Fast-evolving technology and digitization have left companies with no choice other than digital transformation. Taking the publishing industry as an example, users are currently consuming more content than ever on their digital devices. Where does this leave publishing houses, particularly with the onset of COVID-19?

For Dalia Ibrahim ’93, ’99, ’14, chairperson and CEO of Nahdet Misr, one of Egypt’s leading publishing companies, and recipient of the 2020 Arab Women and Social Responsibility Award, it means being always on your feet. When COVID-19 spikes hit the world, Nahdet Masr wasn’t exempt from their impact.

“Preparation is one thing, but the acceleration and sudden disruption is an entirely different thing. If today you have a digital plan for the next three years, you suddenly had to cram it in one year,” said Ibrahim, explaining that Nahdet Misr has been anticipating the digital revolution and planning to move away from the traditional business model to a more agile one for a long time. “We were always keen on going digital, and people considered us crazy.”

Going Digital

Providing content for all segments of society, Nahdet Misr works to raise public awareness and knowledge, developing creative and intellectual potential in society. The company produces thousands of cultural and educational books for adults and children, including fully integrated educational solutions for students, teachers and parents. That’s in addition to being an exclusive provider of localized versions of children’s publications, like Disney and National Geographic.

Two companies under Nahdet Misr Group are Nahdet Misr for Digital Solutions and Nahdet Misr for Advertising, both taking the group forward with digital transformation. Today, Nahdet Misr owns its own licensed software and provides educational digital solutions, animations, infographics, interactive curricula for grades one through 12, learning objects, interactive e-books, curricula and more.

Under the mother company also comes EdVentures, the sole venture capital company supporting educational technology startups in the MENA region founded by Ibrahim. To date, EdVentures has supported 45 startups through training and mentorship, provided dedicated incubation programs for 38 startups, accelerated 13 and invested in seven in just three years.

“Yet digitization is much bigger than interactive books, e-books and education technology,” Ibrahim asserted. “Digitizing the work environment itself is the challenge. Digitization entails a digital transformation for the company at large, and that’s a whole different story.”

Four years ago, Ibrahim had implemented “change management” in the literal sense of the word by introducing SAP solutions to the company. Adapting to that change wasn’t easy. Yet today, she describes the system as one that “manages the whole company,” from raw material acquisition to printing. Indeed, the streamlined processes are what kept Nahdet Misr running and going strong during COVID-19 challenges.

Presently, Nahdet Misr is coping and adapting to the latest digital technologies to cater to educational needs, from curricula to general knowledge. For example, the well-known educational book, Al Adwaa, transitioned from coming with a CD to now having a mobile application featuring videos, resources, question banks and more to adjust to online learning and digital transformation Moreover, Al Adwaa books come with a “Smart Code” that students scan to access a library of educational resources and additional features on Al Adwaa app. 

The company also recently joined forces with Egypt's Ministry of Education and Technical Education to provide digital, interactive learning solutions and innovative curricula for school students of all ages, including developing the new curricula (2.0) for Arabic language and Religious studies. This started with KG1-G1 in 2018, and this year witnessed the release of G3 curricula and a new curriculum covering “Morals ​​and Respecting Others,” introduced by the ministry for the first time in Egyptian schools.

“Our collaboration with the Minister of Education and Technical Education Tarek Shawki is our biggest achievement to date,” said Ibrahim. “We’re working with a very unique vision of developing Egypt’s educational curricula with a unified theme of maintaining engaging, top-notch quality to ultimately develop Egyptian students and foster cultural awareness within them.”

A Global Presence

Moving forward, Ibrahim strives to drive Nahdet Misr’s presence globally, starting with the MENA region. In fact, the company is well on its way to do so. “We dedicated our first global project to Egypt through the Ministry of Immigration. We launched an initiative, named “Etkalem Masry (Speak Egyptian),” under the guidance of Minister Nabila Makram, to teach young Egyptians living abroad to speak Egyptian Arabic as their second language, if not first,” said Ibrahim. “That’s one step ahead in our journey to becoming an educational producer that fits everywhere.”

Ibrahim wholeheartedly believes that the publishing industry, especially on the educational front, has boundless potential when it comes to people's development and creating a better society. "When you have a true purpose, faith in what you're doing, people who believe in your cause and a team that shares your vision, the result is a relentless drive to achieve your mission."

Nahdet Misr is a family business, where Ibrahim directly manages several family members and relatives. When she first joined the company, she didn't start her career ladder as a manager or in a top-management position. Instead, she started from scratch and faced resistance, especially from men in the family. Despite that, she was guided by focus and a clear vision. "Being firm, straightforward and honest are key; no sugar-coating or complimenting. I learned to say, 'This is what I want, and this is how it's done' -- all with respect." Today, the very same people believe Ibrahim has raised the bar high for them and carry the utmost respect for her.

Ibrahim has earned several prestigious awards, including the Top 50 Women Performing in the Egyptian economy, the Arab Woman Award for Social Responsibility from the Arab League and more. Despite that, the awards closest to her heart are those she was granted internally, especially by her father, founder of Nahdet Misr Group. "My first award was back in 2006, when I was very young and the award was entirely unexpected," she reflected. "It meant the most to me and left the biggest impact. He gave it to me in front of everyone – although he traditionally doesn't award family members."

