Human-centered design thinking approach is a core part of the AUC educational experience.

By integrating design thinking into the curriculum, AUC is teaching students to approach complicated problems with a sense of empathy, creativity and resilience, explained Hoda Mostafa, professor of practice and director of the University’s Center for Learning and Teaching (CLT).

Design thinking is a methodology used by Fortune 500 companies, including Apple and J.P. Morgan, to transform their way of operating and develop innovative, customer-centric products and services. International development institutions, such as the World Food Programme and UNESCO, have employed it to create policies and programs that effectively address poverty, gender inequality and other complex global challenges.

To read the full article, click here.

The American University in Cairo School of Business partnered with the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AmCham Egypt) in March 2021 to provide AUC graduate students with a unique chance to become AUC Postgraduate Temporary AmCham Members.

Membership of AmCham Egypt offered graduate students a multitude of unique advantages, including access to information about market development updates, business discussion forums, and more.

14 students joined the AmCham Egypt community since the start of this partnership, of whom seven have already confirmed their membership renewal for the year 2022 after experiencing first-hand the wide array of benefits that this membership has to offer.

A pivotal theme the School espouses is that of experiential learning. This encompasses providing students with knowledge relating to real-world business practices, hands-on experience and expert know-how. This partnership with AmCham Egypt is one of the School’s efforts to provide postgraduates with the opportunity to gain this much-needed practical expertise to aid them in better understanding the complexities of the business world.

For many of those graduates, the knowledge they have acquired through their membership was the highlight of their experience. “The membership helped a lot in terms of enriching my background and empowering my knowledge. The monthly bulletin also enlightened my information both on a macro and micro level," emphasized Haytham Abdelhamid, CRO of Easy Lease.

In similar regard, the Director of The Applied Studies Department at AUC, Rafik Raouf highlighted how his interactions with AmCham’s services and members have continuously helped him gain insights and valuable information. “The AmCham membership was a unique one, every interaction adds value, not wasting one’s time," he stated.

State Counselor Mohamed Fawzy also highlighted the practical knowledge gained from his membership. “AmCham boosted my vision about the practical and day-to-day difficulties of corporations in Egypt".

The membership also aided some postgraduate students with completing their thesis. “My partnership with AmCham regarding my thesis was fruitful and made me exceedingly happy to be a part of this successful entity,” stressed Mustafa Hassan, the technical member in the ministerial office of the head of Accountability State Authority.

To make the best out of this experience, Amir El Naghy, managing director of KMK Chemicals, decided to enroll his company in AmCham, too. “I will be renewing my membership this year and joining the corporate membership for my company the following year," mentioned El Naghy.

AmCham Egypt is an overseas affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce in Egypt. AmCham Egypt aims to facilitate trade and investment between Egypt and the US, promote a more prosperous and socially responsible business environment, and provide its network of members as well as general communities within the Egyptian business environment as a whole with a plentiful array of business services and networking opportunities.

For more information about program membership criteria and eligibility, click here.

On June 19, the AUC School of Business celebrated its top 10 percent of graduating students from the classes of January 2022 and June 2022 during the annual Recognition of Excellence Ceremony (REC), which was held at AUC Tahrir Square's Stage Garden.

During the ceremony, the school recognized the academic performance of 41 undergraduate and graduate students across all majors. The school also recognized one of its distinguished alumni, Nelly El Zayat, co-founder and director of Newton Education Services, as well as some of its top performing faculty and staff.

Lastly, the school celebrated students who made a difference this academic year, including the student team that won third place at the international ENGCOMM competition lead by Hakim Meshreki, assistant professor and CEMS-MIM academic director, as well as the students who took part in the first round of the school’s exclusive CO-OP program.

Join us while we take a look back at the awardees of this year's Recognition of Excellence Ceremony.

Impactful Faculty

Medhat Hassanein, distinguished professor of finance and banking, received the Distinguished Faculty Appreciation Award. Hassanein served as the minister of finance in Egypt from 1999 to 2004, and is a member of many local and international professional associations. He has served as chairman and board member of banks (investment, commercial and development), public holding companies and private corporations.

Dina Abdel Fattah, assistant professor and interim chair of economics, received the Excellence in Service Award. Abdel Fattah has also worked as an independent consultant with a number of local, regional and international organizations as a migration, gender and labor market expert.

Hamed Hassouna, instructor and chief regional director at Union de Banques Arabes et Francaises (UBAF), received the Adjunct Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award. Hassouna teaches banking and finance postgraduate courses at the school. He manages trade finance business in Egypt and the GCC and has 33 years of experience in different international and local Institutions.

Mina Ayad, assistant professor of economics, received the Excellence in Teaching Award. Ayad's research is specialized in statistics, theoretical, and applied econometrics, and many of his papers have been published in prestigious international peer-reviewed journals. He previously worked as an economist and statistician at the Ministry of Economics in Paris.

Mohamed Basuony, associate professor of accounting, received the Excellence in Research Award. Basuony's work experience includes more than 25 years as a trainer with multinational companies across the GCC and North Africa regions. He teaches undergraduates as well as post-graduates in the UK, Egypt and Kuwait.

