undergraduate student majoring in construction engineering and minoring in business management. Her team in Shell's Imagine the Future competition was made up of Ahmed Samir, economics; Salma El Maghraby, political science and anthropology; Salma Morsy, actuarial science; Mohamed Saad, petroleum engineering; Rana El Semary, mechanical engineering; and Ahmed Azzam, who is pursuing a Master of Science in construction engineering. AUC's School of Business and Shell Global collaborated to provide the six semi-finalist AUC teams with training sessions on campus, delivered by AUC faculty members and both Shell Egypt and Shell Global stakeholders.

This year, I had a life-changing experience, to say the least. I, along with my team, won second place in Shell's Imagine the Future competition in Singapore, where participants were required to build scenarios of what cleaner energy would look like for an Egyptian city in 2050.

I was in the library when I read about the competition, and this is where we randomly formed our group. I met a couple of my friends who were participating individually, and we decided to form a team, calling other friends who were interested. Our team was made up of seven AUC students -- all from completely different majors, which I believe helped us the most throughout the competition.

As a team, we all had very strong personalities, which made it difficult for us to agree on an idea -- and this was our major setback. Everything that we began to work on was eventually thrown away, and we had to start over. But then we found that we were running out of time and had to compromise a little. It was then that I realized that when we combined all our perspectives, we were able to actually visualize the scenario of Egypt more clearly.

It wasn't just our majors, but also our skills and characteristics, which we gained either socially or through AUC's cocurricular activities, that made all the difference. Our team included the creative, analytical, bold, attentive to detail, research-focused and goal-oriented. It was a good mix.

The process of scenario-building is very complicated, but AUC's School of Business organized several sessions in collaboration with Shell, featuring AUC professors as well as professionals working in Egypt's agricultural sector. This helped us define and refine the scope of our research.

We found out that Egypt has taken steps to overcome its energy problems stemming from its rapidly increasing population. In addition, the country took several renewable energy initiatives. And this was another impediment, since we had to focus on factors other than renewable energy as we know it.

As part of our scenario-building, we had to imagine external and internal factors in 2050 that would affect the form of renewable energy that will be used in Egypt. We came up with two scenarios: 1) A centralized Egypt, where the government would own most of the industries and would regulate agriculture. Thus, the government's resort to renewable energy solutions would be in the form of large-scale investment technologies, such as real-time maps to advise farmers on which plants to grow in certain areas and advances in solar water systems. 2) Entrepreneurship driving Egypt's policies and economy. The second scenario would adopt a completely different form of renewable energy -- a variety of solutions enough for a small business or startup to be profitable. Entrepreneurs would be given room for research, which would lead to innovations such as smart fertilizers, use of artificial intelligence to monitor crops and multiple sources of energy.

Our presentation consisted of two animated videos showing how the daily lives of Egyptians would vary according to each scenario. We also had a presidential debate between two candidates, each promoting one of the scenarios. It was very challenging competing against smart, well-driven groups from prominent universities such as Yale-NUS College in Singapore, which came in first, and Chiang Mai University in Thailand, which came in third.

During an interview in Singapore, I was asked the question of how we as Egyptians can help the government and society adopt these scenarios and technologies. I really believe that Egypt as a country has shown its ability to overcome a lot of challenges, and it has started to develop and ease the process of foreign investment in the country. In addition, a lot of startups are being introduced in Egypt, with venture capital companies and events that cater to the startup arena, such as the successful RiseUp Summit.

So in answer to the question, I believe that Egypt is already taking significant steps toward advancement. We just need to change our mindsets toward energy usage in terms of water, food and electricity. We need to make the community aware of the dilemma that Egypt will be facing. We need the government's support in doing what it takes to actually make Egypt as progressive and self-sufficient as it ought to be. We can do it if we all work together for the sake of our beloved Egypt.

 

These quotes appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

Click here for the full story about AUC's GSE-ERC educator training program.

The first cohort of AUC's GSE-ERC program recently celebrated the completion of its professional training program, ushering in another cohort of public school teachers.
Through such collaborative initiatives, AUC encourages external entities to build programs and projects that promote positive local change. In this way, AUC acts as the nucleus of educational transformation in Egypt, both producing knowledge and effecting change through its own programs while also establishing partnerships to pioneer impactful projects using the University's venues and resources.

"It's a very good initiative because different companies and businessmen fund the training of public school teachers at AUC as part of their professional development," said Heba El Deghaidy, associate professor and chair of AUC's Department of International and Comparative Education.

Here's what public school teachers involved in the program had to say about its impact.

"I benefited a lot from this program. We learned new strategies and teaching methods for children. We learned that students don't have problems; it's teachers who need to enhance their skills. If we are able to understand children's mentality and psychology, we would be able to benefit students: developing innovative minds, opening their horizons, helping them understand how to think. We don't all have to be doctors or engineers. We just need to know what we want and how to serve well in the fields that we are passionate about."

- Amira Mohamed Ahmed
KG Teacher, Al Sayida Khadija
Umm Al-Mu'mineen school,
East Shubra Al Kheima

"This program developed many things in my personality. I learned how to share knowledge with my colleagues and how to exchange teaching experiences. The most useful course for me was focused on how to deal with technology and relay your material to students in an effective and up-to-date way. The way we were trained at AUC is really excellent, very different. As a teacher, I changed completely."

- Saeed Ghoneim
English Teacher, Al Khosous
Language School, Al Khosous

"We are in an advanced, high-tech age, so we learned in this program how to help students search for information on the internet and expand their knowledge through technology. We also learned as teachers how to create collaborative initiatives between classmates and peers, as well as how to effectively divide students into groups when carrying out activities. We also understood more about learning difficulties: how to discover them and, more importantly, how to deal with them in the proper way. We learned new teaching strategies, particularly how to make use of class discussions and diversify our teaching methods so students would benefit to become effective, modernized citizens."

- Kholoud Mohamed El Shahat
KG Teacher, Ahmed Shawki School,
Al Matareya

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By the News@AUC team | These stories appeared online at aucegypt.edu/news and in this format in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

Longtime AUCian Richard Bartlett

Richard Bartlett Chairs Board of Trustees

AUC's Board of Trustees elected Richard Bartlett, managing director of Resource Holdings Ltd, as its chairman, succeeding Atef Eltoukhy '74, chairman of Aurum Capital Management.