Right after that, the 2017 AUC School of Business Alumni award is her favorite.

“It’s special to me because it came from home. I loved that because I belong to AUC to a great extent. AUC is my house – even my two daughters are currently undergraduate students. That award was truly deep to my heart.”

Ibrahim recounts that her undergraduate and graduate journeys at AUC are major contributors to her success.

"Once I graduated, I followed AUC's ABC mindset: I need to do something different," she narrated. "AUC taught me to create my own space instead of trying fitting into one. That mindset, along with negotiation and leadership skills, went a long way with me."

She proceeded to recollect the first time she heard about AUC introducing the EMBA program. “I was the first to apply! I believe in AUC and its education, and I needed to study executive management and change management,” she said. “The program made all the difference for me and tremendously accelerated my development. It truly added insane value to my career.” 

Ibrahim holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with honors, a master’s degree in public administration with honors, and was among the first cohort of graduates from AUC’s EMBA program.

“Overall, living with a purpose that has an impact is my motto for life,” concluded Ibrahim. “When you live with a purpose, it echoes in all aspects of your life, whether it’s choosing your husband, raising your kids, delivering quality work, maintaining relationships with friends, having a meaningful relationship with your parents and much more. It truly makes a difference.”

When it comes to exports, not all businesses possess the same risk tolerance. Some businesses are first movers, entering new markets and willing to take more risks, while others are late-movers, observing what peers do first and only adopting successful moves. You'd think that first-movers outperform late-movers in export markets, right?

The answer is no. 

In his new research, Assistant Professor of Economics Jamal Haidar finds a clear pattern: It's the late-movers who outperform exporters that enter new markets first.

By analyzing export transactions from nine different countries, including Egypt, and examining each country's exporting habits by product, destination and data sets of exporting transactions using regression analysis, Haidar argues that explorers, or first-movers, don't necessarily exploit the export markets they enter and that late-movers, who begin exporting the same product to the same destination at least one year after first-movers stepped in, outperform these first movers in the same product-destination export markets.

To illustrate, if mangos are being exported for the first time from Egypt (origin country) to France (product-destination), the first mover would be the first firm to consider exporting to France, while the late-movers would be firms entering the mango-France market after that. Since Egyptian firms observe and learn from the first mover, they only choose to enter the same destination when success is evident. And once they enter the market, they start selling more quantities than the first mover, although prices are the same.

One reason behind this pattern could be the lack of internalization of information externalities by first-movers about the host country's market trends and status. In other words, firms in the same industry have their ways of staying updated with the first mover’s progress in the new market, which unnoticeably gives hints to competitors on whether there’s market potential at the product-destination level. By having information on product demand, consumer preferences, quality standards, regulations and distribution networks, late-movers can make more informed export decisions.

On that ground, first movers may prefer to cage this information to prevent being outclassed. Yet, from another perspective, what if the first mover is making the information available intentionally because they're facing a capacity constraint, which governs the amount of items that can be produced by a supplier or business thus preventing it from achieving more output? Yes, the data can be critical, but sometimes, the firm can't do more with it. In that case, the best scenario is to avail the information to other competitors and benefit the country's economy at large. In essence, capacity constraints could be another reason first movers don't perform as well as late movers.

Moreover, Haidar explains that from a policymaker perspective, the goal isn’t relating to an individual firm, but rather to national export levels as a whole.

“Policymakers want to increase exports, so they want to encourage more firms to export and existing ones to sell more or enter new export markets,” he said.

With that in mind, the relationship between first movers and late movers has important policy implications. For one, first movers could get discouraged, and the new norm could be for firms to become late movers all across, which isn’t the optimal strategy for a given economy. For that reason, first movers can hide information relating to their export markets, but then again, what’s the benefit if they can’t employ it for their own profit and will just prevent other firm entries? This dynamic is “tricky and should be assessed carefully,” as Haidar puts it.

“One way to go about this would be for governments to think about policies to encourage ‘explorers’ who discover new markets versus ‘exploiters’ who take advantage of the disclosed information on new export markets,” said Haidar. “Policymakers can incentivize first movers by allowing them to export without paying customs or reducing their export costs, for example.”

Firms shouldn't be discouraged from becoming first movers, even without government incentives. Haidar considers that if they're able to take the first move, sell in adequate quantities to make a sustainable profit and be able to increase their output according to the demand they receive in the destination market, there shouldn't be a reason to be hesitant.

Overall, the exact justifications behind this tendency of late movers to outperform first movers in export markets leave a new learning space and require more research. For now, there are no "prescriptions" to whether a firm should become a first-mover or wait to observe the results of peers. It depends on the firm’s risk aversion, willingness to explore new markets and productive capabilities. Each case needs to be evaluated and assessed independently, Haidar affirmed. 

Offering a unique experiential learning experience with hands-on training at the workplace, AUC’s new Cooperative Education (Co-Op) course is the first of its kind in the region to be initiated by a business school.

