Mariam Ibrahim '19, a graphic design graduate, was featured on CNN and at the Global Grad Show in Dubai for her project Hale, a series of hospital garments designed to improve a patient's sense of well-being. Made with antibacterial materials, the gowns use sensors to track a patient's temperature, blood pressure, oxygen and other vital signs. It updates an app every 10 seconds, giving a complete overview of a patient throughout the day.

Ibrahim was among several international students from around the world who gathered at the Global Grad Show in Dubai, "presenting their solutions to the world's most pressing issues." Watch the CNN video here:

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/design/2019/11/21/global-gateway-dubai-design-week-grad-show-2019-lon-orig.cnn

The International Association of Egyptologists awarded Fayza Haikal, professor of Egyptology at AUC, an Honorary Membership — the association's highest accolade — "for a lifetime of brilliant scholarly contributions to Egyptology." Only four other people have ever been recognized with this honor since the establishment of the association in the early 1970s.

Previously, Haikal was honored by the British-based Egypt Exploration Society and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities for her illustrious career in Egyptology.

Reflecting on her time at AUC, Haikal noted, "I was hired by AUC to create a major in Egyptology. It was done, and thanks to my colleagues — and here I have to mention the dynamism they all put in to build up its reputation, particularly Professor Salima Ikram — I believe that today, it is a well-established, well-famed program for undergraduates as well as graduates."

Haikal is a leading female figure in Egyptology in Egypt. She was the first Egyptian woman to earn a PhD in Egyptology and the first female president of the International Association of Egyptologists. Haikal was also the first Egyptian woman to work in Nubia during the salvage of monuments threatened by the building of the Aswan High Dam and organized a project to protect archeological sites during the construction of the Peace Canal in northern Sinai.

Emphasizing the distinctiveness of studying Egyptology at AUC, Haikal affirmed, "Our students have the privilege to study Egyptology in Egypt where they can not only access archeological sites in addition to museums, but can meet international scholars from all the archeological institutes based in Egypt and excavating in Egypt. They can also attend lectures on the most recent discoveries and other related topics almost every day, in addition to their regular curriculum. I have been teaching at AUC for 35 years and can say that, today, most of them have completed PhDs at the best universities in Europe and the United States or at least pursued a master's degree at AUC and contributed to many projects by the Ministry of Antiquities. I am indeed very proud of them."

Haikal received her bachelor's in Egyptology from Cairo University and her PhD in Egyptology from Oxford University in England. Her international career in academia has included posts as a visiting professor at Charles University in Prague (2000) and La Sapienza in Roma (1994). Furthermore, she has lectured extensively in North and South America, Europe, the Far East and Africa.  In 2006 - 2007, Haikal was the Blaise Pascal Chair of Research, offered by The Fondation de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure and hosted by the Sorbonne, for researching and lecturing.

Words of advice from Haikal? "Love your work and work hard. One will never know enough!"

For the first time, AUC will be the main partner and host of RiseUp Summit, the one-stop-shop event connecting startups in the Middle East and Africa.

In its seventh edition, RiseUp will host the region's top entrepreneurs, startups, investors, creative masterminds and Fortune 500 companies in a three-day entrepreneurial marathon. For the first time, RiseUp summit will also feature Arabic content, where various speakers from the region will present their own journey of growth on stage in Arabic.

This year’s theme is designed to build on past years’ summit content, focusing on the journey of growth as well as drawing the line between the past, present and future. The three-day summit will include talks, panels and chats; in-depth workshops and bootcamps; networking sessions with hundreds of investors; talent matchmaking events; and exclusive satellite events.

“We see value in accommodating such a major event like RiseUp Summit in our centennial year, in which we are expecting more than 8,000 participants coming from 50 to 60 different countries as well as many prominent speakers,” said Alaa Adris, associate provost for research, innovation and creativity at AUC. “We see our collaboration with RiseUp more of a sustainable relationship because we can see them as part of our innovation hub, our commercialization of technology efforts, and many other areas of interest and future plans.”

Through the summit, startups will have the opportunity to assess their current situation, and determine how they can progress steadily but confidently from their core to their vision, through strategy, execution, tips, and tricks.