Bartlett has known AUC since his childhood, when he lived in Egypt during his father Thomas Bartlett's tenure as AUC president from 1963 to 1969. Sharing his father's passion for education and for AUC, Richard Bartlett has been a trustee since 2003 and previously served as chairman of the board. Richard Bartlett has contributed significant time and energy to the University, as well as philanthropic support for numerous programs and scholarships. In 2011, he established the Molly Bartlett Endowed Scholarship in his mother's name to support top-performing Egyptian public school students who wish to attend AUC.

More recently, Richard Bartlett and his brother Paul Bartlett, both AUC trustees and Princeton University graduates, established the Bartlett Family Fund for Innovation and International Collaboration between AUC and their alma mater.

"Richard Bartlett has extensive experience as board chairman and is a dedicated and committed trustee," said AUC President Francis Ricciardone. "We are proud to have him lead the board during this momentous time for the University with the centennial campaign and celebrations in 2019 -- ushering the next 100 years of excellence, innovation and service."

Bartlett received his JD from Yale Law School and his BA from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University. Before joining Resource Holdings Ltd, a private equity firm in New York City, he served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, and prior to that, as a law clerk on the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the boards of several private companies.

"I am honored to serve the Board of Trustees again in this capacity and will build on Atef Eltoukhy's able leadership," said Bartlett. "AUC is a very unique institution with a strong and vibrant community. I look forward to working with President Ricciardone, the Board of Trustees and the AUC community as a whole as the University enters another milestone in its history."

Read the full story here.

Accreditation Aced: AUC's Accreditation Reaffirmed

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) has reaffirmed its accreditation of AUC through the 2026-2027 academic year. The University received the top level of MSCHE's reaffirmation of accreditation, without any requirements. Out of 523 institutions worldwide that are accredited by MSCHE, only 17 -- including AUC -- are outside of the United States, with four in the Middle East. AUC is the only University in Egypt that holds this accreditation.

"Congratulations and thank you to all whose daily work to make AUC an amazing institution has won us this vitally important, highest official recognition of our performance at, or exceeding, the highest American standards," said President Francis Ricciardone.

After a rigorous self-assessment process and the production of a 100-page self-study report, AUC welcomed a team from MSCHE in March 2018 to observe the University's congruence with its self-study, determine AUC's compliance with MSCHE standards, provide recommendations for areas that can be further enhanced and meet with all AUC constituencies. AUC's Accreditation Steering Committee had been compiling data, considering University needs and seeking input from community members, to finalize the self-evaluation presented to the MSCHE team.

With AUC's recent reaffirmation of accreditation, MSCHE gave recommendations and noted a number of AUC accomplishments, including the establishment of Employability and Career Development Centers at several Egyptian public universities; improvement of the enrollment process; implementation of a cocurricular transcript; integration of planning, resource allocation and assessment in all areas of the University; as well as documentation and data usage for planning and assessment.

"In higher education, institutional accreditation by a reputable agency such as the Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an unparalleled hallmark of quality," attested Iman Megahed '90, '93, AUC's chief strategy and institutional effectiveness officer.

"At a time when accreditation is becoming considerably more rigorous, with accreditation probation and warnings issued to some institutions worldwide, AUC's accreditation was reaffirmed and praised on multiple fronts by the visiting team. Every member of the AUC community can feel a genuine sense of pride that they belong and contribute to the well-being and advancement of this University."

Read the full story here.

Nora Abousteit, left, and Kristin Lord, right

Jumping on Board: Nora Abousteit and Kristin Lord

Nora Abousteit '00, founder and CEO of social-crafting business CraftJam Inc., and Kristin Lord, president and CEO of the global development and education nonprofit IREX, are AUC's newest trustees.

Abousteit speaks German, Arabic and English. She graduated from AUC with a bachelor's in Middle East studies and a minor in philosophy. She is the founder of online crafting communities, including the world's largest sewing network, and Kollabora, an online community for DIY [Do It Yourself] projects and makers. Her current company, CraftJam, organizes hundreds of monthly social crafting occasions in New York City.

"My time at AUC was one of the most formative in my life," said Abousteit. "It nurtured a great love of the institution and the people there, as well as a strong belief in the mission of AUC and my responsibility to help carry it forward."

Lord, who received her MA and PhD in government from Georgetown University, previously served as acting president and executive vice president of the United States Institute of Peace and held two associate dean positions at The George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs.

She is also a member of the board of directors for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations. "I am truly honored to join the Board of Trustees of AUC -- an institution devoted to preparing young people to contribute to an even brighter, more prosperous future for the people of Egypt, the region and the world," Lord said.

Read the full story here.

Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr '85, '90 speaks at the midyear commencement

Commencement Speakers: A Tip from the Top

At AUC's 2018 Midyear Commencement, Naguib Sawiris, executive chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding and chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, shared "the secret to success" as the keynote speaker for bachelor's degree candidates. "Don't accept 'no' for an answer," he advised. "Whenever someone tells you it's not possible, don't just trust what [they say]. Try [it] yourself. ... Intelligence without hard work won't get you to the end of the road."

Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr '85, '90 came back to her alma mater at the midyear commencement as the keynote speaker for the graduate Class of 2018. "You will, at some point in time, get disappointed and experience tough times. But never let this put you down -- ever," she affirmed. "When it seems like it's getting too hard, push back even harder. This is the only way you will be an achiever."

At the 95th Commencement held in June 2018, Mahmoud Mohieldin, senior vice president for the 2030 Development Agenda, United Nations Relations and Partnerships at the World Bank Group, received an honorary degree from AUC. "I am profoundly honored," he said, "by the decision of The American University in Cairo and its Board of Trustees to confer upon me the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters." Advising graduates to "broaden the scope of [their] opportunities...beyond borders, beyond disciplines," he said, "Your journey starts now. It is yours to define."

Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat '95 addressed master's and PhD candidates at the June 2018 Commencement. "I just remember my own graduation [from AUC], which happened to be June 22, 1995," she reflected. "I will never forget the vice provost at the time looking at all of us and saying: 'The certificate you have in hand is more important than your marriage certificate. It will not be revoked, and it cannot be nullified.' So to that, congratulations to all of you!"

Read the full story about 2018 graduate and undergraduate commencements here. Click here for videos of the commencement speeches on AUC's YouTube!