Co-Op, an elective three-credit course (BUSC 4000-Experiential Learning: Co-Op), offers students at the School of Business the opportunity to be directly engaged on a full-time basis with external entities for at least six months, including multinational corporations, startups, financial institutions, government entities, professional service firms, think tanks, local and international economic and monetary bodies, and nonprofit organizations. The course is currently in its pilot phase and featured in the six business undergraduate programs at AUC.

“Market readiness is a key quality measure of AUC School of Business students,” said Ahmed Abdel-Meguid, associate professor of accounting and associate dean of undergraduate studies and administration at the School of Business, whose office academically administers the course. “I consider the Co-Op model to be the apex of experiential learning.”

Students will have two possible time windows for Co-Op: spring and summer or summer and fall. During the six months, they will be assigned specific tasks relevant to their fields of study to get exposed to realistic on-the-job training. Assessment-wise, their performance is co-evaluated on key learning objectives by an academic faculty member and an external entity counterpart, ultimately yielding a pass/fail grade. 

“The course provides an unprecedented realistic experience featuring the technical applications of the student’s field of study as well as the innate particularities of being a working professional,” noted Abdel-Meguid.

To ensure productive training, the School of Business and AUC’s Career Center joined forces to construct the program design and partner with carefully selected entities to host the students. By promoting the program to a diverse pool of employers and soliciting opportunities relevant to business majors, the aim is to develop sufficiently challenging Co-Op job descriptions for students to fully immerse them in the experience and fulfill the program’s learning objectives.

“The Co-Op program’s objectives are part of the mandate of the Career Center to provide quality experiential learning opportunities to undergraduate students that help them focus on their career goals and develop their career readiness. It also helps them apply what they learn in the classroom to real life, gain hands-on work experience, establish professional networks and enhance their employability,” said Soha Hassan, assistant director of experiential learning at the Career Center.

“On the other hand, the Co-Op program provides employers with an excellent opportunity to identify and test drive potential talent, manage short-term hiring needs and enhance their on-campus employer brand. The Career Center will act as a liaison between the School of Business, the students and the employers," added Hassan.

To date, various leading corporations and multinationals have expressed their interest in the program and are keen on being involved in the pilot and launch phases. Some have even recommended expanding the program to incorporate students from other schools at AUC.  

Upon registration, the Career Center will manage the matching process by connecting with pre-selected students, understanding their Co-Op needs and matching them to the relevant experience. In addition, students will receive guidance during the application process through the Career Center’s various advising services, including resume critiques, cover letter critiques, mock interviews and more. 

While an internship component is already integrated in business programs, the Co-Op model differs in three main aspects. First, it provides a significantly longer interaction with the host entity. Second, the process of matching students with host entities is jointly managed by AUC and employers to ensure a value-adding student experience. Finally, faculty members closely oversee Co-Op assignments, provide mentorship for students throughout their Co-Op journey and co-evaluate them with their host entity counterpart based on preset components.

“This practical training coupled with our robust academic programs further enhances the competitiveness of our students and prepares them to be impactful agents of change,” said Abdel-Meguid. By equipping students with a blend of comprehensive knowledge and hands-on experience, their learning experience, career readiness and placement quality are amplified. The Co-Op program establishes an open feedback channel regarding the quality of students and programs, ultimately building academic resilience.

“For the past two years, the School of Business has been focusing on revamping its undergraduate programs with the ultimate objective of further paving the path to quality graduates set to be change-makers through their competitiveness and career-readiness,” added Abdel-Meguid. “To bring that to fruition and apply it to both local and international job markets, the revamping plan was based on four guiding principles: contemporary and market-relevant content, innovative teaching and learning methods, interdisciplinarity and on-the-job training. With this plan set in motion, Cooperative Education (Co-Op) came about.”

Born and raised in South Sinai, Heba Shama ’13, architectural engineering graduate, moved to Cairo to pursue her undergraduate studies at AUC. Her stay was later extended to build her professional career in the development sector when she first learned about the Lazord Fellowship offered by AUC's John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business in partnership with the Lazord Foundation.

“My passion to join the development sector started with one of AUC’s elective courses in social sciences, questioning clutters and reasons behind current social issues in the Arab world. Another undergraduate course focusing on upgrading slum areas inspired me even more to seek a career path in philanthropy and civil society,” said Shama.

The Lazord Fellowship is a multi-dimensional program seeking to empower young, fresh graduates to develop a critical understanding of civic engagement and improve their leadership and technical skills for their future careers. With chapters in Egypt, Tunisia and Jordan, the fellowship is a yearlong program where fellows receive job placements in a local organization, including a stipend, where they acquire professional and personal development training and mentorship by civically minded conscientious individuals to help them realize their full potential as responsible leaders. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the partnership between the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business and the Lazord Foundation.

“Lazord offered me an opportunity to employ my academic and technical skills through working for a cause I’m passionate about, while providing me with a chance to build my expertise in the development sector throughout this journey,” reflected Shama. “The fellowship offered me an opportunity to be engaged, not only as an employee, but as an individual, in seeking education and mentoring.”