“Having organized the summit for the past seven years, we were able to identify the challenges faced by startups in the region, which allowed us to develop a complete model that they can follow when venturing through the entrepreneurship ecosystem,” explained AbdelHameed Sharara, chief executive officer and co-founder of RiseUp. “After dissecting growth, we found that there is no fixed manual on how to grow; it is a personal and unique journey for each entrepreneur. So what we can offer to people is diverse [with] unlimited resources and opportunities, along with a roadmap that guides them through this journey. Being committed to our own growth strategy, we decided to move to AUC's New Cairo campus, allowing us to grow further in all aspects.”

The speaker line-up will feature many international figures in various fields, including Brian Collins, chief creative officer at COLLINS; Gerardo Mazzeo, global innovation director at Nestlé; Karen Cheng, head of social at 9GAG; Marcel Muenster, founder, and director of the Gritti Fund and Raya Abirached, TV presenter.

"AUC Venture Lab has always been an early believer in RiseUp Summit. This year, we are excited to have RiseUp at AUC New Cairo campus for the first time, bringing thousands of entrepreneurs, investors and ecosystem players from Egypt, MENA and beyond. We're pleased to have a strong presence through our startups and to contribute to the Summit's program," said Ayman Ismail '95, '97,  Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship; associate professor at School of Business and the founding director of the AUC Venture Lab. 

“We are exploring with RiseUp other collaboration opportunities like founding an academy for entrepreneurship, for instance, where students can come to learn and acquire basic skills for entrepreneurship. This is just the beginning,” affirmed Adris.

Click here to know how to get your tickets.

#AUCFutureMakers

Atta Gebril, associate professor in the Department of Applied Linguistics, and Mona Amer '98, associate professor and chair of the Department of Psychology,received the Elsevier 2019 Scopus Researcher Awards for the impact of their research in the fields of education and psychology, respectively, on Egyptian society. Gebril and Amer are the only two award recipients from AUC.

Alongside Elsevier Chairman, YS Chi, Ministers from the Egyptian Government, University Presidents, Directors from various institutional centers and top cited Egyptian scientists attended the awards ceremony, which highlighted the important milestones and research that have helped advance Egypt Vision 2030, the Egyptian government's sustainable development strategy. 

Read more about the award and their research. 

International scholars and Egyptologists from Egypt, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, France, Germany and a host of other countries will be at AUC Tahrir Square from October 31 to November 2 for the Women in Ancient Egypt: Current Research and Historical Trends conference, the first-of-its-kind in Egypt and the Middle East. 

The largest gathering of scholars working on women in Ancient Egypt, the conference will discuss different topics related to ancient Egyptian women: law, portrayal in literature, cultic participation and access to power.  

Click here for the conference website. 

AUC theatre students were involved in over 20 different plays and workshops brought to Cairo from around the world as part of the 26th annual Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre. Students majoring and minoring in theatre volunteered their time to help translate, organize workshops and volunteer both behind the scenes and on stage at one of largest theatre festivals in the region. 

Senior Ali El Shourbagy's experience took an unexpected turn when he ended up performing in a supporting role in the American musical The Fantasticks, which was brought to Cairo from the U.S. through sponsorship by the U.S. Embassy. El Shourbagy was working as a volunteer backstage for the production when one of the main actors got sick during dress rehearsals. The director and cast recognized his talent and asked El Shourbagy to join the company in the role of Mortimer. He performed at the Cairo Opera House and then traveled to Alexandria to perform with the company and fellow theatre students Laila Ghoneim and Yara Adel Mohamed, who worked backstage on the production.

Other students were involved in workshops and masterclasses in addition to supporting the many other plays from Uganda, France, Switzerland, Saudia Arabia, Syria, Brazil, Portugal, Bulgaria, South Africa and Egypt. Students gained first-hand knowledge about touring productions, performance techniques and theatre traditions from around the world as they represented AUC.

Distinguished University Professor of Egyptology Salima Ikram's Death and Burial in Ancient Egypt (AUC Press, 2015) appears among Book Riot’s 100 Must-Read Books About Ancient History. It shows how death and burial and the afterlife were so important to the ancient Egyptians and digs into their beliefs, mummification and funeral procedures as well as the logic behind the construction and decoration of the tombs.

"I am absolutely delighted and thrilled that the book has made it to the 100 must-reads about ancient Egypt. The book serves as an introduction to ancient Egyptian ideas about death and the hereafter — something that concerned them deeply as they wished to extend their lives into a perfect and fun eternity."