Celebrating 50 Years of CASA

At its seventh annual Benefit Dinner in New York, AUC raised more than $600,000 to go toward the Center for Arabic Study Abroad (CASA) Endowment Fund. The fund will support CASA, the world's premier, full-immersion Arabic-language program that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

Prominent and long-standing members of the AUC community, along with Egypt's Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr '85, '90, were present to thank donors and encourage support for the University.

President Francis Ricciardone and Lois "Elle" Johnson

U.S.-based TV writer and producer Lois "Elle" Johnson opened the event by describing her time at AUC in 1986, when she came as a presidential intern to work at the Office of Development. "Although I was not a CASA participant, AUC's Presidential Internship Program opened my eyes to this part of the world," said Johnson, now a writer and producer for shows including CSI: Miami and Law & Order. "It was also my first time living outside of the U.S., in a place where I didn't speak the language and couldn't read any of the signs."

Johnson continued, "I was a black girl who had attended predominantly white schools. At AUC, my right to be there was never questioned. To be thought of as 'other' in your own country then go halfway around the world to finally, casually, be accepted as 'American' was an incredibly empowering experience for me. Being at AUC, being in Egypt made me believe I could do anything."

Dr. Marie Ricciardone, President Francis Ricciardone, Former AUC President Lisa Anderson, Former AUC President David Arnold and Sherry Arnold

Over the last 50 years, CASA graduates have shared Johnson's feeling of empowerment through immersion. A number of the program's alumni came to the dinner -- one of whom took the microphone to share her success story.

Susan Peters (CASA '98), senior advisor at ABANA, described how much the program influenced her language skills and preceding career, which has been spent in nonprofit management, with a focus on the Middle East and North Africa region.

"There's a moment when you stop having to pay attention to language and get to engage in a meaningful exchange of ideas in that language. It's when you actually get the punchline," Peters said. "CASA's real gift is that moment when the penny drops. It provides a self-confidence and familiarity that allow you to be a participant in another culture, not just a student or observer."

To support CASA and contribute to the CASA Endowment Fund click here.

To read the full story about the benefit dinner, click here.

Better off Blended: AUC Offers First Blended Degree in Region, Pairs with MIT

Pioneering new pathways in education, AUC is now the first University in the region to offer a blended degree, pairing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to grant MITx MicroMasters online learners credits that would count toward the completion of a full master's degree at AUC.

AUC is the first University in the world to collaborate with MIT in recognizing credits for this particular online program on Data, Economics, and Development Policy (DEDP), offering a possible pathway to earning a full master's degree from AUC in economics in international development. The Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, one of the largest privately funded philanthropic education initiatives in the world, will fund eligible Arab students for the DEDP.

This move was instigated following the launch of a program, led by the foundation in collaboration with MIT, to build the capacities of AUC and the American University of Beirut faculty members and instructional designers/staff in blended learning. The broader goal of the program is to develop and promote quality online learning in the Arab world.

"I am thrilled that AUC is the first University in the region to take on the exciting challenge of formally adopting blended learning," said Maysa Jalbout, CEO of the Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education. "This is a visionary move and one that will encourage other universities in the region to follow suit and to open up a new world of higher education opportunities for Arab youth."

MIT offers several online MicroMasters credentials through its online course database, MITx. Participants who complete the online program are given the opportunity to use their earned credentials to complete a master's degree in person at MIT. With AUC now in the fold, participants will be able to apply these credits toward completion of a master's degree at the University. "We are excited that AUC will offer credit towards [its] own master's programs to students who complete the DEDP MicroMasters credential and pass the AUC admissions process," said Krishna Rajagopal, dean for digital learning at MIT. "We believe that [this] collaboration will advance the education and careers of many learners who would not otherwise have been able to complete master's degrees."

Online learners who complete the MITx MicroMasters in DEDP will be able to earn nine graduate credit hours toward completion of the AUC master's degree in economics in international development at the School of Business, if accepted into the program. This opportunity will be available to potential applicants to the AUC program in economics in international development starting September 2018.

To read the full story, click here.

 

 

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By Elizabeth Lepro, photos by Ahmad El-Nemr and Elizabeth Lepro| This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

The beginning of a 1995 written history of AUC Press puts it plainly: "The growth of the Press over the last 35 years has been neither smooth nor steady."

Bearing down initially through the trials of working with outdated machinery and paper and ink shortages, and consistently through tough economics and political upheaval, AUC Press has endured a storied history in its persistent pursuit of sharing stories.
Current Director Nigel Fletcher-Jones came to Cairo post-revolution in 2012.

Nigel Fletcher-Jones in his office at the AUC Press headquarters in Downtown Cairo. Photo by Elizabeth Lepro.

"I had a number of things to deal with, not the least that essentially the market for books had simply disappeared in Egypt, almost overnight," the British-born director said, echoing many AUC Press directors who have arrived with a mission to reinvigorate the publishing house after turmoil.

Yet, AUC Press has grown.

A little more than 20 years ago, AUC Press boasted 140 printed works in total, catered to a majority Egyptian readership and had only one location outside of Tahrir. Today, it prints up to 60 books per year, with plans to grow to 80 annually. Fletcher-Jones takes advantage of technological advancement to reach a widening audience, and -- in the last several years -- AUC Press has expanded well beyond University gates.

The most recent successes of AUC Press include creating the Hoopoe fiction imprint in 2016, opening a permanent bookstand at the Egyptian Museum and appearing in Amazon's brick and mortar pop-up shop in Manhattan. Two of its books were internationally recognized as distinguished works of 2016, and three received PROSE Awards in 2017.

These accolades represent the resilience of the publishing house as an institution dedicated, despite the odds, to bringing Egypt and the Middle East to the world.

Humble Beginnings

At the time of its creation by AUC's Board of Trustees in 1960, AUC Press was made up of two staff members. In one room, an Al Ahram editorial executive and his assistant, a journalism professor at AUC, labored over the production of K.A.C. Creswell's A Bibliography of the Architecture, Arts, and Crafts of Islam. The next few directors of AUC Press were also journalism professors, and the institution's main function was to disseminate University research.

As AUC Press worked extensively with the University's New York Office, it became an integral part of the tenuous bridge connecting AUC with North America. Tenuous because in 1967, Egypt broke diplomatic relations with the United States over its support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli War. The upheaval reduced tourism and affected national economics -- two factors that typically sent the success of AUC Press nose-diving.