When applying for the fellowship, Shama had high expectations based on her network of former Lazord alumni who spoke highly of their experiences. However, what she didn’t expect was to be placed at an organization that was very relevant to her undergraduate studies. “I thought I would have to make a huge shift to be able to work in development. I knew little about urban development as a field back then,” she explained.

Between 2013-2014, Shama was placed at Takween Integrated Community Development (Takween ICD) for her fellowship, an urban development company. During that period, she was heavily involved in dealing with vulnerable communities, and designed and led participatory projects promoting women’s safety in public spaces, children’s right to play, social inclusion of refugees in their host communities, and heritage documentation and preservation.

“I will always be indebted for this hands-on journey with Takween ICD. Not all development professionals get to directly interact with local communities and beneficiaries in the field, design development programs through participatory approaches, partner with government entities and provide recommendations on policies and proposals, while partnering with international organizations like UNWomen, UNHCR and UNHabitat,” she asserted.

Moreover, the training provided by the Lazord Fellowship mentors on NGOs and nonprofit organizations’ strategies and practices presented Shama with a solid background on community development and nonprofit management, which she found to be crucial competencies for her involvement with local communities. Overall, she found the mentorship aspect to be a unique feature of the fellowship, especially for fresh graduates just starting their careers. “As someone starting a slightly different, non-conventional career path for an architect, I think mentorship was crucial for me to realize my potential and use my technical and interpersonal skills in a field that I aspire to join,” said Shama.

Shama particularly admired interacting with civically engaged citizens from both Egypt and the MENA region at large. She perceives it as an “eye-opening” experience through which she realized regional challenges and opportunities and recognized the importance of cross-border communication in efforts of achieving a common vision and creating a lasting change. Through this experience, she built her own regional network of professionals and individuals sharing her vision: “development of themselves and their communities.”

Shama’s journey with the Lazord Fellowship has changed her both professionally and personally.

“We carry a set of assumptions with us as when we start working in the philanthropy and development sectors. As we set foot in the field, we realize why so many development initiatives fail and that development agents fail in the very minute they think they know better or understand the local community better than the locals,” she stated. “Along this journey, one gets to ‘become’ while rethinking these assumptions, even those about one’s self. Furthermore, assumptions about the root causes of social issues and the best means to resolve them also change. Direct interaction with local communities allows us to better understand the context we work in as well as the local challenges each community faces, and how development models have to be locally driven to ensure sustainable solutions.”

As a result of her experience, Shama advanced her education in development policies and practices to pursue her passion of empowering local communities and developing their resilience to cope with the changing socioeconomic factors while ensuring the inclusion of all community groups. She enrolled in an anthropology and development management master's program at the London School of Economics and Political Science, combining social sciences and development, and graduated in 2019.

“I walked out of my AUC undergraduate experience at AUC with more than education. Extracurricular activities were an environment to learn, grow, and practice integrity, commitment and effective communication,” Shama said on AUC’s role in her perception of civic engagement. “Through AUC’s civic engagement initiatives, I became a global citizen with eyes opened on different cultures and development models, but with an appreciation and understanding of the richness, challenges, potential and resilience of the community I belong to and its power to develop local solutions for long-lasting issues.”

Today, Shama is the case studies coordinator of the Education 2.0 Research and Documentation Project, a collaboration between Egypt's Ministry of Education and Technical Education and AUC's Social Research Center to research and document the current educational reform to better inform and provide evidence for educational policy making.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, AUC's John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business held a weeklong conference in partnership with the Lazord Foundation, hosting 12 graduating fellows to reflect on their learning journey and orienting a new batch of 12 incoming fellows. While the program was initially piloted as an initiative for AUC graduates, today, it has evolved to be open to the public, mirroring the many programs AUC offers beyond its campus walls.

If Shama were to offer advice to upcoming Lazord fellows, it would be: “Take the whole journey one step at a time. Remember that you are surrounded by an inspiring circle, so seek guidance and consultation; not only from your mentors, but also from each other as fellows."

"My last advice is a lesson for one’s self as a development professional. Remember that ‘we often know much less about the impact of anything than we think we know’-unknown.” 

“I believe that as a qualified scholar, a faculty member should have an impact and engage in the theoretical debate about contemporary issues that are of interest to academics, practitioners and policymakers,” said Nermeen Shehata, associate professor of accounting and director of El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC).

Shehata has recently received the Abdul Hameed Shoman Arab Researchers Award in the Economics and Administration Sciences category on the topic “Financial Solutions and Creative Innovations in Emerging Markets” for her research on corporate governance and its impact on the development of capital markets, especially in emerging economies.

Established in 1982 by the Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, the Shoman Award aims to support and highlight scientific research throughout the Arab world and is awarded in recognition of distinguished scientific outcome of both scientific and social value. This year, 13 Arab researchers were awarded among 477 candidates within the award’s six fields: medical and health sciences, engineering sciences, communication systems engineering, arts, humanities, social and educational sciences, technological and agricultural sciences, and economic and administration sciences.

In her research, Shehata highlights that accounting practices in a given country play a central role in developing its economy through various means, one of which is influencing the quality of information disclosed by firms. By disclosing relevant and transparent information about firms, the development of financial markets is supported, enhancing international trade and foreign investments between countries, and positively influencing the economy at large.

