4th Annual Fulbright Alumni Conference and Embassy Reception

On October 21, 2018, BFCE hosted its 4^th Annual Fulbright Alumni Conference at Conrad Cairo Hotel. Recently returned Fulbright alumni across all programs engaged in a series of discussions and presentations and shared their experiences on their Fulbright grants, research conducted in the United States and their current plans to employ their acquired knowledge across diverse fields in Egypt.

The presentations were followed by a plenary session entitled “The Needs of Persons with Disabilities in Higher Education in Egypt”. Deputy Minister of Higher Education and BFCE Board Chair Dr. Amr Adly led a series of discussions on the topic. Dr. Janet Lord, Senior Fellow at Harvard Law School and Ms. Wafaa El Adawy, Project Manager at USAID Egypt were among the speakers and shared the findings of USAID’s new report on needs of people with disabilities in Egypt. Dr. Alaa Sebeh from the Egyptian National Council for Disability Affairs gave a talk entitled “Overview on Challenges and Resources in Egypt by the National Council for Disability Affairs”.

Director of Communication at Alexandria Business Association Dr. Mona Taha and Dr. Madeline Azmy, pediatrician and Hubert H. Humphrey alumna reported on the Fulbright Alumni Engagement Project award they received, which is an initiative that brought together Fulbright alumni to help disabled people in Cairo, Alexandria and Sohag. Helm NGO (Dream) co-founders Ms. Amena Elsaie and Mr. Ramez Maher talked about inclusive education in Egypt, highlighting the special facilities Helm provides for disabled people in everyday life.  Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Physiotherapy Dr. Haidy Asham concluded the session with a talk on the Cairo University Unit and its progress in aiding undergraduate disabled students.

The evening ended with a reception at the U.S. Embassy, hosted by Mr. Thomas H. Goldberger, Chargé d’Affaires of the United States of America and his wife Ms. Eden Goldberger and attended by Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khaled Abdul Ghaffar. The event was also attended by BFCE distinguished alumni and team members. Attendees included Ms. Jamie Sharp, Senior Fulbright Program Officer, NEA Branch, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State and Fulbright Board members: Ms. Helen Lafave, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs, U.S. Embassy, Mr. Ray Miller, founding partner of Raafat Miller Consulting, Ms. Katie Donohoe, Director, Office of Education and Health, USAID Egypt and Dr. Mohamed Saleh, Head of the Mission Section at the Ministry of Higher Education.

Presentations (click on the name of the presenter to watch the video)

Social Science and Engineering Panel:

• Raghda Ayman – “Fulbright Research Experience”
• Yasmine Abd Ellatif – “International Student Research”
• Reham Fathey – “Phylogeny and Evolution of Anguispira”
• Ahmed El Sherif – “Towards a Novel Paradigm of Sustainability and Resilience”
• Andrew Boules – “Renewable Energy Research”
• Hamada Abdelrahman – “Commercial Humic Boom in Agriculture: Science vs. Marketing Claims”
• Husam Abbas – “Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)”
• Mohamed Abdou Mahran – “Novel Finite Element Model for the Aeroelastic Analysis of Smart Wings”
• Ragaa Abdelhakim – “Sustainability in Pavement Research”
• JFDP Group – “Renewable Energy Cohort Presentation“

Humanities, Arts and Linguistics Panel:

• Ahmed Fahmy – “Reflection on the Last Decade of MOOC Research”
• Alia Shalaby – “Language Power“
• JFDP TEFL Group – “Linguistics Cohort”

Management and Medical Sciences Panel:   

• Mariam ElMasry – “A Life Changing Experience in 11 Months”
• Omnia Mazroa – “Application of Industrial Engineering in Container Terminals”
• Heba Aref – “Summary of Professional Success”
• Islam Khalil – “Noninvasive Suture-free Approach for Treating Corneal Laceration”
• Mohamed Helal – “Sigma Ligands, A New Hope for Cancer and Pain Management”
• Mohamed G. Hassan – “How the Lifestyle of our Ancestors Shapes our Faces”
• Sarah Hisham – “Somatic Mutation Detection in Leukemia”
• JFDP Group – “Public Health”