There was one positive outcome to the political situation: The U.S. Embassy and Cairo American College donated a new paper cutter, a Davidson printer, a camera, a Varityper headliner and other small fundamentals. AUC Press rattled on.

Two years later, Mason Rossiter Smith, a publisher and journalist from the United States, took over as director. Released from the obligation to also teach journalism courses, he took AUC Press beyond its usual borders, sending exhibits to global book fairs and conferences in Europe and the Americas. A book list from this time describes a number of available titles in philosophy and religion, art and architecture, history and English-language learning.

By 1974, several years of conflict in the region meant tourism had once again taken a hit. Imports were low, unemployment was high and exports were only beginning to increase. Director John Rodenbeck said his main objective was "keeping the [AUC] Press alive at all."

The Naguib Mahfouz Legacy

Neil Hewison, who spent 30 years as an editor at AUC Press before retiring last year, remembers getting a mysterious call from Sweden in 1988:

"Hi, can you please tell us how to get in touch with Naguib Mahfouz?'"

The beloved Egyptian novelist had won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature, a turn that neither AUC Press, which owned the rights to translations of his work, nor the author himself anticipated. "It was a surprise to him, and we certainly weren't expecting it," said Hewison.

By the late 1980s, what was once a tiny, struggling Egyptian publishing house was blossoming. The late German-born Mark Linz, two-time director of AUC Press, oversaw an expansion that included hiring new staff members, moving to roomier headquarters and doubling production. Other well-known writers coming out of AUC Press publications at the time included Yusuf Idris, Taha Hussein, Nayra Atiya and Tawfiq al-Hakim.

"There was a great sense of excitement and certainly optimism when Naguib Mahfouz won," Hewison said. "Perhaps we all, or many of us, thought over-optimistically that this would throw open the doors of Arabic literature to the world. What it did, of course, was throw open the doors of Naguib Mahfouz to the world."

Mahfouz became an international literary phenomenon. His books now appear in 40 languages, amassing somewhere near 600 editions -- all either published or licensed by AUC Press.

The late author's earnest and fond descriptions of everyday Egyptians offered an impactful lens into the country's reality. This is a mission that AUC Press has always shared, according to Fletcher-Jones: "to try as best as we can, but in a very small way, to represent what the realities are about life and history in the Middle East."

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Best-selling AUC Press books 1960-2018:

                   

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Technology and Future Expansion

By the 1990s, there was a sense of excitement at the publishing house, buoyed by a healthy flow of tourism to and interest in Egypt. AUC Press doubled the number of books it published per year.

But success was always tempered, warned Hewison, tied to the ever-changing heart-rate monitor of Egypt. When militants killed 62 people in Luxor at Deir el-Bahari in 1997, "I remember particularly an almost immediate effect on not just the book market for us, but on the whole economy of the country," Hewison said.

At the same time, a 1996 AUC Press newsletter featured the new electronic publishing editor discussing the promise of the internet, while AUC Press expanded its genres, adding more nationalities of authors and making international partnerships with other universities.

Customers browse the AUC Press section of the Egyptian Museum.

In 2007, the AUC Press online shop launched, allowing sales to continue even if tourism dipped, though roughly 80 percent of its sales were still within Egypt.

Nowadays, with the proliferation of technology and social media, Fletcher-Jones sees an everlasting audience in what he calls "armchair Egyptologists," people without Egyptology degrees who have a passion for learning about Egypt's history. On a public Facebook page under his name, Fletcher-Jones interacts with nearly 4,000 armchair Egyptologists all over the world.

"On social media, we can continue to generate communities," he said. "With the rise of technology and Amazon, it no longer matters where in the world you are publishing from."

A more singular focus on fiction has also defined change in the last decade, said Jody Baboukis, interim managing editor at AUC Press. The Hoopoe fiction imprint features authors from across the Middle East. Some of Hoopoe's popular novels include The Televangelist (Egypt), Whitefly (Morocco) and the winner of this year's Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature Mukhmal, or Velvet (Palestine).

Despite finding success in fiction and social media, AUC Press knows it owns a niche no other publishing house can usurp: Egyptology. It recently made a substantial donation of books on Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology to the Shafik Gabr Foundation for distribution to schools around Cairo, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, Theban Mapping Project in Luxor and Amarna Project library in Tell el-Amarna.

In 2020, AUC Press will celebrate its diamond jubilee, with 60 years of success, and AUC Press Bookstores will celebrate their 35th anniversary. Throughout the past decades, AUC Press has remained true to its brand.

"We aren't a huge, comprehensive academic publisher like Oxford University Press or Routledge. We specialize in what's closest to us and what we know best," said Baboukis. "We're the largest English-language book publisher in the Middle East, and both our fiction and nonfiction books regularly win international publishing and translation awards. Clearly, we're doing something right."

Visit the AUC Press website here and follow it on Twitter here.

 

By Ioanna Moriatis | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

Click here for quotes from public school teachers about AUC's training program.

AUC's role in shaping lives starts the moment a student is first admitted, aspiring to be part of the values the University constantly emanates.

But what about all those years before a student steps onto campus -- those years of schooling when a student first learns to absorb knowledge?

Working to be present at all stages of a student's life, the University is partnering with organizations and community members to help enhance Egypt's education system -- a hefty task given a system with more than 23 million students.

AUC's Graduate School of Education (GSE) partnered with the Egyptian Refining Company (ERC), a subsidiary of Qalaa Holdings, to provide a capacity-building professional training program for 30 public school teachers of early-year learners from three different educational directorates: East Shubra Al Kheima, Al Matareya and Al Khosous. "At Qalaa Holdings, we have a very firm belief that education is extremely important for the advancement of Egypt," said Ahmed Heikal, chairman of ERC.

"I'm very proud of this program. Those are neighborhoods that are extremely in need of upgrading their public school systems. So we're very proud to be involved in this initiative."

AUC's Center for Sustainable Development has also launched a project, School of 2030: Education for Sustainable Development, in Boulaq Al Dakrour - EduCamp III. The project's main objective is to transform education in Egypt by building schools in informal settlement areas, working toward achieving the country's larger sustainable development strategy, known as Egypt Vision 2030.

"The world has turned to education for sustainable development after witnessing the impact of human exploitation on each other and the environment," said Hani Sewilam, mechanical engineering professor and founding director of the Center for Sustainable Development who is managing the EduCamp project.