“I am extremely honored and proud to receive the prestigious Abdul Hameed Shoman Arab Researchers Award in the Economics and Administration Sciences category. I have particular interest in corporate governance, as it is a multidisciplinary topic that can have an impact on corporate disclosure practices, financial reporting and financial performance,” said Shehata. “Corporate governance will, in turn, affect the development of capital markets, especially in emerging markets.”

Shehata focuses on two important pillars of corporate governance; financial and non-financial disclosure, and board diversity. She’s also keen on studying developing countries, especially in the MENA region, where she believes there is a “dearth of research” that addresses developing versus developed countries.

Shehata holds a PhD in Management (Accounting concentration) and a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education from Aston University, UK, and MSc and BSc (highest honors) in Accounting from the Faculty of Commerce, English section, Cairo University, Egypt. She is a certified trainer by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) for SME Governance and Women on Boards and in Business Leadership, and a certified corporate director by the Egyptian Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), as well as a Certified Management and Business Educator (CMBE) by the Chartered Association of Business Schools, UK.

With the start of Fall 2020, AUC has introduced three new undergraduate business programs to its portfolio: Bachelor of Business and Entrepreneurship, Bachelor of Business in finance, and Bachelor of Business in marketing. This is in addition to its existing Bachelor of Business Administration in management of information and communication technology.

Along with the new programs, an elective experiential learning course, Cooperative Education (Co-Op), is now offered in business undergraduate programs, enabling students to experience on-the-job training on a full-time basis with external entities. 

Last but not least, the AUC MBA program has also undergone a revamp; now spanning two years instead of three and becoming a general program with two career paths substituting the previously existing track specializations.

New Business Administration Bachelor’s Degrees

The three new undergraduate programs replace the Bachelor of Business Administration degree with concentrations in marketing, finance, management of information technology, and entrepreneurship and international business. 

The Bachelor of Business and Entrepreneurship prepares students to become “business-ready” by acquiring the skills needed to become responsible business leaders and adapt to complex situations — exploring and unleashing their creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial thinking to pave the way for running a new business venture. 

The Bachelor of Business in finance provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that transforms them into well-rounded professionals. By gaining transferrable, deep financial knowledge that can be applied both locally and globally, students fully grasp a given industry’s best practices and a business’ various functions.  

The Bachelor of Business in marketing delivers a multidisciplinary learning experience that takes into account several perspectives to accommodate to the changing industry requirements. Exploring topics such as psychology, information systems, and data analytics, students are prepared not only for a career in business or in a traditional business setting, but in any industry that requires transforming analytics into strategy. 

"The three new undergraduate programs are part of the continuous curriculum advancement plan of the Department of Management at AUC’s School of Business,” said Maha Mourad, chair of the Department of Management and associate professor of marketing. “In addition to their specific focus on either finance, marketing or entrepreneurship, the way the programs have been structured and the multidisciplinary aspects they entail aim to provide students with a well-rounded business exposure.” 

Redefining the AUC MBA Experience

The Master of Business Administration has been reshaped to include contemporary topics such as data analytics, digital transformation, and innovative global business models have been accentuated, and experiential and action-based learning have been profoundly incorporated to make for an immersive experience. Featuring courses broken down to smaller credit hour units, the highlight of the new MBA framework is becoming a two-year program instead of a three-year one and the added flexibility of topic selections within the business seminar courses.

Content-wise, the program adopts a dynamic, general format that eliminates the previously existing specializations. Graduate students now select among two career prospect tracks to tailor their business education depending on their objectives: corporate advancement, focusing on career growth opportunities within organizations, and entrepreneurship, focusing on entrepreneurial firms and family businesses. 

“Revamping the MBA program was a challenging process, especially in adapting to the ongoing changing market needs” said Sherwat Elwan, director of the MBA programs and associate professor of operations management. “This restructuring empowers us to fully prepare our students for the workplace of the future by tackling contemporary topics and skills that lie at the heart of every leader, paving their way to becoming vehicles for impact and change.”

On-the-Job Training: Cooperative Education

Additionally, a new experiential learning course, Cooperative Education (Co-OP), was introduced for students majoring in business as part of their general electives. In this course, students are directly engaged, on a full-time basis, with external entities for six months. During this period, students are assigned specific tasks relevant to their area of study as a form of on-the-job training and are evaluated on key learning objectives by academic faculty and an external entity counterpart.

“The Co-Op program is really a triple-win model. First, it enhances the student’s learning experience, career readiness, and placement quality. Second, it constitutes a continuous feedback channel regarding the quality of students and curricula. Third, it provides the employer with a natural extended monitoring and recruitment setting which should lead to better hiring decisions” said Ahmed Abdel-Meguid, associate dean of undergraduate studies and administration and associate professor of accounting, AUC School of Business.

These new programs and courses aim to equip today’s business students with the comprehensive knowledge they require to navigate an ever-changing business landscape, entailing real-world experience, adaptability, interdisciplinary knowledge, efficiency, and critical thinking. 

