Five students from the AUC School of Business won first place in the national 2022 Map the System competition in late April, competing against six other teams comprising 30 undergraduate and graduate students. Their project was also named an Excellent Undergraduate Project in the global competition, which took place in the UK this spring.

Map the System is a global competition of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship, delivered in partnership with educational institutions around the world, including AUC.

Reem El Saka, Jessica Botros, Alia El Soudany, Hana Hassan and Laila El Gindy took first place with their project, “The Social and Economic Challenges Affecting the Livelihood of Women in the Informal Sector in Cairo". 

The competition challenges participants to explore social or environmental issues using systems thinking as a guiding approach.

“Map the System provided us with a mix of thrilling and exceptional learning experiences,” El Saka commented. “We were given the opportunity to research and systematically think of a challenge hindering our environment.” 

Systems thinking itself involves analyzing issues by examining the interconnectedness of different factors within an issue, rather than focusing on a single factor. 

Examining the experiences and perspectives of Egyptian women participating in the country’s informal sector, the group’s project identifies possible gaps and areas in need of improvement.

With limited data and literature available on the topic, the team was “eager to go the extra mile to grasp the elemental dynamics in the Egyptian system elevating this problem, by connecting with influential stakeholders and governmental entities,” said El Gindy.

“We wanted to approach the problem of the informal sector from an objective standpoint — one that does not antagonize women for causing spillover issues in society,” explained Hassan. “We trusted that digging deeper into the causes of such a problem could be more profound than what general research shows.”

Each group member echoed satisfaction with their experience with Map the System, from conducting research to presenting their findings.

“What was attractive about this specific competition was not the ultimate goal of reaching solutions, but rather interpreting the complexity of a broken system and portraying the absent evidence-based interventions which led to the failure of previous efforts combating the informal sector and inequality,” added Botros. 

El Soudany was pleased that the competition prompted her to think deeply and critically about societal problems.

When the winners were announced, the group was overcome with joy. “All the sleepless nights paid off when we won first place,” a team statement read. “It was this moment where we felt like stepping into what a real milestone feels like.”

The team will move on to the global competition in June, where they will compete against 64 other finalist teams at the University of Oxford.

“Winning first place locally does not mean that our learning journey in the competition has ended, because a different, enlightening phase will follow,” said the statement. “We expect to live a remarkable experience under the true sense of responsibility of representing AUC.”

The team encouraged other AUC students to join major competitions such as Map the System. 

“Just as we thought we couldn’t make it to where we are now, seizing every chance to grow personally and professionally is always worth the chaotic frustration of stepping out of your comfort zone. One must have the resilience and spirit to explore what is given and hidden — this will give you the key to making any new experience as fruitful as it could be.”

The competition encompasses the efforts of the AUC School of Business to create generations of sustainability-oriented market leaders to instigate change across markets.

This year, it was hosted by the John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy, Civic Engagement and Responsible Business of the AUC School of Business in coordination with the Assistant Provost Office for Innovative Learning Experience. 

Learn more about the competition here.

Just five years after joining the AUC Venture Lab as a budding startup, Swvl has made its debut on the Nasdaq ––  the first Egyptian unicorn, first V-Lab graduate and first North African tech startup to list on the U.S. stock exchange. 

Entering the exchange next to other tech giants with a valuation of $1.5 billion, the fast-growing transportation company is also the second in the Middle East to list on Nasdaq via a SPAC (Special Purpose Action Committee) merger, following Anghami. The company merged in July of last year with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital, a SPAC that boasts  being 100% female-led.

Founded by Mostafa Kandil '15, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh, Swvl set out to improve public transportation in Egypt through tech-enabled ridesharing services. The company now operates in 115 cities in 18 countries across Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Kandil rang the Nasdaq Opening Bell on March 31 in a ceremony marking the company’s debut. 

"We are very excited to see Swvl's team reach this inspiring milestone,” said Ayman Ismail ’95, ’97, founding director of the V-Lab and associate professor and Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship. “At AUC Venture Lab, we take pride in having been part of Swvl's early journey and continue to be committed to being a catalyst for growth and to empowering more inspiring founders during their journeys. [Swvl is] “an inspiration to many entrepreneurs and one that paves the way for an entire generation of tech startups.”

Kandil began his studies as a petroleum engineering student at AUC but ended up seeking a more dynamic path, as he was always keen on exploring the business world. In 2017, Swvl joined AUC Venture Lab, Egypt’s first University-based accelerator and incubator which offers acceleration programs to high-growth, innovation-driven tech startups. 

