Ahmad Nabeel
Honorary Researcher, Imperial College London
Ahmad Nabeel
Honorary Researcher, Imperial College London
Ahmad Nabeel is a 31-year-old multi-award-winning physician, innovator, and researcher from Kuwait. He finished his medical education in Cairo in 2015 and worked at Al-Amiri hospital for 2 years after getting accepted in one of the Royal College of Surgeons training programs.
Nabeel then invented his surgical optics innovation (Klens) and was subsequently admitted to Imperial College London, by Professor the Lord Ara Darzi, as a special circumstance, because of his promising innovative talent, to study an MSc program in Surgical Innovation and work as an Honorary Researcher at The Institute of Global Health Innovation, at St Mary’s Hospital, Imperial College London. His areas of interests include: medical and surgical innovation, surgical optics, translational medicine, disruptive medical technologies, obesity medicine, and bariatric surgeries. Ahmad completed a post-graduate certificate from Imperial College London in Principles of Surgery, Surgical Education, Imaging and Intervention, and Patient Safety. Recently, he also finished a post-graduate diploma in Bariatric Surgery and Obesity Medicine from Imperial College London.
Ahmad is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Gulf Medical Technologies, a biomedical technology company that focuses on advancing healthcare through innovation.
Innovation is an area Ahmad is very passionate about since a very young age. He was enrolled in an enrichment program, by the ministry of education, for the gifted students who scored highly in a standardized and recognized IQ test (Wechsler IQ test) since he was only nine years old. Nabeel continued in the program until he graduated high school top of his class with the highest IQ and GPA. During that period, he won many competitions and accolades.
Aside from his interest in innovation, the Supreme Council for Planning, through an independent interviewing committee, appointed him as a spokesperson and ambassador for Kuwait vision 2035. Ahmad is also a member of the highly selective and reputable MENSA organization. