British Council honors successful UK-educated individuals

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Tue, 27 Feb 2018 - 02:51 GMT

BY

Tue, 27 Feb 2018 - 02:51 GMT

Winners and finalists at the awards ceremony - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Winners and finalists at the awards ceremony - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

CAIRO – 27 February 2018: With United Kingdom universities occupying three of the top ten universities worldwide, the British Council, in association with the British ambassador to Egypt, held an event Monday to recognize successful Egyptian individuals who studied in the UK. This event was first held in 2017.

The incredible Mark and Sally of "The Morning Show with Mark and Sally" hosted the event, titled "Study UK Alumni Awards Ceremony". Their energetic manner and on-the-spot humour set the mood to what was both a breezy and enlightening night.

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Sally from 'The Morning Show with Mark & Sally' on Nile FM - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Prominent businessman Naguib Sawiras, executive chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E. (OTMT), was at the event and presented the winners of the Entrepreneurial Award category. Sawiras is also the chairman of the Advisory Board of La Mancha Holding, an international gold producer on the board of Evolution Mining, and Australia’s second largest gold producer, and the chairman of the Advisory Board of Endeavour Mining, the third largest gold producer in Africa.

Naguib Sawiras - Egypt Today Hussein Tallal
/Naguib Sawiras - Egypt Today Hussein Tallal

The event was held for multiple reasons; two of which resonate perhaps louder than the remaining. First, according to Jo Beall, director of Education and Society, British Council, “The UK’s higher education system is one of the most internationalized in the world.”

Accordingly, the British council feels that there is a need to spread British-level education throughout the world to ensure that most people have access to international standards of education. This increased mobility between the UK and Egypt, as per the British Council, will also lead to more meaningful, stronger connections between the two countries and will benefit both countries through information sharing, capitalization of expertise, and so on.

According to the British Council, a research conducted in 2014 suggested that one in seven world leaders studied in the UK. Meanwhile, another research conducted in 2015 concluded that two in five Nobel Prize winners, who had chosen to study abroad, chose the UK.

Second, the event was held to recognize those Egyptians that studied in the UK and came home to help their country out through their important, innovative contributions. Giving these individuals awards has two main benefits; first, it pushes more and more people to do their best in order to win an award, and second, it spreads information about the powerfulness and importance of British education and about the opportunities that Egyptians can take in order to join those studying in the UK.

Ambassador of UK to Egypt, John Casson - Egypt Today Hussein Tallal
Ambassador of UK to Egypt, John Casson - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Finalists for the three awards, that were being given away, were chosen by the judging panel according to criteria set by the British Council; the judging panel was made up of five prominent figures: Clem Naylor, the first secretary political at the British Embassy in Egypt; Iman Bibars, vice president, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public Regional Director, Ashoka Arab World Co-founder, Association for the Development and Enhancement of Women (ADEW); Jeff Streeter, director of British Council in Egypt; Mohamed Soliman, winner of the Entrepreneurial Award, Study UK Alumni Awards 2017; and, Sherwet Ahmed, Society Programs manager, British Council, Egypt.

The Professional Achievement Award


The finalists for the Professional Achievement Award, which recognises the leadership, integrity, and character of individuals in their industries, were Ahmed Osama Abdel Rahman, University of Cambridge, Mohamed el-Moghazi, University of Strathclyde, and Rehab el-Maghraby, Imperial College London.

Abdel Rahman studies at the University of Cambridge. His study abroad, according to him, equipped him with great tools in his career. He was chosen as a finalist for his great leadership of project teams in a pivotal time when Egypt needed to meet energy demands and achieve self-sufficiency. He is currently working towards reinforcing the sustainability of Egypt’s oil and gas sectors and reducing carbon dioxide emission.

Moghazi was on the team that drafted the 4G Egyptian Licenses that were awarded $2 billion. Being an internationally recognized author and researcher, his PhD in Electric and Electronic Engineering enabled him to give back to Egypt, most notably through internationally representing the Arab countries in their 5G frequencies. He is also exploring the establishment of the Arab world’s first telecom policy research centre.