Training Teachers

The first cohort of AUC's GSE-ERC program recently celebrated the completion of its professional training program, ushering in another cohort of public school teachers.

Through such collaborative initiatives, AUC encourages external entities to build programs and projects that promote positive local change. In this way, AUC acts as the nucleus of educational transformation in Egypt, both producing knowledge and effecting change through its own programs while also establishing partnerships to pioneer impactful projects using the University's venues and resources. "It's a very good initiative because different companies and businessmen fund the training of public school teachers at AUC as part of their professional development," said Heba El Deghaidy, associate professor and chair of AUC's Department of International and Comparative Education.

This professional training program falls under phase two of the ERC's Mostakbaly [My Future] initiative, which was launched to tackle inequalities in Egypt's education system and improve the quality of instruction in public schools. "I'm particularly excited about this program," said Adham Ramadan '91, dean of graduate studies who served as acting dean of the Graduate School of Education in Spring 2018. "We are all working with local government districts in ERC's region. This is a great example of how businesses can actually support communities around them."

ERC awarded the scholarships specifically to kindergarten and primary school teachers, enabling them to participate in AUC's Professional Educator Training Program, a customized GSE capacity-building professional training for educators of young learners.

The one-year program covers a range of topics, including child development, teaching strategies, assessment, active learning and technology in the classroom. To cater to the new cohort's needs, the program is now delving into even more subjects, such as communication, presentation, time management, interpersonal skills and differentiation in the classroom. "The teachers have actually started to apply these skills inside the classrooms," noted El Deghaidy.

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Click here to see what public school teachers have to say about AUC's training program!

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Setting a Model

EduCamp III marks the third phase of the Education for Sustainable Development Beyond the Campus initiative (EduCamp), which was initiated in 2010. Granted support from the European Union's Tempus program, AUC and the RWTH Aachen University in Germany launched the initiative to introduce education for sustainable development in Egypt. The main component of the current phase involves establishing models for Egyptian schools to exemplify how to enhance education in tune with Egypt Vision 2030.

The project is focused on transforming two schools in Boulaq Al Dakrour: Mohamed Farouk Wahdan Preparatory School and Gamal Abdel Nasser Primary School.
"We wanted to create a model that is representative of Egyptian schools, and in order to do that, we had to target national schools in areas that need intervention," said Sewilam. "Sustainable development is needed the most. We chose two schools in Boulaq Al Dakrour that represent the real problems most Egyptians face. We want to develop solutions tailored specifically for Egypt's unique socioeconomic challenges."

During the first phase of the initiative, EduCamp I, the team created education for sustainable development kits and delivered them to various schools in Egypt, opening seven centers of excellence at seven Egyptian universities. For the second phase of the project, EduCamp II in 2014, AUC's Center for Sustainable Development began working to introduce education for sustainable development in informal areas around Egypt.

EduCamp III now aims to introduce sustainable development teaching in Egyptian schools over one year, implementing the initiative on a larger scale with support from the European Union and German government. Plans include creating and conducting a capacity development program for school stakeholders, renovating school facilities to include the necessary resources and developing education for sustainable development kits.

"If you produce sustainability-literate youth, then you will have created a new generation aware of the problems facing them and can develop suitable interventions for Egypt's unique challenges," affirmed Sewilam.

The schools in Boulaq Al Dakrour will help stakeholders in Egypt's education system uncover solutions to recurring issues in public schools, such as infrastructure problems, overcrowded classes, teaching quality and violence. The project is particularly taking into account children with special needs, females and mothers in designing the model schools based on the specific needs of the community.

Since September 2017, the project team has assessed the needs of the two schools and developed plans for renovation and implementation of the training programs. "We are currently training the school teachers and managers and working on renovation," said Sewilam.

A Change in Teacher Mindset

AUC seeks to set an example for public schools, engaging individual teachers and prompting instructors to rethink their teaching styles and roles in the classroom, rather than tackling the larger education system itself. "We are helping teachers become agents of change in education," said Ramadan.

Now in the middle of the second round of training with a new cohort of teachers, Dahlia Fouad, one of the instructors in AUC's Professional Educator Training Program, has the chance to observe the various challenges public school teachers face in building their skills and bettering their schools.

"Having worked in the education field for a while, I can see a big gap between private and public schools," noted Fouad. "This is not because the public school teachers are not as good as those in private schools, but the ones in private schools get exposed to international training, peer acquaintances and professional development in certain areas."

Fouad indicated that these differences lead public school teachers to the conclusion that the system itself is the main obstacle to advancing school instruction in Egypt. "In their minds, they are more stuck on the system itself," she reflected. "They feel they are victims of the system. What we have been trying to do to these teachers is break the chains and train them to become autonomous teachers. Yes, we have problems in Egypt's education system. No one can deny this. But, it's all about the teacher. If you remove the classroom, curriculum and system, it's still the teacher and student."

Although she initially spotted some resistance amongst teachers, Fouad noted significant changes in their mindsets by the end of the first cohort's program. "They're more self-assured," she said. "They have self-esteem and are confident about their capabilities. They want to make a change. This is not just on an academic or pedagogical level, but also on a personal level."

Saeed Ghoneim, a teacher from Al Khosous Language School, benefited from the program's emphasis on knowledge-sharing and exchange, and learned about himself as a teacher in the process. "This course developed many things in my personality," he reflected. "At AUC, I learned how to share and exchange my experience with my colleagues. The most useful course was how to deal with technology and present material in an updated way. The way we were trained at AUC was excellent, very different. I have changed as a teacher and learned to not stop learning."

Emphasizing the crucial role teachers play, Sewilam noted, "You would be surprised at what well-qualified teachers can do inside classrooms with no or minimal resources. This is why the teacher is the most important stakeholder in the education system. Another equally important goal is the restructuring of the technical and vocational education system. If we focus on this, it has the potential to solve many other problems, such as the lack of skilled labor, and to help the Egyptian economy as a whole."

AUC's impact might begin with a cohort of 30 teachers or two schools in Boulaq Al Dakrour, but that effect -- even if gradual -- has the potential to spread, transforming mindsets and making an impact across the country. "It's about leading the way forward for change," said Ramadan. "Sometimes people say it's outreach, but I think it's beyond that because you're developing skills that will hopefully have a domino effect."

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By Ioanna Moriatis, photos by Ahmad El-Nemr | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "We but mirror the world. ... If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. ...We need not wait to see what others do."