Outstanding Staff

Hala Barakat, director of the AUC School of Business Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), received the Management Excellence Award. Being an entrepreneur herself, she was directly involved in all the ups and downs of the business world which has enabled her to guide and mentor young entrepreneurs in different fields.

Hala ElBehairy, research associate at J-PAL MENA at AUC, received the Staff Excellence Award. ElBehairy works on evaluating the impact of the Egyptian Ministry of Social Solidarity’s program to improve access to nurseries and employment services on mothers' labor market outcomes and early childhood development.

Mohamed Teleb, clerk I at the Decision Support Unit, received the Staff Excellence Award. Teleb joined the AUC School of Business in 2008 and started his work at the support services unit at the Management Center. Then he joined the finance team in 2009.

Alumni Leaving a Mark

School alumna Nelly El Zayat, co-founder and director of Newton Education Services, received the Distinguished Alumni Award for her exceptional work in bridging the gap between education and the job market in Egypt over the past 20 years. El Zayat is also advisor to the Minister of Education on Early Childhood Education and Education Policy.

Resilient students

Fall 2021 graduate Mariam El Sabban received the Omar Mohsen Memorial Award and Spring 2022 graduate Moustafa Awad received the Stephen S. Everhart Distinguished Business Award.

Graduates who received certificates for their excellent academic achievements:

Master of Arts in Economics

Salma Maher Abdelghany, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Nourhan Hossam Elhadba, Spring ‘22

Master of Arts in Economics in International Development

Alanoud Ehab Mohamed, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Mustafa Ahmed Abdellah, Spring ‘22 (Highest GPA)

Master of Business Administration

Sally Matta Hanna, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Executive Master of Business Administration

Moustafa Sherif Elsheneiti, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

CEMS Master in International Management

Noor Absher Sorour, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Malak Mohamed Fayed, Spring ‘22

Master of Science in Finance

Fayrouz Hesham Negm, Spring ‘22

Bachelor of Accounting

Salma Hany Abouahmed, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Nadine Sabry Hamza, Fall ‘21

Ahmed Mohamed Alamri, Fall ‘21

Nathalie Nabil Kamel, Spring ‘22 (Highest GPA)

Haya Ihab Mandour, Spring ‘22

Alia Adham Fahim, Spring ‘22

Bachelor of Business Administration

Farah Mohsen El Batran, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Malak Ayman Abdelaziz, Fall ‘21

Omar Osama Abo Mousallam, Fall ‘21

Sondos Osama Allam, Fall ‘21

Abdelrahman Hatem Hassanein, Spring ‘22 (Highest GPA)

Karim Mohib Elhawary, Spring ‘22

Salma Ahmed Ghanem, Spring ‘22

Zeyad Ahmed El Shayeb, Spring ‘22

Aishah Said Habib, Spring ‘22

Marina Morcos Mikhail, Spring ‘22

Adham Mohamed Radwan, Spring ‘22

Bachelor of Business Administration in Management of Information and Communication Technology

Abdelrahman Bassiouny Abou Qerrsh, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Seif Khaled Abdelshaheed, Spring ‘22

Yousra Mounir Ismail, Spring ‘22

Bachelor of Arts in Economics

Salma Alaaeldin Gafaar, Fall ‘21 (Highest GPA)

Nada Yacoub Abdelsayed, Fall ‘21

Mina Malak Hanna, Fall ‘21

Youssef Mohamed Abdellatif, Fall ‘21

Yara Salah Shousha, Spring ‘22 (Highest GPA)

Moustafa Mohamed Awad, Spring ‘22

Maryam Ahmed Mahdy, Spring ‘22

Eisha Mohamed Afifi, Spring ‘22

Five alumni from AUC's School of Business were named among Forbes Middle East's Top 100 CEOs in the Middle East for 2022.

The list's rankings are based on overall experience and time in their current role, company size in terms of revenues, assets and market cap, achievements in the last year, innovations and initiatives implemented by the CEO and impact within their country and region.

Here are the five AUCians on the list:

Hatem Dowidar ‘01  | CEO of e&

___

Hussein Abaza ‘84  | CEO and managing director of the Commercial International Bank

___

Adel El Labban ‘77, ‘80  | CEO of Ahli United Bank

___

Elham Yousry Mahfouz ‘84  | CEO of Commercial Bank of Kuwait

___

Karim Awad ‘99  | CEO and chairman of EFG Hermes

___

The Arabization of case studies has been a long-awaited initiative of the AUC School of Business and the University at large. Its widespread impact on the teaching and learning of business in Egypt and the region will be undeniable.

AUC School of Business and the region’s first case center El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center (KCC) has taken on this challenging initiative and on May 24 it finally saw the light during a high-profile launch event held at the AUC New Cairo Campus.

During the launch event a panel of AUC School of Business professors, as well as Merihan Khairy, General Manager for Egypt Intracity trips at Swvl, the tech-enabled ridesharing services and the subject of one of KCC’s most successful case studies, discussed the significance of Arabizing case studies and the importance of their use in business education. The floor was then open for discussion with the audience, which included deans and professors from business schools all over Egypt.