With more than 150 new photographs, diagrams and maps describing the Nubian temples including Abu Simbel and how they were moved, Nigel Fletcher Jones, director of the AUC Press and Bookstores, sheds the light on ancient Egypt through the Abu Simbel and the Nubian Temples, which came about through observing visitors at the famous site on Lake Nasser. 

"Guides are not allowed to enter either of the two temples. So, for example, when tourists go in to the Great Temple, after that first 'wow!' moment when they see the colossal statues of Rameses II, there is no way for them to know what it is important for them to see," noted Jones. "I have a PhD from Durham University in archeaological anthropology, so I was able to take my academic research on the temples and describe — in non-technical language — what is important from a historical perspective about the Great and Small Temples and Rameses II, and what the visitor shouldn't miss seeing at Abu Simbel."

Stay tuned for more AUC Press's releases coming your way including Jones' new book on ancient Egyptian jewelry. Visit the AUC Press website for their latest publications and offers. 

Thirteen of AUC’s master’s programs have topped the 2019 Eduniversal Rankings, with six being ranked the first in Africa and all among the top 200 worldwide.

No. 1 in Africa

• Executive Master of Business Administration
• Master of Arts in Economics
• Master of Business Administration (Operations Management)
• Master of Global Affairs
• Master of Science in Finance
• Master of Science in Sustainable Development (Green Technologies)

No. 2  in Africa

• Master of Business Administration
• Master of Public Administration
• Master of Laws (LLM) in International and Comparative Law 
• Master of Science in Computer Science
• Master of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering 

No. 3 in Africa 

• Master of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication 
• Master of Engineering in Electronics and Communications Engineering (Management of Technology) 

Each year, Eduniversal helps more than 4.2 million students all over the world in their search for the right graduate program.

Founded in 1994, Eduniversal uses three main criteria in its master’s rankings methodology: reputation of the program, salary of first employment post-graduation and a student satisfaction survey. Read here a full list and description of AUC's master's programs in the 2019 Eduniversal rankings. 

“I am very excited about this year’s results of rankings for a number of graduate programs at AUC, particularly about the number of AUC graduate programs ranked among the top three in Africa — increasing to 13 programs from 10 programs in the 2018 ranking. ,” said Adham Ramadan, dean of graduate studies at AUC. "These rankings reflect the quality of graduate studies at AUC and the success of our graduate programs in maintaining quality." #MakingAUCProud

Bernard O'Kane, professor in the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations, has released his latest book Mosques: The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship, where he went on a journey through different centuries and continents to explore 100 of the most iconic and beautifully made architectural designs that are also meant to be home to worshippers in Islam. 

"The book is unusual in the field of Islamic art and architecture for the breadth of its coverage. Mosques from four continents are illustrated, from North America to Europe, Africa and Asia," said Bernard O'Kane, professor in the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations.

In the book, O'Kane looks at some of the most iconic mosques from Indonesia to Spain and identifies how they've become more than just places for prayer, but have also meant to represent great historical architectural and design achievements. 

Speaking of golden iconic designs, O'Kane was also keen to highlight many of the mosques that date back to the golden age.

"Although those from the Arab, Turkish and Iranian heartlands receive the greatest attention, this breadth enables the reader to gain a fuller understanding of the worldwide distribution of mosques.  In addition, more emphasis is placed than is usual on the 19th and 20th centuries, with 21 out of 100 from those centuries," added O'Kane.

 

Dalia Abbas '13, political science graduate, earned her Master's in Education (EdM) — Technology, Innovation, and Education — from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She received the Harvard Intellectual Contribution Award, which honors students "whose dedication to scholarship enhanced the academic life of the community and positively impacted their fellow students" at Harvard.

"When I found out I got selected for the Harvard Intellectual Contribution Award, I was mostly just really surprised and humbled. There are so many incredible individuals in my program, from those who have worked on Sesame Street to those who run their own companies in places like Pakistan, to those that have taken their educational ventures on shows like Shark Tank. I'm grateful for my experience as an undergraduate at The American University in Cairo in that I think it really helped me distinguish myself and my interests and use that experience to make an impact in the intellectual community here at Harvard."

Read Harvard's full interview with Abbas here.