AUCians definitely don't wait. They initiate and take the lead. You find them everywhere -- from business and education to technology and policymaking -- making a difference and leaving an impact, particularly when it comes to community building.

Education for the New Generation
 

Seif Abou Zaid '08, '17, CEO of Mavericks school. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

"I was always interested in education as a vehicle for liberation and empowerment," said Seif Abou Zaid '08, '17, CEO of Mavericks school. It's this understanding of education that led him to seek a new approach to schooling in Egypt.

Mavericks, Egypt's first blended learning school, was founded with an approach to education that focuses on personalized learning that fits the individual needs of students; an emphasis on hands-on activities that make the learning experience fun and engaging; character building; and open-house education, where students are not confined to the traditional classroom and all parts of the school are learning spaces. Students are empowered to make decisions starting in Pre-K and KG1, choosing where to learn and which activities to do during the day.

"We're not interested in comparing students to each other," Abou Zaid highlighted. "We want kids who accept themselves, have self-awareness, and challenge themselves and each other."

Though many praise the school for its blended learning techniques, this is just a tool, as Abou Zaid pointed out. "Actually, for us, blended learning is not the end game," he explained. "What's beyond blended learning is this idea of being child-centered, of following the child's interest and challenging students to be the best versions of themselves. If technology is a tool that can empower this, then so be it."

Having majored in political science, minored in history and earned a master's in public policy from AUC, Abou Zaid always focused on how he could make an impact on the community. "I was interested in the sweet spot or common ground between education as an empowering tool and public space," he said. "This is where I saw myself, hopefully, doing meaningful things."

Abou Zaid started out working on two startups before founding Mavericks, both targeting middle and high school students as well as middle managers. He quickly found that the impact at this stage wasn't what he wanted. "We wanted to build a different generation, empowering people to be mavericks -- or think outside the box -- and influencing the present and the future. This is what a student-centered learning experience is all about."

Hoping to expand the Mavericks model across Egypt's governorates, Abou Zaid established two campuses in Cairo and one in Damietta. The aim is to spread this new learning philosophy to the many students who still don't have access to quality education inside and outside of Cairo. "The impact we can have now is to set an example," he affirmed. "Later on, we're really interested in scale. We want to provide high-quality education, but at a scale that actually has the right impact for the millions or billions out there who deserve access."

Job Matching

Omar Khalifa '08 in front of the office for his online recruitment platform Shaghalni. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

Education is one space in which impact can be made. But what happens after schooling ends? A major challenge in the Egyptian economy now is the large population of unemployed youth.

Omar Khalifa '08, CEO and founder of Shaghalni.com, saw a chance to expand opportunities for Egyptians by making the recruitment process and job market more transparent.

Through Shaghalni online platform, blue and grey-collar job seekers share their skills and experiences by posting their profiles and promoting their skills -- giving the chance for employers to hire them directly.

Khalifa's idea for the platform was sparked after observing AUC's successful employment fairs each year. "We have the best companies coming to campus," he said. "I never had a real issue finding a job. However, I always wondered, 'That's great, but the majority of working-class Egyptians don't all enjoy the same employment opportunities.'"

Shaghalni started out as a printed journal promoting middle-skilled jobs. Then, Khalifa switched things around, publishing individual profiles of job seekers for employers to browse. To have a real impact, though, Khalifa decided he was going to have to go online.
Although he faced difficulties raising funds at first, he eventually put his own money into creating a beta version to test out. Today, two years later, there are 90,000 users and 8,000 companies posting on Shaghalni's website, and a mobile app is in the making. "It proves that if you believe in something and you're passionate about it, things will actually work," Khalifa commented on his investment in the project. "If you don't put your money into it, no one will."

Khalifa's website now has more than 90,000 users and 8,000 companies -- connecting people with jobs across the country. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

Now, Khalifa's passion is drawing him outside of Egypt, pushing him to continue growing and making changes in the job market.

"My passion is helping people," Khalifa asserted. "When you receive feedback and see people getting jobs -- these people have families; they aren't just individuals -- it's worth so much more than money. Shaghalni is successful in Egypt, but we want something that can go regional. We're nowhere near where we want to be, but I think we're making a difference. That's my passion."

 

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By Aliah Salih | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

With AUC's centennial on the horizon, one question is top of mind: How should AUC celebrate its 100th birthday?

The University shared the task with the public through the Got an Idea? competition to find 100 ways to celebrate AUC's centennial. Then all the creative energy started to flow in.

Approximately 180 ideas have been submitted, ranging from the creative and innovative to the heartwarming and strange -- and it's becoming hard to choose. Though the committee is still in the process of selection and weighing out the potential of each idea, it doesn't mind sharing a few -- among many -- that stood out.

Most of the contributors are keen on having music and art as an inevitable part of the festivities -- because what is a celebration without some music? Some of the suggestions are having musicians from AUC perform their groundbreaking work, as well as bringing in alums who went on to become famous singers. This will definitely guarantee a centennial with a unique soundtrack of different voices, genres and energies. Other ideas assert the presence of the arts through AUCian contributions, which include visual arts and theatre. As for those who are not artists per se, one idea is to dig into your old photo boxes and find shots from your glory days at AUC to display in an art exhibition. Others suggest bringing together select community members and having them compose and write a custom AUC song.

Some of the most interesting ideas are telling the story of AUC through fashion, which is possibly one of the most entertaining ways of reflecting on the decades of fashion do's and don'ts. The suggestions are playing dress-up and snapping photos, or putting together an entire fashion show that showcases the different sartorial creations that AUC witnessed through its students, faculty and staff in the past 100 years. One even recommended having a 1919-themed party, and another went for a le Great Gatsby extravaganza. Overall, we suspect some outfits will be a hit and make a vintage-retro comeback.

Many of the ideas revolve around selecting 100 achievements made by AUC through social media channels, books documenting civic engagement and journals of AUC reflections. Other ideas focus on inviting international and Egyptian influential faculty and prominent alumni and having them speak about their intellectual research and success stories.

"Inviting 100 alumni influencers highlights what AUC is all about -- how it contributed to shaping the future of many prominent figures in society," explained Dina El Turky '05, '13. "These figures will show, mentor and assist students on how to give back to the University and society, which is another value we acquired at AUC -- to always give back to the community."

Nominate someone for Alumni of the Century here!