AUC welcomes the Class of 2024 — with their aspirations and endeavors —while implementing a hybrid model of classes with an emphasis on maintaining a low-density campus, where 93% of classes will be held online and only 7% will meet face to face when required.

"I warmly welcome both new and returning AUCians to this bright new academic year, promising an unusual wealth of challenges and opportunities," said President Francis Ricciardone in his welcome message to the AUC community. "I am pleased to welcome an especially strong incoming freshman class."

Made up of approximately 1,200 undergraduates — 58% females and 42% males — and more than 340 admitted graduate students — 70% females and 30% males — the incoming class hails from 26 diverse countries, including the United States, Canada, Spain and Brazil, as well as different parts of Africa and the Middle East such as Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, Algeria, Palestine, Tunisia and, of course, Egypt. Egyptian students are joining AUC from 20 governorates across the country, including Ismailia, Alexandria, Dakahlia and The New Valley.

This year also marks the kickoff of the USAID Scholars program, which received more than 4,000 applications from all of Egypt's 27 governorates.

With a selectivity of 40%, representing a 7% improvement over last fall, and a yield — the percentage of students who enroll from those we accept — of about 77%, entry to AUC remains highly competitive. AUC continues to provide more than $22.3 million in scholarships and financial aid.

This year, more than 100 new international students are studying at AUC, and around 3.4% of undergraduate students are international.

Sara Toutain, an international student studying translation at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, has been in Egypt for a week and a half. "It's been an incredible experience; people are super welcoming. They are helping us with our classes and courses, and they really want to learn Spanish from us, which is really fun — a super amazing experience," she said.

Alba Fernandez, who is also studying translation at UAB Barcelona, came to AUC to learn Arabic. "I am pleasantly surprised. I love the people here; I love the place. The University is amazing. I am very happy to be here," she said.

Rachel Campbell is joining AUC from Canada to pursue a master's in teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL). "My experience in Egypt has been great," she said. "I've lived here for a year already, but my experience at AUC has been fantastic. The organizing team has been great. They also bought me coffee twice. I love them. They are doing awesome."

Approximately 200 of the enrolled undergraduates have already declared majors in sciences and engineering, while other students will navigate courses before deciding on their majors.

For freshman Omar Mehanna, one of the main reasons he applied to AUC is its liberal arts education. "I expect to meet a huge number of people with diverse backgrounds and with different perspectives on life than I have. I also expect to take part in cocurricular activities to develop my skills professionally and personally," he said.

Likewise, Nour Khalifa is also looking forward to being part of AUC's diverse community and meeting new people, whether through sports teams, students organizations or classes. "I applied to AUC because I want to study psychology, and it's the only University that offers what I need," she said.

Sarah Koura, a freshman intending to major in either political science or business administration, decided to join AUC for the global experience, cocurricular activities and victorious sports teams. "AUC is unique," she said. "It's the only University in Egypt that gives you the 'abroad' experience in your homeland," she said.

For the first time, AUC’s First-Year Program (FYP) for incoming students will be blended this fall.

The integrated orientation will be mostly virtual with two days of face-to-face interaction on campus that includes the Engagement Fair as well as other on-ground activities, where students will be divided into small cohorts who come to campus on different days. New additions to FYP this year include sessions on IT solutions and services as well as combatting sexual harassment, YouVisit virtual tour, AUC-Connect hub and a pre-orientation guide for students to use throughout the year. 

“This makes FYP distinctive this time not only because it is mostly online due to the pandemic, but also because it is a hybrid orientation done for the first time in Egypt,” said Dina Wahdan, electronics and communications engineering student and FYP president. “This year, we are focusing on the transitioning of first-year students in all academic aspects as well as their personal development and engaging them with the AUC community.”

How It’s Done Virtually

For starters, the orientation consists of two online days and two days on campus. The online days will be mostly held on Zoom and will provide incoming students with all information they need, while still including online activities that will help them engage with their Peer Leaders and colleagues. The on-ground days will include some activities along with the Engagement Fair, in which students get the chance to sign up for their preferred clubs.

New additions this year include a session on IT solutions and services, since the semester will be hybrid, and a separate health insurance session for new international students. FYP also launched a pre-orientation guide this year that doesn’t only help incoming students during orientation, but is also available for them all year long. “The guide includes information about what makes AUC distinctive as a liberal arts University, policies, facilities and all what students need to know about AUC,” Wahdan added.

The guide was delivered asynchronously in advance of the dates of the virtual component with readings and assignments in a flipped-class mode. “This better ensures that FYP students are prepared and ready to engage with other students on day one of the virtual component,” said Ahmed Zain, student development manager at the Office of the Dean of Students.

The incoming students are divided into smaller batches this year, where all students will be required to use AUC Connect — a hub that connects sessions and participants to ensure effective, user-friendly and interactive learning, as it will include the orientation schedule, individual student sections and all Zoom links according to group numbers. Each virtual class section will include 16 new students rather than 25, while students will be divided in virtual breakout rooms to work independently and present their work to their peers.

“The Peer Leaders are currently trained to use Zoom and features such as breakout rooms, polls and chat to create lively, interactive sessions,” said Zain. “An important new feature of the orientation this year is the AUC-Connect app, which hosts [everything] in a friendly and interactive platform. This helps students navigate things and engage with their peers more easily.”

