Fady Michel is the assistant provost for Innovative Learning Experiences at The American University in Cairo (AUC). He leads the university’s initiative for innovative and challenge-based experiential learning. His work fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between students, faculty and industry and societal partners to design, create and develop solutions to complex, real-life challenges.

Michel is the founder and managing director at ERGO, a human-centered strategy and innovation consulting firm, tackling business, social and behavioral challenges through human-centered design principles. He is a huge advocate of human-centered design, with passion for business design, systems thinking and innovation management.

Prior to his role as an assistant provost, he was the director of scientific thinking, a division focusing on critical analysis and decision science. He has over 12 years of multidisciplinary higher education teaching experience in physics, aerospace, analytical thinking, design thinking, game thinking, entrepreneurship and innovation. Michel is also the executive lead of the design thinking initiative at AUC, where he is responsible for designing and facilitating design thinking and innovation management training for students, staff, faculty and business executives. 

A space mission designer by training, michel is the recipient of NASA JSC Exceptional Software Award in 2009, and NASA Space Act Award for Innovative and Creative Development in 2007. He champions working at the intersection of design, technology and human behavior to conceive human-centered solutions that hold disruptive potential. He is a frequent speaker on human centricity and the power of design to advance human experience. He is very passionate about design education, and enabling executive leaders to conceive innovative solutions to organizational and social challenges.