 

Keeping in line with AUC's achievements, one of the most intriguing suggestions is finding 100 people whose lives have been changed through AUC. This transformation could have been through academia, social awareness, financial aid, employment or something that hasn't even crossed anyone's mind. Through a hashtag like #BecauseOfAUC or #100GratefulAUCians, people can tell stories of how the University helped change their lives.

"It's my second semester at AUC, and I can sense the impact AUC has had on me. It's relatable, and I think it's a great way of thanking our University for 100 years of changing lives," said student Maisson Hatem Hussein, explaining her hashtag idea. "It would be a memorable hashtag. It would grab the eye, and have people share and read meaningful phrases. Our University will become more associated with positively changing people's lives."

Giving back, a distinct trait that makes AUC what it is today, seems to resonate with many. Countless people propose giving away 100 scholarships to prospective students, raising funds for 100 students and granting scholarships to distinct students from across Egypt. One of the most heartwarming ideas is 100 acts of charity, which calls for giving back to the AUC community and beyond through donating money, giveaways, supporting more entrepreneurs and offering training opportunities.

Some ideas look into the future and call for expansion, such as establishing new departments in the next 100 years and building another campus in 6th of October City. Other ideas are guaranteed to warm everyone's hearts, like finding and honoring the oldest AUCian alive, or highlighting 100 college sweethearts who found love at AUC.

"AUC is not only a place for education. It is also a place were families actually started, and many of them have lasted until today," said Engi Radwan '02, who met her husband back in the Tahrir Square campus. "Couples like my husband and I first met at AUC, and love stories were written over the years because of this place. We can show off to our kids and tell them how we started off as friends and how this University brought us closer through education, social networking, events and extracurricular activities -- and it all ended up in starting families. AUC will always have a special place in our hearts, and many families like mine will be forever grateful for it."

Some thought of leveraging the opportunity by planting 100 trees and spreading the word about sustainability. Other ideas are full of wishful thinking, like giving A's to all students, 100 free days of parking and a tuition discount of EGP 100,000. Still others aim to symbolize AUC's old school side and its modernity, like designing custom AUC postage stamps and creating virtual reality experiences through both campuses. "AUC's legacy is primarily all the AUCians who graduated since its founding and their contributions to Egypt and the world across all aspects of life," said Maged Farrag '93, parent of a current AUC student.

Farrag proposed creating a 360 video that would be shared on social media platforms as well as played on virtual reality headsets on campus and during centennial events. "We would make a 360 video shooting of the old and new campuses and blend it with archival photos and videos to bring it to life," he explained. "It would be like a time machine -- taking a journey into the campus memories across the years, bringing the old campus to life through an immersive experience. As AUCians, we cherish the moments we spent on campus, and the photos that we keep are part of our legacy."

In the end, AUC is brimming with all the ingenuity, which we know will generate a series of celebrations that reflect the University's artistic and intellectual outlook.

By the way, to AUC's rugby team: We got your 12 ideas about being included. We won't forget you.

Find out more about the centennial here.

 

HASSAN AZZAZY
PROFESSOR AND CHAIR
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Building a low-cost sensor that monitors water quality

The Inspiration

I believe that clean water is a human right. Yet developing countries often lack the capacity to detect and remove toxic metals from their water supply. If you're exposed to those metals -- mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead -- in your water every day, they accumulate in your body. As they accumulate, they can severely affect your health. They can lower IQs in children, damage organs in people of any age and more. My research team is trying to develop a low-cost testing device -- a colorimetric sensor -- for toxic metals in water.

The Process

The first step was putting together a multidisciplinary team: graduate students with expertise in sensing technologies, nanotechnology and analytical chemistry. Together, we prepared innovative nanosensors, which have been granted patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office; assembled sensor strips; ran tests and compared results. Those results were qualitative; they provided only a yes/no answer for the presence of a specific toxic metal. Similar to pregnancy tests, the color of each sensor strip changes in the presence of a specific toxic metal. We have also developed a portable device that can measure the intensity of the developed color and, therefore, produce quantitative results -- numbers that can be used to assess the exact level of toxic metals in water.

The Next Steps

The next phase of our project is very exciting. We'll develop a tool that can help remove toxic metals from water. In everything we do, we're guided by the idea that our research should contribute practical solutions to address national and global challenges.

The IMPACT

Simply put, the devices we produce will help communities, especially those in remote locations dependent on underground water, to monitor their water quality. Local authorities will be able to assess the toxicity of metals in their water, giving them the information they need to warn community members of danger or to ensure that their water is safe for drinking or other uses.

Four toxic metals -- MERCURY, CADMIUM, ARSENIC AND LEAD -- are among the World Health Organization's Top 10 Chemicals of Major Public Concern.

The Future

AUC is one of the best places in Egypt to conduct innovative research. The high-caliber faculty, the industrious students, the advanced facilities and instruments -- these are all important factors. But the culture of AUC is important too. This is a University that encourages multidisciplinary research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Read about the newly inaugurated AUC and Alexandria University Center of Excellence for Water.

 

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By Yakin Ouederni

Communicating in Arabic Sign Language with the tap of a phone

Baher Moursy '18, Heba Sakr '18, Youssef Khairalla '18 and Tamara Nagui '17 have always been driven by a desire to give back to their communities whenever the opportunity arises. So when it came time for them to decide on a graduation project in 2017, it was difficult to settle on one of the many ideas they thought of, but they were sure of one thing: Whatever it was, it needed to go beyond being just a thesis project.

After months of brainstorming, they came up with Eshara, a mobile application that translates Arabic Sign Language (ASL) into written Arabic in real time. Eshara works on any device with a camera, using video recognition technology to detect the hand movements of someone speaking ASL and simultaneously provide a written translation.

"Imagine a world in which a student can raise his or her hand in a classroom and sign what he or she is trying to communicate, and everyone else in the classroom reading or hearing the translation instantly," Khairalla said.

The Eshara logo was designed by Yasmine Nagui '16

Due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the world that Khairalla speaks of can soon become a reality. Eshara relies on computer vision and machine learning, a subset of AI that uses systems to identify patterns and make decisions with little to no human intervention. Both fields are increasingly being used across a variety of areas such as health care monitoring, financial services and transportation. In Eshara's case, the group films people speaking ASL and then programs the software to recognize specific movements as words so that it may provide a written translation.

