British Council Announces Egyptian Winners for UK Alumni Awards

On Tuesday, the British Council announced the recipients of the Study UK Alumni Awards 2021-22 in Egypt at a prestigious ceremony in the British Embassy in Cairo.

In total, 12 Egyptian alumni of UK universities were recognized for their outstanding achievements as business professionals, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, and for their contribution to strengthening ties between the UK and Egypt.

Following in-depth interviews with a judging panel, recipients were selected for the four award categories: Business and Innovation Award, Culture and Creativity Award, Science and Sustainability Award, and Social Action Award.

The prestigious international award celebrates UK higher education and the achievements of alumni of UK universities all over the world. Now in its fifth year in Egypt, the award received hundreds of applications from Egyptian alumni, representing hundreds of UK higher education institutions across the UK.

The ceremony was hosted by British Ambassador to Egypt Gareth Bayley and attended by the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Aty, Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and President of Galala University, Dr. Mohamed El Shenawy, Director of British Council Egypt, Elizabeth White, Engineer Khaled Nosseir, the Chairman of Alkan Group of Companies and British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA), and Doctor Reem Bahgat, President of Egypt University of Informatics and Advisor to the Minister of Communications and Information Technology for Egypt University of Informatics.

The Business and Innovation award was presented to Dina Aboughazala, a graduate of City, University of London. Dina is an Egyptian media entrepreneur and a bilingual journalist who spent 14 years working for the BBC before launching her media start-up, Egab. Her career has spanned three regions, taking her to Addis Ababa, London, and her homeland, Cairo. She went on to get her master’s degree in Interactive Journalism from City, University of London, through a Chevening Scholarship. She followed the master with a six-week program on documentary making at University College London.

The Culture and Creativity Award was presented to Mohamed Said Mahfouz, a graduate of Royal Holloway, University of London. Mohamed was named as ‘The Best TV Presenter in the Arab World’ by the Cairo International TV and Radio Festival, 10th edition, for his TV investigation ‘Peace and Revenge’ (Cairo, July 2004). In 2003, he received the Bronze Award from the Cairo International TV and Radio Festival, 9th edition, in recognition of a series of interviews he had conducted.

The Science and Sustainability Award was presented to Hesham Sallam, a graduate of the University of Oxford. Hesham is an Egyptian paleontologist and the founder of the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center, the first vertebrate paleontology program in the Middle East. Hesham led the discovery and description of Mansourasaurus Shahinae, a species of sauropod dinosaur from Egypt, which has improved understanding of the prehistory of Africa during the latest Cretaceous period. His work has helped popularize paleontology in Egypt.

The Social Action award was presented to Mohamed Daoud, a graduate of the University of Manchester. Mohamed has a decade of work experience in the field of science communication and engagement. He is currently working on numerous community-led and citizen science projects to break the wall between science and society and to change attitudes towards science to be more positive. The projects are geared towards the underprivileged, minorities, indigenous communities, and refugees to spark their curiosity and encourage more students to adopt science and technology careers in the future.