Maghraby amazingly established a research laboratory worth £300,000 within a short three-year period. The lab’s revenue has had a significantly positive impact on the local economy. Maghraby is also an assistant professor at the Faculty of Petroleum and Mining Engineering at the Suez University and an adjunct at the faculty in the American University in Cairo (AUC).

…and the winner was



…REHAB EL-MAGHRABY!

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Winner of the Proffesional Achievement Award, Rehab El-Maghraby, receiving her award - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Maghraby took home the award for her great contributions to science, as well as her integrity and character in her professional industry.

In her award acceptance speech, she spoke about how British education has changed her, equipping her with many tools that edged her career forwards.

All finalists were awarded certificates in appreciation of their great efforts.

The Entrepreneurial Award



The finalists for the Entrepreneurial Award, which recognises the initiative-taking, originality and new ideas with great prospects and potential, at the business and social levels, were Karil el Safty, Kingston University, Mahmoud Hafez, University of Leeds, and Mohamed Nader el sayed Ibrahim, Durham Univeristy.

Safty is a professional educator and the regional director for the International Academy for Advanced Research and Studies – London (IARS) in the Middle East. Since he took office, profits have increased significantly and 4,000 learners have joined the program in 2017 alone. Safty has implemented multiple corporate social responsibility programs that provided more than 10,000 scholarships for Egyptian nationals.

Hafez is a physician who established SurgiNovi, which uses innovative techniques for total knee replacement. He has applied patient specific templates (PST) on hundreds of patients; some 100 of those cases were for charity. Hafez has won hundreds of awards during the past few years for his innovation and life-changing techniques.

Ibrahim supports and helps develop small and medium enterprises (SMEs), an interest that began and grew since he started his SME advisory company back in 2006. He discovered that banks are often hesitant to finance SMEs, which lead him to create a financial institution for SMEs alone in 2013.

…and the winner was



…MAHMOUD HAFEZ!

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Winner of the Entrepreneurial Award, Mahmoud Hafez - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Hafez took home the award for his great contributions to science. His innovation has helped hundreds of patients to live a normal life and enjoy mobility without pain.

In his award acceptance speech, Hafez pointed out that he had not imagined creating such innovation prior to his travel to the UK. “It was not on my mind, I was going to just finish my degree,” Hafez stated. However, through excellent education and the sharing of expertise in the university where he studied, he came up with this great idea that changed many people’s lives to the better.

All finalists were awarded certificates in appreciation of their great efforts.

The Social Impact Award



The finalists for the Social Impact Award, which recognises alumni who have made significant contributions and positive social change, were: Michael Milad Henein Abdalah, University of Bristol, Reem Allam, Queen Margaret University, and Usama Ghazali, Coventry University.

Abdalah, a leading expert in the school of health and nutrition, led the activation of the Assiut Governorate’s Health and Environment Committees through Save the Children International/Egypt. He is also monitoring and supporting health and environment services in schools across the country.

At the young age of 22, Allam became the executive manager of Egypt’s largest international multi-disciplinary art festival. She has created an initiative to ensure that everyone has access to arts.

Ghazali is the founder of Yadaweya, a social enterprise that focuses on heritage and crafts. He aims to discover women and men who hand-make items and provide them with access to local and international markets with fair trade policies. Through this act, Yadaweya is able to help Egyptian craftsmen and craftswomen out of the poverty trap.

…and the winner was



…USAMA GHAZALI!

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Winner of the Social Impact Award, Usama Ghazali - Egypt Today/Hussein Tallal

Ghazali took home the award for setting up a great NGO that is able to truly help men and women out of the poverty trap, providing them with an opportunity that may not be available for them due to their education, background or lack of information.

In his award acceptance speech, Ghazali noted that studying abroad provided him with skills and experiences in project management and helped him nurture his idea. He is now working with other NGOs to ensure more men and women can escape the poverty trap.

All finalists were awarded certificates in appreciation of their great efforts.

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