After the orientation ends, all incoming students will be required —for the first time — to take a quiz to test what they grasped during the orientation and point out areas that need further development. Students are also required to fill out a survey after completing the orientation, where they assess their overall experience and write their feedback on all aspects of the program, including content, activities and any technical issues they faced. “All of this … shows how we as a team go beyond [what’s required], even in these circumstances, and this is what makes us distinctive,” explained Wahdan.

Train the Trainers

Before starting the virtual orientation, the FYP team conducted focus groups, where 70 students from the incoming class volunteered to attend and test the system that will be used throughout the program, providing their feedback and thoughts on how to facilitate the process and enrich the experience for both students and the FYP team. “The thorough feedback we have requested from first-year students and Peer Leaders enabled us to enhance the experience on both ends,” said Wahdan.

The FYP student orientation team is made up of 140 Peer Leaders who volunteer their time to help set incoming students on the right path and familiarize them with the AUC experience. An important addition to FYP this year is training the Peer Leaders different to deliver the best quality of service, given the COVID-19 situation. AUC’s Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT) trained Peer Leaders on how to provide interactive virtual sessions using new software programs, building on the experience of AUC faculty during the Spring 2020 semester. “The FYP team modified the orientation’s content to best align with the new blended learning format, including reconceiving the in-class games in a virtual format to provide the same high-quality experience that new students expect from AUC,” said Zain.

The FYP Core Leadership used CLT’s Training of Trainers model to train Peer Leaders on navigating different online learning tools such as Zoom, Blackboard and Moodle. One-to-one sessions were also provided for the Peer Leaders.

In addition, sessions on combating sexual harassment have been integrated into the integrated orientation this fall, familiarizing students with how to address the definition of sexual harassment, ways to report a perceived instance of sexual harassment and measures taken by AUC to protect those who report such incidents. Peer Leaders will also inform incoming students of different resources at AUC that could help victims of sexual harassment. Following the session, a quiz will be taken to measure gains in awareness among FYP students. There will also be a follow up with further awareness sessions for anyone performing poorly on the quiz.

It’s Still Fun

“Just because sessions are online doesn’t preclude being fun and exciting,” affirmed Zain. “Online training can be engaging if facilitators are trained to design student-centered activities in small group settings.”

Thus, the Office of Student Life has designed the Engagement Fair take place on the third day of the FYP orientation, split over two days in tandem with the FYP schedule, in three different locations, to decrease the number of students on campus at any point in time. More areas of the campus are being used so that students are spread out to the greatest extent, and all activities take place outdoors. FYP also designed additional on-campus engagement activities that will supplement and enhance the experience of students who are being introduced to the New Cairo campus for the first time.

Virtual Campus Tour

The YouVisit virtual tour is a new feature of the FYP experience this fall, where a Student Ambassador will join the tour virtually to narrate the full experience.

“As FYP president, I constantly make it a point to keep my team motivated and to not only remind them of our purpose as an entity, but also to make them aware that our attempt to make this orientation succeed makes us unique, given the current circumstances,” Wahdan said. “To me, FYP is the most important phase where incoming students truly attempt to engage with University life. Although this pandemic has caused the world to slow down, we have come to see that with dedication, passion and a collective effort, nothing is impossible and impact can be made even with the smallest gestures.”

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) — together with AUC, MIT and Community Jameel —launched a new regional research center in the Middle East and North Africa, J-PAL MENA, focused on alleviating poverty and improving lives through evidence-informed policymaking. 

Based at AUC's School of Business, J-PAL MENA becomes J-PAL’s seventh regional center. Since J-PAL was founded at MIT in 2003 by Professors Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, recipients of the 2019 Nobel Prize in economics, the center has established regional offices in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The launch of J-PAL MENA builds on several years of collaboration among J-PAL and AUC, being an expansion of the existing J-PAL/AUC initiative, which commenced at the School of Business in 2018. 

Speaking on behalf of Community Jameel, the global philanthropy organization that has worked in partnership with J-PAL and supported it since 2005, President, International Fady Jameel, said: “The concept of supporting communities has been in the family’s heritage for 75 years, and this same concept has been key to J-PAL’s work around the world since it was founded in 2003. The announcement of the new office in Cairo will be instrumental in bringing J-PAL’s evidence-informed approach to our home region, which uses randomized evaluations to identify programs that can have the biggest positive impact on the most vulnerable communities in MENA.”

J-PAL’s rigorous, scientific approach to evaluating social programs and policies helps shed light on the most effective approaches to reducing poverty. J-PAL MENA, in particular, will bring this approach to the region, leading on three main activities: using the Nobel Prize-winning experimental approach to inform high-level decision making; working with governments, NGOs, foundations and other organizations to bridge the gap between research and policy; and leading training programs and workshops for policy professionals and researchers to help build a culture of evidence-informed policymaking across the region.  

