AUC's campus is sparkling with energy and hope as new and returning students kick off the Spring 2020 semester. More than 80 new undergraduates and 140 graduate students started their studies as the University approaches the final phase of its centennial celebration: Experience the Future. 

The new undergraduate class — 47.5% females and 52.5% males — is enriching campus diversity, with students coming from the United States, Syria and Yemen. 

Likewise, on the graduate level, the class  — 67% females and 33% males — comprises a diverse international body coming from the United States, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, Eritrea, Iraq, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia.  

Students expressed their hopes and eagerness to learn more about Egyptian history and improve their Arabic Language skills. News@AUC caught up with some of them during orientation week and on the first day of classes to learn about why they decided to join AUC and what they look forward to this semester. Here's what they had to say: 

Kit Feeney

The American University of Paris

"I came to AUC for the many cool economics programs and to get better in Arabic. I am taking the Egyptian colloquial class to learn Arabic. It is a really beautiful campus; I love it, I really couldn't ask for anything more."

Mateusz Puczel

Warsaw School of Economics

"I chose to come to AUC because I love the Middle East, and AUC is one of the best universities in the Middle East."

Ryan Butler

The State University of New York at New Paltz

"I came to AUC because I have a love for history, and Egyptian history is my favorite, I am looking forward to learning a lot at AUC from history professors. I also love the weather; it's perfect weather given the season."

Van Ieray

University of New Mexico

"I came to AUC because I am interested in Arabic and Egyptian history."

A group of second-year MBA students from the Columbia Business School spent one week in Cairo as part of a global immersion class conducted in partnership with the AUC Venture Lab. Describing their visit in one word, the students called it “impressive.” 

CBS students were paired with a V-Lab startup and worked together throughout the fall semester to create business plans and practice consultation. To complete the class, the students came to Cairo in January to meet with Egyptian business leaders and prepare a final presentation of their work with their assigned startups. 

“We had one week to visit companies, government officials, startups, IPOs and banks,” said Marco Viola, adjunct professor at the CBS and teacher of this course. “AUC is the top University in Egypt, and Columbia is a top university in the US, so I think it’s a great partnership.” 

The students worked with six startups that had all recently graduated from V-Lab and are in their early stages of business development.  

“We are very excited about this partnership,” said Ayman Ismail, Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, associate professor at AUC's School of Business and founding director of the V-Lab. “We’re trying to provide a platform of internationalization for our Egyptian startups. It’s great exposure to work with people in the Columbia Business School. Many of those people will end up in investment banks, venture capital funds or companies that can offer potential opportunities in the future.”  

Kyle Knopick, a CBS student, worked with the startup Amanleek, an insurance tech platform that aims to bring transparency and convenience to insurance purchase in Egypt. 

“I was really impressed with the acumen of the founders,” he said. “They were impressive even in pre-launch, pre-revenue, pre-testing and how much thought they had put into their business model. Working with them throughout the last few months has been a really fun, interesting and educative process.” 

“I’ve had a great experience at AUC,” said Karan Bains, another CBS student working with Amanleek. “AUC provides great infrastructure, a great platform [for startups] and great programming. I’ve really enjoyed my time here presenting all the work that we’ve done with these founders over the last few weeks.” 

And the appreciation for work ethic and expertise went both ways. Ihab Al-Soukary ‘13, co-founder at Amanleek, said that working with the CBS students not only exposed his team to different business practices, but will actually help shape the business in the future. 

“They were attentive and helpful,” he said. “We had so many calls over the past two months to come up with findings that we will definitely use and that will help us direct our startup in our early stages. We’re lucky to be part of this program and learn a lot along the way from different models that will help us decide where to go in the next few months.” 

Another V-Lab startup taking part in the program was EatHeal, a medically tailored nutrition and food-service provider that works with clients to create meal plans that are customized to meet their health needs. 

“I’ve been looking forward to learning from them about their marketing strategies and how they retain customers,” said Rehab Abdel Maguid, founder of EatHeal. “The team was really helpful in helping benchmark EatHeal with other delivery services in the United States.” 

Like her classmates working with Amanleek, Roshan Prakash says she was not only impressed with the progress of EatHeal, but with the energetic startup community in Cairo as well. 

