Can you give us a brief overview of your career to date?
I graduated from Cairo University, Commerce, and I never worked in commerce. I was not that interested. And my career mostly was around three different elements, environment, and then conflict issues, conflict solution, and African studies on African issues.
I worked so much on environmental conservation. I did a master’s degree in environmental science and environmental development at the University of Edinburgh. And then, this shaped the environmental part. I did a minor in African studies, but I was also always interested in how the dynamics of change I had to forget to visit more than half of the African continent. I lived in six countries, including myself. And then the elements of conflict resolution, I am a certified mediator. I work on mediation, conflict resolution, conflict resolution training. I am also currently listed among the mediators of the African Development Bank.
What was your most significant challenge that you faced during your doctorate journey at The DaVinci Institute, and how did you overcome that?
The major challenge was not related to academic pursuits. So, at the very beginning of my studies, it was unfortunate that I went through a period of a year and a half or two years of depression.
So, I could not function properly. It is because of some family issues. And then, towards the submission of the PhD, my mom got sick. She was almost paralyzed. She was paralyzed for two months. And now she is better. And it was just like a few months before submission and I could not focus 100%, so I had to have a crash writing like the last two months or something. It is mostly that. The depression part, I used it as a leverage for courage.
I completed part of the story. And at the end, I chose to focus on the late parts of the day. I was shifting my day to write. Just allocating time whenever I could.
Can you just share a moment or an experience during your doctoral studies that you had a profound impact on the thinking or approach to your research?
It was when I was writing about the connection to the land and the connection to the night. And I spoke with, I was living in the south of Egypt and I spoke with a Nubian friend of mine. He was telling me that I should stay in Nubia and so on. And I told him, like, I need to buy land. And he responded that, You guys, from the urban setting, want to own land. But for us, the land owns us. There is a shift in my thinking.
What advice would you give to incoming doctoral students at The DaVinci Institute, considering your own experience and the insight that you have gained along your journey?
Firstly, follow your coding. The second thing is to give time to write and you do not have to read everything on earth because knowledge is partly from the outside but also from the inside. And you give your time, give space and time to write, and focus on writing early enough, which is the mistake I made.
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