Through these core activities, J-PAL MENA will address some of the most complex and interconnected challenges causing poverty in the region, which have been exacerbated in recent months by the COVID-19 pandemic. Children in MENA have among the lowest learning outcomes, youth and women struggle to find quality employment, women’s agency is among the lowest in the world, environmental and energy resources are strained, and conflict has left many communities facing displacement and in need of humanitarian assistance.

Sherif Kamel ‘88, ‘90, ‘13, dean of AUC’s School of Business, said, “We are proud to be the home of J-PAL MENA, leveraging AUC’s long history of engaging in cutting-edge policy-relevant research. With J-PAL MENA, we aim to build an ecosystem for evidence-based policy, crowding in regional academics and training future development researchers, forging partnerships with policymakers, and bridging the gap between academic research and policymakers in the region.”

Speaking on behalf of J-PAL, Iqbal Dhaliwal, global executive director of J-PAL, noted: "J-PAL’s regional offices are locally grounded hubs for innovation, evaluation and scaling. For almost 15 years, our regional offices have forged close partnerships with governments, NGOs and foundations, and have supported the use of evidence in decision making to improve the lives of tens of millions. With the launch of J-PAL MENA, I am thrilled that J-PAL will have a permanent home in the region and deepen our work with committed partners in Egypt and across MENA.”

MIT President L. Rafael Reif echoed similar sentiments: “With endless energy and ingenuity, Community Jameel continues to help MIT find new ways to spur positive change for vulnerable communities around the world. J-PAL’s expansion into the MENA region comes at an opportune moment, when the COVID-19 pandemic is having especially devastating effects on those living in poverty. Reflecting the bold and generous spirit of the Jameel family, J-PAL MENA will be a catalyst for research, partnerships and programs that will improve people’s lives.”

J-PAL MENA will be led by scientific directors Bruno Crépon, professor of economics and econometrics at Institut Polytechnique de Paris, ENSAE and École Polytechnique, and Adam Osman, assistant professor of economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Together with J-PAL’s professional staff, regional academics and policymakers, the new center will generate timely and useful research to improve policy and reduce poverty across the MENA region

A case study submitted by AUC's School of Business El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center titled "Technology Park Company: Harvesting the Fruits of a Family Business” won the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition’s Family Business category.

The case study is authored by Ashraf Sheta, assistant professor in the Department of Management, in collaboration with a number of students: Gamila Ibrahim, Ahmed Mostafa, Ahmed Medhat, Ali Yehia Fouda, and Farah Tarek El Mosalami. It was the main learning output for the students through their Family Business undergraduate course. 

"It is a great honor to be recognized by one of the most prestigious case competitions," Ibrahim said. "The EFMD Case Competition gave me the opportunity to work with smart-minded, enthusiastic and visionary artists."

The case revolves around Technology Park Company, a privately owned company operating in the IT field. Telling the story of the entrepreneur, the case moves through a timeline that takes the readers on the journey of his success, including challenges, speed bumps and family business-related concerns pertaining to the Egyptian context, such as succession, partner involvement, and separation of ownership and management.

"With family businesses being so common in Egypt, and especially with the rise in the startup ecosystem, family business topics are relevant now more than ever," said El-Mosalami. 

Echoing the same sentiment, Moustafa said, "While the award itself is a symbol of the hard work and collaboration with my peers, the journey of our personal aspiration is what I admire most about it. The small victories we had throughout the project are what I cherish. I'd like to thank Dr. Ashraf Sheta and my teammates for this outstanding achievement." Read more student testimonials here.

This achievement comes in line with KCC’s drive to become the leading case development center in the Middle East and North Africa region and the primary link between academic research and practical applications. This is an aim that is mirrored by EFMD’s focus on publishing case content that represents all regions. 

Sherif Kamel '88, '90, '13, dean of AUC School of Business, remarks: “At the AUC School of Business, we believe in the profound impact of case-based learning in linking business and academia. We’re delighted to be the winners of the Family Business category of EFMD’s Case Competition, not only because of our commitment to blending theory with practice and integrating real-life market experiences and trends in our students’ learning, but also because family business is one of the main strategic themes of the school.”

Held annually since 1988, the case writing competition encourages innovative and impactful case writing and teaching. It includes 17 categories representing critical managerial areas to which case authors can contribute to management development and some of its future challenges. 

Cases are evaluated based on content (the ability to create a strong and interesting learning experience), form (a good balance between a well-told story and sufficient data), teaching notes (accompanying each submission to enhance the learner’s experience) and innovation (ideas should improve teaching and student engagement).

“We are honored to receive the prestigious EFMD competition award for the year 2019," Sheta noted. "The field of family business is still young, and the most interesting aspect of it is that it is a mix between several disciplines with different factors, ranging from emotions to analysis of rigid data. Realizing the importance of case orientation as a learning pedagogy within business schools, we hope that our case can help to develop the discipline of family business further."

AUC's School of Business, championed by KCC, had launched and sponsored a new category of case studies within the 2019 EFMD case writing competition, the Responsible Business category. Receiving a total of 43 submitted cases, the category mainly included cases that addressed corporate governance, financial reporting and auditing, integrated reporting, anti-corruption, business ethics, social marketing, gender equality, corporate sustainability, and responsible business education and practices.