In August 201, when Swvl announced that it would list on the Nasdaq, Kandil said, "I’m proud to say that being an AUC student was the start of the journey that brought me to this moment in my life."

Accelerated by the V-Lab in Cycle 8, the team was able to launch the application before graduating from the cycle. The startup has seen impressive growth since its launch, crossing Egypt’s borders and establishing roots abroad. Kandil was named — along with co-founders Nouh and Sabbah — among Forbes Middle East’s Top Arab 30 under 30 in 2018.    

To date, the V-Lab has graduated over 300 graduate startups that have gained EGP 3 billion in investments and created 10,000 jobs, leaving a lasting impact on the greater community and regional development ecosystem. In 2021, the lab was recognized as the Best Accelerator/Incubator Program in North Africa by the Global Startup Awards.

Watch Kandil ring the Nasdaq Opening Bell.

In an unannounced move, Egypt’s Central Bank raised key policy rates by 100 basis points and devalued the Egyptian pound by nearly 17% on Monday, March 21, leaving many panicked with flashbacks to 2016 when the bank floated the pound and its price plunged by 48%.

Samer Atallah '97, associate professor of economics and associate dean at AUC’s School of Business, was not surprised this time around — or the last. “We could see the signs of pressure on the currency since maybe late last summer or early fall,” he says. “It was clear that the price at which the dollar was trading for the pound in the market was lower than the value of a dollar.”

Indeed, many news outlets and financial institutions such as Bloomberg and JP Morgan rang warning bells ahead of the recent devaluation, pointing to rising inflation as well as a predicted drop in tourism from Russia and Ukraine due to the war.

Since the floatation of 2016, Atallah and others have hoped that Egypt’s Central Bank would transition to a managed float, allowing market forces to determine the dollar exchange rate, the professor explained.

“The reality is, however, if you go on Google and look at the graph showing the exchange rate, you’re going to find a very straight line for the past two years,” he says. 

This straight line is indicative of the bank’s control of the exchange rate, Atallah states. “We’ve had COVID, a decrease in tourism, fewer exports and still, no changes to the exchange rate. It is clear that the value of the Egyptian pound that is listed on your bank’s screen is not reflective of reality.”

Monday’s sudden change, however, has aligned the exchange rate to reflect that which many, including Atallah, previously estimated as a true rate.

Why Now?

Contrary to the whispers one might hear in the streets, the CBE’s move was not only a reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Atallah believes. “While the last step in the race is probably [the conflict], it does not mean that we weren’t already moving in this direction,” he says, citing excessive reliance on volatile portfolio investments and the accumulation of external debt.

There is also chatter about the devaluation preceding the announcement of an additional incoming loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a requirement for securing the funds, as the 2016 devaluation preceded a USD 12 billion dollar loan from the IMF.

While Atallah asserts that he can only speculate on such claims, he explained the difficulty of securing a loan with a quasi-fixed exchange rate.

What Now?

Seeing as this isn’t the first time for this to happen and with less than a decade between now and the last devaluation, what’s to come is rather predictable, according to Atallah: “For a country that relies very much on importing essential commodities, the effects are typical: this will lead to inflation,” he says. “Almost all food, almost everything that is energy is tied to the price of the dollar.”

Pointing out a contrast in how this affects foreign investors and the wealthy versus the average Egyptian, he continues: “While firms that invest in EGP are welcoming this, the people in the street are not. Even without people fully understanding the dynamic of how the dollar price affects the cost of living, once they are aware of the increase, they know that prices will rise and they will ask for higher wages and so on. It has become something inherent in our collective conscience.”

When asked about the pound regaining ground, as it slowly did in 2016, Atallah explains that any predictions are simply estimates and cannot be relied on. “The rates are based on highly sophisticated models that look at transactions, trade and asset pricing. They are also extremely sensitive to market conditions.”

Moving Forward

With devaluation rattling economic stability and escalating prices, and with less than a decade in between Egypt’s last devaluation and this one, many are wondering: How can we avoid repeating this again?

“If we don’t want this to happen again, we must do things differently,” Atallah stresses. “This means that whatever the amount of portfolio investment we get from abroad, we make sure to invest in productive capabilities, meaning projects that lead to jobs and exports, rather than debt instruments and infrastructure.” 

