The British Council awarded three Egyptian winners the 2018 UK Alumni Awards, for their impact in their field of work in Egypt on Monday 26 February 2018, in an awards ceremony held at the British Ambassador’s residence in Cairo.
The UK Alumni Awards, created by the British Council, in partnership with UK higher education institutions, are intended to recognise outstanding success by people who have studied at UK higher education institutions within the last 15 years. This is the second year the British Council presents the award in Egypt, after a successful start of the award in Egypt last year.
The celebration was hosted by British Ambassador, John Casson and well received among the social, business and political community in Egypt. The ceremony was attended by Director of the British Council in Egypt, Jeff Streeter, and prominent Egyptian businessman Eng. Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E., who presented the Entrepreneurship Award to Prof Mahmoud Hafez for his work in medicine. In parallel, Rehab El-Maghraby was the winner of the Professional Achievement Award for her work in science and education and the Social Impact Award was given to Usama Fatthalla Abdelrady Mohammed.
This year’s winners were chosen by an esteemed panel of juries that included Jeff Streeter, British Council Director, Clem Naylor, First Secretary Political at the British Embassy Cairo, and Dr. 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).
In his speech during the event, the British Ambassador to Egypt, Mr. John Casson said: “Today we award three of Egypt’s future leaders. Rehab El-Maghraby, Usama Fathalla and Moahmed Hafez serve as yet another example that the British-Egyptian academic partnership keeps on giving. When we combine the Egyptian talent with world-class British education, we can rest assured that the impossible will be accomplished. Our common goal is to expand our partnership so that world-class education can be available to all Egyptians”.
In Egypt, 9 finalists were selected for the Entrepreneurial, Professional Achievement, and Social Impact categories.
Professional Achievement Awards University
- Ahmed Osama Abdulrahman University of Cambridge
- Mohamed El-Moghazi University of Strathclyde
- Rehab El-Maghraby Imperial College London
Entrepreneurial Awards
- Karim El Safty Kingston University
- Mahmoud Hafez University of Leeds
- Mohamed Nader Alsayed Ibrahim Durham University and University of Westminster
Social Impact Awards
- Michael Milad Henein Abdalah University of Bristol
- Reem Allam Queen Margaret University
- Usama Fatthalla Abdelrady Mohammed Coventry University
Egyptian businessman Eng. Naguib Sawiris, Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E., presented the Entrepreneurial Award during the event and commented on the occasion saying: “I have very high respect for the British education system and I didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation and be part of this event honouring Egyptians who made the best out of their educational background and paid back to their country. This is truly an inspiration to Egyptian youth”.
