Biography

As a younger student and architect, the paradox that is Cairo’s Urbanism had me spellbound. Cairo is a thrilling yet frustrating megacity of endless contradictions that malfunctions beautifully. Throughout studying and later teaching Architecture and Urban Design at the German University in Cairo, I derived immense gratification from trying to untangle the complexity of the city. I have been specifically interested in questions of housing, its provision, use and perception. Alongside, I was exposed to on-ground parallel participatory initiatives and urban research offices which tackle urgent issues in the city. Accordingly, I became inspired to passionately explore these issues as an MPhil student at the University of Cambridge. In my PhD, I aim to question the condition of housing vacancy, its differentiated categories, and varied underlying reasons and mechanisms of occurrence. As I continue to be exposed to further research on Cairo within a vibrant network of mentors and colleagues, my thirst for learning keeps increasing with a growing commitment in me to treat my education as a life-long endeavor. Yet, I believe research must be consistently geared to have meaningful impact on people’s lives. I am honored to belong to the Gates community and hope to use the platform to pursue my aspiration of becoming an academically well-grounded individual who is able to critically think, inspire, educate, advocate, mediate and ultimately drive meaningful change.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Architecture and Urban Studies 2019
German University in Cairo Architecture and Urban Design 2018
German University in Cairo Architecture and Urban Design 2016