Undergraduate Students in AUC’s School of Business ranked third globally in the Canada-based Engineering Commerce Case Competition (EngComm), the “world’s only student-led multidisciplinary case competition.” The students also won awards for Best Business Solution, Best Engineering Solution and Most Economically Feasible Solution. 

The winning team –– made up of students Abdallah Sabah, Yasmin Tarek, Moustafa Awad and Nourhan Nada and led by Assistant Professor Hakim Meshreki –– first competed against five teams from AUC in the qualifying round then against 16 teams from prominent academic institutions worldwide in the final round. 

“This is the second time for me to take part in EngComm, albeit this time, the competition was fully online,” said Awad. “Despite not traveling, the competition was still as engaging, and I really enjoyed competing against top universities around the world once again. I’d like to give a shoutout to Dr. Hakim, who continuously produces winning teams in this competition.”

Established in 2013, the Canada-based Engineering Commerce Case Competition brings together students with a technical background in engineering and those in interactive fields such as business and economics. During this year’s final competition, the AUC students had to solve two case studies, each six hours long, as well as a 12-hour case study.

“My favorite case study was the 12-hour case, which centered around the development of aerospace vehicles and its implementation within the Canadian community,” said Tarek. “We designed a VTOL [vertical take-off and landing craft] and worked together to ensure its success for various applications ”

The competition took months of preparation, with the students practicing cases from previous years and meeting with former AUC contestants. “We spent more than 18 hours a week solving cases, with a total of over 100 hours, but the twist was that they were consecutive,” Tarek added. 

For the students, the experience was both educational and entertaining.

“It was truly riveting,” said Nada, echoing the same sentiment. “I learned so much throughout the entire journey, from the months of training to the actual competition. I got to engage in conversation with individuals of diverse backgrounds. I’m also glad I got to work with Professor Hakim and my teammates. It was a fruitful experience.”

“I am so honored to have experienced such a well-rounded and extensive competition as I can wholeheartedly say who I am today is not the same as when I first embarked on this journey,” said Tarek. “From the long, long hours of case study practice with my team members to the professional development training and feedback sessions provided by Dr. Hakim and Dr. [Ahmed] Tolba, I have learned so much about the importance of interdisciplinary connectivity. This experience taught me valuable lessons, such as the importance of diversity within a team and problem-solving frameworks within a professional setting. The competition encompassed life lessons behind case study practices, and I know it will benefit me for years to come.”

The AUC Venture Lab, Egypt’s first University-based startup incubator and accelerator, was recognized as the Best Accelerator/Incubator Program in North Africa by the Global Startup Awards, a competition based in Copenhagen that reaches 124 countries.

The Venture Lab now sits among the continent's top 60 digital future shapers — selected from a pool of over 7,000 nominations.

"We are honored to be recognized as the best accelerator in North Africa, as it only means that our startups will also be the best in the region," said Ayman Ismail,  Abdul Latif Jamil Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship and AUC Venture Lab Director.

The award came just as the lab graduates another cohort of 20 innovative tech-based startups from its Startup and Fintech Accelerators (more about the graduated startups here), and as it opens applications for future cycles.

"This recognition comes at a very special time," Ismail continued. "This year, we have graduated our biggest cohorts to date, celebrated the first unicorn exit by one of our graduates and revamped our offerings to empower entrepreneurs better than ever."

The lab has supported over 200 graduate startups that have gained EGP 3 million in investments and created 8,500 jobs, leaving a lasting impact on the greater community and regional development ecosystem.

The Global Startup Awards are powered by xo.company, which aims to connect different stakeholders to facilitate vertical innovation, in partnership with the Global Innovation Initiative Group (GIIG) Africa Fund.

Yasmine El Dorghamy ’00 was something of an unofficial Egyptian diplomat before she even graduated from college.

The daughter of an actual diplomat, El Dorghamy lived in five different countries before coming to AUC to complete her undergraduate degree. In every place she touched down — Japan, Greece, Turkey, Mexico — people wanted her to tell them about Egypt. 

“And of course, when you’re Egyptian and abroad, you’re asked questions [specifically] about history,” she said.

Luckily, El Dorghamy had a passion for history, making a point to visit museums and archeological sites and talk to local historians wherever she went. That interest laid the foundation for her multifaceted career in education, history, art and culture.

After beginning college in Mexico, El Dorghamy returned to Egypt to finish her business degree at AUC.

“AUC was instrumental in reintegrating me into Egypt when I moved back,” she said. “I made friends, met like-minded people and began forming the network that would help me pursue my projects years later.”