"Basically, we design and train several AI computing models to associate each ASL word gesture with its corresponding text," said Mohamed Moustafa, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the team's supervisor. "This work of action recognition is actually part of a bigger research topic known as human-computer interaction. Its applications are all futuristic."

Noting the great impact of machine learning on people's lives, Moustafa emphasized the importance of investing time into developing this field. "Self-driving vehicles are expected to be fully autonomous in a handful of years, bidirectional language translation is helping real-time conversations, and mature models are being developed to recommend your next online purchase," he said.

And it's exactly this type of impact that the team hopes to make with Eshara: creating programs that make people's lives easier by using AI to help underserved populations and inspire others to do the same. "We have the knowledge; we have the technology," Moursy said. "Why don't we use it for the good of society?"

"Be the Future" in Arabic Sign Language by (front row) Youssef Khairalla, Heba Sakr, Baher Moursy and (back) Amr AbdelGhani

Two years after presenting their idea to the thesis panel, the team members are still developing the app. Amr AbdelGhani '19 has since joined the team.

What the team members have now is the demo they created for the graduation project, which is capable of translating individual words and not full sentences. By the end of the year, they hope to accomplish two goals for the app: translating full sentences and being quick enough to produce words in real time. Development takes place in two stages: data collection then programming the machine.

Eshara app design

When the team members initially started conducting research, they were surprised to see that there was no project like theirs targeting ASL speakers in the Middle East. This made the data collection process much more difficult and time consuming. "It took us around a year to collect data for the demo," Moursy said.

One year for 16 words.

Data collection involves choosing words to include in the Eshara dictionary and then filming those words being spoken in ASL. To ensure Eshara's accuracy at all times of the day and in different locations, the team needed to film movements across a wide array of environments and with different people. With no ASL experience and no contacts with anyone who speaks it, the team members had to learn the movements and train their friends to shoot the videos.

"When filming the words, we needed a wide range of skin colors, hand sizes, backgrounds and lighting, and we had to film at different times of the day," Sakr said.

Their project stalled for one year when they lost funding, but AUC secured funding earlier in 2019, and the team got right back to work in July. Since then, they have expanded the dictionary to between 800 and 1,000 words. "Being part of the Eshara team resembles a great opportunity for me to help create something that can directly impact people's lives and has the potential to revolutionize communication with those who cannot hear," said AbdelGhani. "The current progress is unprecedented for Arabic Sign Language recognition, and I believe that we could potentially push this technology to achieve a breakthrough in scalable automatic ASL recognition. The passion and excitement of the team along with AUC's support make this project a fun and fulfilling journey."

Data Collection for Eshara

Turning AUC Tahrir Square into their workspace, the team members meet with ASL professionals and communities in Cairo that cannot hear or speak to film vocabulary. Khairalla, who is currently overseas, is helping with researching quicker and more efficient technologies for the app.

"Speed is our main concern," Moursy said. "The app needs to be able to translate full sentences in real time."

Sign language translating programs do exist for languages other than ASL, but what differentiates Eshara from all others is its accessibility. Most programs use censored gloves or 3D cameras to detect hand movements, while Eshara can be downloaded on mobile phones and works across different software.

"If someone who speaks Arabic Sign Language is sitting right next to me, there would be no way of communicating with him or her," Moursy said. "Eshara would allow me to just pull out my phone and carry out a conversation. We're not realizing that there's a whole demographic of people we aren't talking to."

What started out as a graduation project turned into an initiative to include an often neglected demographic in society. Even AUC Tahrir Square, which started off as a meeting place for data collection, became a space for a community of people working toward a common cause.

"The ASL professionals were really excited about the project and even want to continue helping us for free," Sakr said, emphasizing how this project will allow ASL speakers to enter the workforce more easily, making way for diverse skills and talents that were previously not tapped into. "We're helping to create a better future for them because they can finally be able to take part in regular, everyday life like everyone else."

 

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HASSAN EL-FAWAL
PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
DEAN, SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
FOUNDING DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL 
HEALTH AND HUMAN ECOLOGY

Setting the foundation for the future of health care in Egypt

The Inspiration

My specific research area is environmental health, with a particular focus on developing diagnostic tests for a range of conditions. But I've always had a broad interest in breaking down barriers that impede meaningful progress for humanity. One such example is our focus on precision health to arrive at a gene-environment model within the demographic and socioeconomic context. One project we're keen on now, in collaboration with colleagues -- most notably Mohamed Salama, physician and clinical neurotoxicologist who recently joined AUC as associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- and international partners, is establishing a reference genome for Egypt. This is an essential first step in identifying unique vulnerabilities of the population to communicable and non-communicable diseases. In that regard, it is a mission that satisfies both the interests of protecting environmental health and early disease diagnosis.

 

El-Fawal with faculty researchers Ahmed Moustafa, associate professor of bioinformatics; Mohamed Salama, associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology; and Anwar Abdelnaser, assistant professor of environmental health

The Process

We're collaborating with a number of institutions in Europe and the Middle East. It's a vast, interdisciplinary project that requires the team efforts of medical health professionals, biomedical scientists and engineers, as well as the expertise of colleagues in the social sciences. In one way, we're doing what every good research project does: defining gaps in our knowledge, asking the relevant questions, designing an adaptable approach, running tests, analyzing big data and refining our methods. But we're doing these things at the most advanced level and with diverse expertise.

 

The Next Steps

A complete database that reflects the efforts of researchers and practitioners across Egypt will inform the country's health policy and its management of health care and will establish AUC as an enabling partner for researchers in Egypt. Not at all coincidentally, AUC has developed two graduate programs -- a master's and doctorate in global public health -- that focus on these issues. The graduate programs, in turn, are part of our new Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, which is designed to address worldwide challenges: food scarcity, environmental degradation, burgeoning populations, the spread of diseases associated with industrial development and much more.

The IMPACT

The reference genome for Egypt will provide a database for comparative studies and a repository for shared information on the genetic basis of health and disease to advance personalized medicine and health care among the Egyptian population. It will empower researchers and clinicians to better identify risk -- diagnosing diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and heart disease -- while mitigating risk or customizing treatment. Simply put, it is the future of health care in Egypt that should inform policy.

 

The Future

AUC recently celebrated its centennial. To me, this project -- as well as the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- represents the dawn of our second century of service. It's about working together across borders, across disciplines in a spirit of progress and collaboration to find solutions.

Read about the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology.