The British Council is pleased to announce the finalists for a prestigious award celebrating the outstanding achievements of the UK’s international alumni. They are selected by our panel of judges as best representatives for the impact of UK higher education in their chosen career path and the impact they have made for the development of Egypt.
We are proud of them!
Prof. Inas Abdel Dayem - the head of the Cairo Opera House. She graduated in Cairo Conservatoire, flute department and continued her studies in France, where she obtained a PhD from the Ecole Normale de Musique in Paris. Since then her extensive tours as a flutist cover the US, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Inas has the Creative Prize from the Academy of Arts operating, first prizes from the Federation Nationale des Unions des Conservatoires Municipaux Dramatique in France.
Rania has recently been selected by Women of Egypt as one of the top 100 distinguished women in Egypt and by the Hall of Fame in Science. She is also a pioneer of Computational Pharmaceutics school in Egypt which includes the integration of modelling and simulation of drug carriers and the exploitation of mathematical relationships, and machine learning methods in the selection of the most appropriate pairs between the drugs and their carriers in the body.
Rehab Ismail is a journalist, producer, and educator with expertise in television and digital journalism. She holds an MA in TV and Digital Journalism from The American University in Cairo and an MA in Digital Media from University College London. Currently at BBC Arabic, Rehab covers global political and economic developments. As an educator, she has trained over 300 Arab journalists. Passionate about impactful storytelling, she uses media to empower others and foster trust in journalism.
Saddam is a distinguished academic and researcher specializing in AI, computer vision, and biometric human identification. He serves as an Associate Professor of Computer Science and Head of the Quantitative Techniques Department at South Valley University, Egypt, where he is also Vice-Dean for Student Affairs. Holding a Ph.D. from the University of Lincoln, UK, Saddam is dedicated to advancing education, sustainability, and inspiring the next generation of leaders and innovators.
Dr. Samar is a global health leader driving impactful change at the WHO. She has spearheaded emergency response in the Eastern Mediterranean and Africa, forging partnerships and resources to bolster pandemic preparedness. Her leadership has been critical in developing the regional emergency health workforce initiative. A member of International Emergency Action Network, recipient of the King Abdullah Operation Center Award and the Queen Elizabeth International Leaders Fellowship.
Tarek is a Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at the British University in Egypt. He earned his PhD in Engineering from the University of Edinburgh in 2023, where he was also a Teaching Assistant for four years. He holds an MSc in New and Renewable Energy from Durham University (2017) and a double BSc in Mechanical Engineering from BUE and Loughborough University (2012). A Chevening Scholar, he is a Chartered Engineer, MIMechE, and Professional Member of the International Solar Energy Society.
Aya is an Egyptian environmental researcher and entrepreneur. She is the CEO and co-founder of Recyclizer, a plastic recycling start-up. On top of her responsibilities as a wife and a mother, Aya has shown persistence and success in her social, academic, and professional life. She was chosen amongst the leading environmental experts and professors in the world to present her research paper in the Climate Expo Conference, April 2021. Aya also won the Bioscience Egypt Environmental Science Award.