“We always hear and learn about different issues in emerging markets, and while those issues are there, these businesses could exist in the United States,” she said. “I’m glad to see that the higher education system in Cairo supports innovation.” 

The conversations among the CBS visitors went beyond AUC and touched on the growing entrepreneurial culture in the country, noting the large number of startups they visited and seeing the efforts of incubators like V-Lab.

“The entrepreneurial ecosystem still needs to be developed, but you have a lot of educated people willing to take the risk, which is not easy to do,” Viola said. Speaking about the role of V-Lab in that ecosystem, Viola added that “the ability to combine practical experience with academic interest and all the knowledge and know-how that AUC has is amazing. It’s a great program and already has had a lot of impact not only with specific people, but in the economy in general.”

The co-founders of Amanleek mentioned that without V-Lab, their company wouldn’t have gotten the networking, exposure and media coverage that were helpful in kickstarting their business. 

“Our experience with the V-Lab was exactly what we needed,” said Mohammed Mansour, co-founder and project manager at Amanleek. “We needed someone to give us a kickstart in terms of finalizing our business model, our revenue streams and our customer segments. We were lucky to have the license very soon. I’m really happy we chose the V-Lab and didn’t choose another incubator.” 

The V-Lab was founded eight years ago and has since graduated over 170 startups, which have raised more than EGP 1.5 billion in investments collectively and created over 8,000 jobs, according to Ismail. 

“All of the startups in this program are V-lab alumni, and it’s great to see their progress a year after graduation,” he said. “Most of them have launched a product and are now raising investments and even growing their businesses beyond Egypt. Within the next couple of years, we’ll see those companies going up the curve and creating some really interesting stories.”

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

The awards come in the form of recognition, in addition to, faculty support in all education-related purposes including enhancing the teaching experience, advancing research efforts, and encouraging professional development.

The  Stellar Teaching and Activities Recognition (STAR) awards were initiated with the purpose of ensuring faculty activities are aligned with the School strategy, vision, mission, and themes. It also aimed at advancing and promoting faculty activities which reflect accreditation standards and guidelines and providing an optimum learning experience for students.

“The annual awards, are intended to recognize and showcase faculty who adequately demonstrate the degree and nature of alignment between their teaching and activities with the School’s themes while reflecting innovation, engagement, and impact. The more versatile the faculty members are as far as their activities, research, teaching, and service, the better chance they have at receiving the award.” clarifies Ahmed Abdel-Meguid, associate dean for undergraduate studies and administration, he continues that “elements to be assessed include teaching, research, service to the School, attending events, consultancy projects, external relations, and any other related activities.”

This year, three faculty members were awarded for their activities; professors Nermeen Shehata, Ashraf Sheta and Jamal Haidar. Shehata, associate professor of accounting and the director of El-Khazindar Business Research and Case Center, comments: “I’m delighted to receive the Inaugural School of Business Golden STAR Award. I focus on the responsible business theme when it comes to research and service activities while having them aligned with internationalization and Arab relevance, being among the School’s focus areas. I’m also keen on using innovative teaching techniques in class that engages students."

Professor Sheta, visiting assistant professor of entrepreneurship, strategic management and innovation, likewise expresses: "Receiving a silver trophy STAR award was a culmination of all the efforts exerted in one year. It’s a glorious moment in my career. I want to thank my students for giving me honest feedback, my colleagues for being the best benchmark of excellence, and my family for their unconditional support”

The impact of this award will be on the student experience within the classroom, as in-class activities with experiential nature are a basis whereupon faculty are evaluated; including company visits, field trips, guest lectures, simulations, case studies usage, workshops, and other activities. Accordingly, faculty will strive to adopt various experiential learning techniques in the classroom and along with these efforts, classes of all categories will be streamlined, and in this manner, an overall enhanced learning experience will stem.

Abdel-Meguid emphasizes: “The STAR awards promote elements of experiential learning, engagement, innovation, and impact which have become the standard traits of today’s globally recognized B-Schools. Furthermore, I am personally a very strong proponent of faculty recognition and development. The STAR awards are also developmental in terms of providing a platform for showcasing faculty’s diverse academic activities, acknowledging their exemplary sense of initiative, and supporting their professional development”.