She went on to get a master’s in international education policy from Stockholm University’s Institute of International Education. After working in development for several years, she eventually became executive director of the Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation, a philanthropic fund that provides Egyptians with opportunities to pursue postgraduate study. In 2010, she founded Rawi — Egypt’s Heritage Review, an annual, bilingual publication focused on Egyptian history and cultural heritage.

El Dorghamy has found ways to support young artists and aspiring historians. She serves on the selection committee this year for the Art D’Egytpe Mahy Khalifa Art Fund, which provides talented young artists with educational support. She’s also an adjunct professor of visual culture at AUC.

“I was thrilled at the opportunity to share the knowledge I’ve acquired in a different way, with a younger age group than I’m used to,” she said of teaching at AUC. “It’s been very refreshing and enlightening for me.”

AUCians benefit from her extensive knowledge of Egyptian arts and culture. Rawi’s material spans 7,000 years of Egyptian history and brings together research from a vast array of specialists.

The 2016 edition of Rawi, which was a massive undertaking, is considered among the first and best encyclopedic references on Egyptian Modern Art.  

“We took double the time to produce it, and it came out double the size. It turned out there was a huge need for it,” said El Dorghamy.

Rawi’s subject matter is intensive and far-reaching enough to be taught by professors in other universities, including internationally. Alex Dika Seggerman, an assistant professor of art history at Rutgers University-Newark, brought back 20 copies of the cinema edition for a seminar on Middle East cinema last year.

“Rawi was, and is, a wonderful teaching tool, especially for this area of scholarship on Egyptian cinema that — until some new 2021 and 2022 publications by AUC Press — was not very robust,” Seggerman said. “Rawi's readable and general perspective, as well as the fantastic design, is easy for students to engage with.”

General readability was exactly El Dorghamy’s goal. She initially founded the magazine — in its earlier iteration called Turath — because she wanted heritage researchers to find an audience beyond that of their insular academic journals.

The review has weathered several major storms, namely the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and COVID-19. During the revolution, El Dorghamy said she managed to keep the magazine relevant by “covering all the heritage-related issues at the time when a lot of archeological sites were being attacked and museums ransacked.”

“Just surviving is an achievement,” she said, laughing.

The publication celebrated its 10th anniversary last year and will soon launch a partnership with Google Arts & Culture in an effort to expand on more platforms. The most recent issue covered the history of costume and clothing in Egypt, and the next will focus on healing and the medical sciences.

El Dorghamy is modest about her business sense — she jokingly said it’s the most “boring” part of the work she does — but she has clearly figured out the key to juggling multiple successes and creating long-lasting organizations.

“It’s a cliche, but do what you love,” she said. “Do what you love, and you’ll be good at it.”

AUC and the College of Charleston in South Carolina, both liberal arts institutions with a long legacy in education, have recently partnered on a new academic cooperation and student exchange program for both undergraduate and graduate students for a period of five years. 

Students from AUC and the College of Charleston will receive a scholarship to spend a semester or year abroad at the other institution, providing students with a unique international experience and strengthening East-West cultural ties. "Our new partnership with the College of Charleston represents an excellent opportunity for our students to spend a semester at one of the finest liberal arts and sciences institutions in South Carolina, which provides quality education along with authentic student experiences,” said Ahmed Tolba, ’97, ’01, associate provost for strategic enrollment management and associate professor of marketing at AUC. “It is ranked no. 1 among public universities in the United States in terms of the percentage of undergraduate study-abroad students. I look forward to hosting their students at AUC and having our students benefit from a unique experience there."

AUC Trustee Jonathan Wolf (YAB '75), founder and president of Wendover Housing Partners, LLC who was a study-abroad student at AUC, and his wife Nancy were instrumental in making this program a reality. They will provide funds for AUC students to spend a semester or year abroad at the College of Charleston, while Hilton and Catherine Smith, who serve on the College of Charleston’s School of Languages, Cultures and World Affairs advisory board, will fund College of Charleston students to come to AUC.

“To find and do and be of significance, you need to study in Cairo,” said AUC Trustee Wolf to Charleston’s The College Today. “As a Westerner, my first stop out of the U.S. was the ancient world. Cairo opened up what for me later became a career and way of life. It gave me confidence. If you can succeed in another culture with another language, then there’s nothing you can’t accomplish.”