Why Case Studies Matter

KCC Co-founder and Managing Director of Qalaa Holdings Hisham El Khazindar delivered a keynote speech emphasizing what inspired him to fund the center in the first place. “Case studies are a way of learning by doing, it allows students to debate real cases and provide knowledge that lasts a lifetime,” highlighted El Khazindar adding, "Yes, AUC is an English-speaking university, yet we are still rooted in Egypt. And as such we want to spread this method of teaching and the use of the cases that we worked on amongst Arabic-speaking institutions. This is why the Arabization of case studies is a crucial step to reach this goal.”

“Case studies inspire students on a personal level because they showcase success stories of companies and entrepreneurs navigating business problems,” said Ayman Ismail, associate professor, Abdul Latif Jameel endowed chair of entrepreneurship, and founding director of the AUC Venture Lab.

"Case studies help students rediscover themselves," commented Samer Atallah, associate professor of economics and associate dean for graduate studies and research.

“I started using case studies in my classes this semester and it really made a difference,” agreed Riham Halim, marketing professor at Tanta University Faculty of Business. “Case Studies can be applied to multiple types of courses and topics such as research and development, strategic management, and brand management,” she added.

The professors emphasized the changing dynamics of today’s business students. “Today’s students are smart and ambitious, but their brains are wired differently. They cannot sit in classes and listen to a professor lecture for hours anymore. They need more engaging classes,” explained Ismail.

“Nowadays, information and knowledge is easily accessible online. Teaching with case studies is a more skill-oriented method, which provides a higher value to the students,” agreed Maha Mourad, associate professor and associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration. "Not to mention, most cases cover companies that students are already familiar with. This makes the students more knowledgeable about the job market before graduation,” added Mourad.

“We always push our faculty to develop research with impact. Targeting A and B journals is important and so is working on cases and publishing them in case repositories,” elaborated Mourad, adding: “Needless to say, for faculty to teach with cases they developed personally is incredibly rewarding.”

"International entities rank universities based on innovation. Allowing students and professors to work on solving and writing cases is a great way to improve a university's impact and innovation," noted Mourad.

Since its inauguration, KCC aimed at spreading the use of local case studies in the School’s classrooms. “Our goal is to spread the culture of cases beyond AUC and in other business schools in Egypt and the region," highlighted Ahmed Tolba, co-founder of KCC, associate professor of marketing, and chair of the Department of Management.

“The problem with governmental universities in Egypt is that the number of students in each lecture is huge, which makes it difficult to teach using cases. It would be great if KCC can provide training on how to use case studies in my teaching for larger audiences,” commented Alaa Game’, professor at Alexandria Faculty of Business French Section.

Case Studies Beyond Business Education

The significance of case studies goes beyond the walls of a classroom, too. "Arabizing case studies would help expand the reach of cases to native Arabic-speaking youth. Cases are not only aimed for business students, but it also allows students and young professionals from non-business fields and who might not be able to afford a formal business education to learn from existing case studies to expand their business knowledge," explained Merihan Khairy, general manager for Egypt Intracity Trips, Swvl.

Merihan also highlighted how she uses case studies in her hiring process at Swvl. “Case studies are an essential part of our interviews,” she mentioned.

“The skills that are available today are not what students will need tomorrow. Case studies enhance the skills of the talents available in the market and Arabizing them will expand the base of participants and beneficiaries,” underlined Mahmoud Dawoud, marketing and training coordinator at the Egyptian Knowledge Bank.

In addition, companies that become the subject of a case study benefit a lot from the innovative out-of-the-box ideas that can come out of them. “Case studies allow companies to overcome their problems through new ideas from students,” emphasized Mourad.

The Significance of Arabization

“Case studies are a vital pedagogical tool that bridges the gap between theory and practice, and provides students with hands-on experiences,” emphasized Engy Magdy, director of KCC, adding: “KCC has several partnerships and collaborations with case institutions across the globe that help us in providing high-quality cases, after undergoing rigorous review processes, as well as disseminating our cases.” Engy also emphasized that publishing case studies in Arabic will give KCC an edge over other publishers as none of them publish in Arabic.

“Since 2016, our case studies have been available through the Egyptian Knowledge Bank and the Arabization is a great initiative that will facilitate the introduction of case studies and what they are to larger audiences,” expressed Mahinour Ouda, publishing relationship manager at Emerald Publishing, one of KCC's partners.

“Our role as school of business is to showcase the companies that exist in Egypt on a global level. We wanted to develop case studies that reflect what is happening on the ground in the Egyptian market,” highlighted AUC School of Business Dean Sherif Kamel, adding” “More than 1000 of our students participated in writing case studies over the past 15 years and KCC organized multiple workshops to train our faculty on using case studies in class.”

After Arabizing existing English case studies, AUC School of Business hopes that other business schools in Egypt start writing their own Arabic case studies as well. "We are here to help and provide capacity building,” stressed Atallah while inviting the wider business education community to connect with KCC and the School over the next period.