For Ahmed Sharafeldin, a graduating senior and recipient of the May ‘87 and Ahmed Heikal Endowed Public School Scholarship, AUC's liberal arts education has allowed him to discover his greatest passion: economics. Although Sharafeldin now has plans to work in consulting, finance and, eventually, politics after graduation, he did not always have such a clearly defined path.

“My family wanted me to become an engineer, but I always knew that I didn’t want to do that,” said Sharafeldin. “However, I was not so sure what I wanted to study. I’ve long had an interest in public affairs since 2011 when, as I was simultaneously going from being a teenager to an adult, I started to take much more interest in what was happening in Egypt and the world around me.”

Despite these inclinations, Sharafeldin did not immediately find his passion upon entering AUC, yet the opportunity for academic and intellectual exploration quickly allowed him to do so.  “During my first semester, I studied engineering," he recalled. "I did well, but I didn’t love it. Then, during my second semester, I decided to change majors. The Core Curriculum and liberal arts education allowed me to take two political science classes and two economics classes, and I decided immediately that economics was definitely the thing for me.”

As Sharafeldin noted, the liberty and encouragement he received in developing his academic interests “wouldn't have been possible at any other university in the country except AUC. The liberal arts education helped me know what I am really passionate about,” he affirmed.

An intellectually curious student, Sharafeldin has a love for philosophy, reading and, thanks to the opportunities he was afforded at AUC, classical music. He has taken a variety of classes outside of his major, citing History of Western Music as one of his favorites. He also had the opportunity to participate in –– and lead –– numerous student organizations. “I joined the Arabic section of AUC Times magazine, and it was really an instantly perfect fit," he said. "I really liked the culture and [being with] other students, who have very similar interests. I eventually became the managing editor of the section. However, by my junior year, I realized that I also want to do something related to my major."

Sharafeldin then joined the Finance and Economics Club, which he now heads. "It’s an academic club, so we have a range of activities, from networking sessions with job professionals in the field to national research competitions to different finance games. We’ve also recently been working on a publication,” said Sharafeldin, who also helped organize the first Annual Conference of Egyptian Economics Students [ACEES], which aims at fostering undergraduate economic research.  

Building on a passion for economics that he first developed at AUC, Sharafeldin also studied abroad at the University of Chicago for a year through the Sawiris Scholars Exchange Program, an experience that allowed him to take classes with and learn directly from some of the world’s leading economists.

Moving forward, Sharafeldin hopes to work at a consulting firm and then obtain his Master of Business Administration, eventually focusing his professional career on finance or investing. He is particular interested in private equity, a field in which his scholarship donor, Citadel Capital Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal, is coincidentally a regional leader. “It’s a sign!” said Sharafeldin, as an optimistic smile emerged on his face.

Despite this particular focus, however, Sharafeldin emphasized that “as I graduate this fall with a degree in economics, I'm not just going into the world as this young man in a suit with knowledge of supply, demand and financial investments. I'm also an aspiring fiction writer. I'm also a classical music connoisseur, who makes sure he attends the Cairo Orchestra concerts every Saturday night, ever since being inspired by a wonderful professor and playing for AUC's classical guitar ensemble. I'm also a keen film follower, who became a novice critic of modern cinema after he took an introduction to film class as part of his Core Curriculum requirements."

As Sharafeldin reiterated time and time again, none of these important self-discoveries would have been possible without the liberal arts education he received at AUC.

For incoming undergraduates who are struggling to decide their major, Sharafeldin advises, “Use your freshman year to take advantage of the Core Curriculum, investigate your options, get in touch with seniors for advice and talk to the Career Center about the job prospects of what you’re interested in. Make the freshman year one of exploration; don’t just dive into one thing immediately.”

Even to say that Ahmed Sharafeldin has taken full advantage of his time at AUC is an understatement. From economics to fiction writing and Arabic literature to classical music, he has cultivated a plethora of interests that will, without a doubt, ensure his future success. “I feel so lucky,” he said. “I feel like I’ve done everything I could possibly do as an undergraduate student, and now I’m just looking forward to what’s next.”