Garrett Davidson (CASA ’04, MA ’06), who studied at AUC’s Center for Arabic Study Abroad and earned his master’s in Arabic studies from AUC and is now an assistant professor of Arabic and Muslim world studies at the College of Charleston, emphasized the importance of this global experience for students.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for both institutions,” Davidson told The College Today. “As a student at AUC, I established professional and personal connections that continue today. It was the most influential experience of my life. I explored all over Egypt. I met people from all walks of life and got to hear their views on everything from politics and religion to economics and food.”

The Wolfs also established the Nancy and Jonathan Wolf Study-Abroad Scholarship at AUC.

Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat '95 is beginning a new phase in her mission of public service to Egypt, after heading the Ministry of Tourism for the past two years. 

Driven by a sense of responsibility to give back to her country, Al-Mashat said on her Instagram and LinkedIn accounts: 

"When you choose public office, you serve where needed. At the outset of taking over the Ministry of Tourism in January 2018, I committed to changing the narrative on #Egypt's tourism sector and advancing its frontiers. As I embark on a new challenge, I refer to a quote in my chapter published in the book, Daughters of the Nile: Egyptian Women Changing their World (December 2016): “Serving Egypt by contributing to policies that would make the richness of the Nile flow to all its citizens is not only a mission, it's a passion." She added, “ I look forward to designing and implementing policies in another portfolio along my journey of public service.”

The first woman to head the Ministry of Tourism since its establishment 60 years ago and the youngest minister in Egypt when appointed in 2018, Al-Mashat will be credited for transparently launching a "comprehensive, coherent and consistent policy framework," the Egypt—Tourism Reform Program (E—TRP), designed to unleash the potential of Egypt’s tourism sector through implementing structural reforms. Consequently, tourism has become one of Egypt’s fastest growing sectors, witnessing an unprecedented rebound, with revenues growing annually by 28 percent to record $12.6 billion in FY2018/2109 — the highest in the country’s history — and $4.2 billion in FY 2019/2020.

Al-Mashat has been recognized internationally for her relentless efforts and outstanding contributions to the tourism sector, both domestically and globally. She received the 2019 World Travel & Tourism Council Champion Award for Resilience, demonstrating strong leadership and pioneering public policies and initiatives that have increased the competitiveness of the sector, leading it through a successful recovery from adverse events. Minister Al-Mashat also received the World Travel Market's 2019 Global Leaders Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry on behalf of the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. The award recognized Egypt's Ministry of Tourism as the one that has contributed the most to the global travel and tourism industry over the last two years. This marks the first time for Egypt to receive these awards.

For the first time, AUC was the main partner and host of #RiseUpAtAUC, the one-stop-shop event connecting startups in the Middle East and Africa, with more than 20 of AUC’s faculty and alumni as guest speakers.

In his speech at the opening of RiseUp ‘19, AUC President Francis Ricciardone emphasized the University’s role in inspiring its students to utilize their education to better serve Egypt and the communities around them. “At AUC, Egypt’s global University, we bring the world back to Egypt and we bring Egypt to the world — and not only for tourism, which is a wonderful thing, but for learning, creating, researching and developing projects and products that will improve lives. That’s what AUC is about. This is the right place for RiseUp Summit 2019,” said Ricciardone.

In its seventh edition, the summit bustled with the region's top entrepreneurs, startups, investors, creative masterminds and Fortune 500 companies. This year’s summit built on past ones, focusing on the Journey to Growth as its main theme, as well as drawing the line between the past, present and future. The three-day summit included talks, panels and chats; in-depth workshops and boot camps; networking sessions with hundreds of investors; talent matchmaking events; and exclusive satellite events.

AUC alumni speakers included Mohamed Aboul Naga ‘09, co-founder and CCO of Halan; Yaseen Abdel Ghaffar ‘10, managing director of SolarizEgypt; and Karim Fahmy ’17, CEO and co-founder of Inploy, who all stood on RiseUp’s stage to tackle different entrepreneurial topics together with 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; Raya Abirached, TV presenter; and Samih Sawiris, founder of Orascom Holding AD.

“It feels very nostalgic to be back on campus for the RiseUp summit this year," said Islam Shawky, CEO and co-founder of PayMob, an infrastructure technology enabler providing payment solutions company. "I started school in 2008, so AUC New Cairo is the only campus I know. We started our company on this campus, as the six members of the founding team are AUC graduates, so we are extremely nostalgic.”

Among the workshops that took place throughout the three-day entrepreneurial marathon was one held by Kim Fox, professor of practice in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, titled What You Need to Know About Starting Your Own Podcast.

“I'm such a fan of RiseUp Summit because it brings together the vibrant community of thought leaders, creatives and more; the energy is contagious and inspiring,” said Fox. The ability to reach out to other attendees and speakers for potential collaborations and knowledge sharing is achievable and encouraging. It was nice to see so many of my former students and colleagues there.”

Ramez Youssef, co-founder of Tayarah, a creative production agency, also held a workshop titled From Trendsetters to Trend-Seekers. “RiseUp Summit feels so different this year, being at AUC New Cairo. The content is also different, as different people are delivering different messages,” he said. 

Startups from AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab), Egypt’s first University-based startup accelerator and a leading accelerator in the Middle East and Africa, also participated in the summit. In a special booth for the V-Lab, graduates of this year’s cycle shared their experiences with the attendees and highlighted the impact of their ideas and businesses on the Egyptian economy.

"The AUC Venture Lab had a strong presence in RiseUp Summit this year, with more than 24 startups presenting their innovations to the summit participants, investors and international partners,” 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. AUC also announced the launch of the new Innovation Hub, focusing on attracting corporate innovation labs to be based on campus and expand their collaboration with AUC faculty and students. Our end goal is to create a collaborative community of entrepreneurship and innovation at AUC and Egypt.”

RiseUp Summit 2019 held a competition for the best educational applications at the event, where AGORA, a V-Lab startup, ranked first and won the African App Launchpad Cup and a monetary prize. AGORA is an ed-tech app that empowers children to explore the world around them and learn from it through Augmented Reality.

The summit also included a Creative Marketplace featuring some of Cairo’s creative startups that displayed their products, including Doodle Factory and Babyfist.

As AUC turns 100, the University is not only celebrating its century-long achievements, but also looking to the future, ushering in a new centennial of innovation and service to the community.

Checkout AUC' centennial website to know  more about the upcoming centennial events.

Watch here some of AUC President Francis Ricciardone's insights about the event.

#RiseUpAtAUC  #AUCFutureMakers

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at AUC (J-PAL) is partnering with UNICEF Egypt to host the first Global Evidence for Egypt seminar titled “Overcoming Youth Unemployment in Egypt: What We Can Learn from Randomized Evaluations.”

The seminar is part of a four-part Global Evidence for Egypt Spotlight Series, bringing together Egyptian policymakers and leading J-PAL affiliated professors to discuss policy issues in the Egyptian context — including labor, education, health and social protection — tackling the issues a global research perspective and then offering evidence-informed solutions to address these issues in Egypt. Sunday's seminar will feature representatives from the Ministry of Manpower; Ministry of Youth; Hana Yoshimoto, education chief at UNICEF; and Bruno Crépon, affiliated professor at J-PAL. Check out the event here.

Most recently, J-PAL co-founders Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo were jointly awarded the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel “for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.” 

Banerjee and Duflo are also the co-founders of the MITs MicroMasters Program. AUC is the first University in the region to offer a blended degree, pairing with MIT to grant MITx MicroMasters online learners credits that would count toward the completion of a full master’s degree at AUC, offering a possible pathway to earning a full master’s degree from AUC in economics in international development. AUC is the first University in the world to collaborate with MIT in recognizing credits for this particular online program. Read more about the collaboration here. 

In September 2018, AUC established the J-PAL/AUC initiative under the auspices of the School of Business. Its mission is to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is informed by rigorous evidence. This is achieved through conducting randomized evaluations with Egyptian partners, disseminating evidence to policymakers and capacity building for the purpose of evidence-informed decision making across different sectors, including education, finance and labor. The initiative also creates opportunities for faculty members from AUC, Egypt and the Middle East to collaborate with J-PAL affiliates on research projects.

"Our research and teaching collaboration through the MIT MicroMasters Program with J-PAL is one of the most promising and exciting recent developments at AUC," said Mona Said, associate professor in AUC's Department of Economics. "Establishing ourselves as a research and capacity-building hub in this area has great potential for our faculty, program visibility, student learning and graduate careers. Most important — and herein lies why the 2019 Nobel Prize awarded to J-PAL co-founders was entirely deserved — it is excellent evidence-based research that will lead to policies that improve the well-being of many people in Egypt and the world at large."

J-PAL was originally founded at MIT in 2003 and has now expanded to become a global research center around the world with regional centers in Africa, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. It is anchored by a network of 181 affiliated professors and 400 staff members at universities worldwide.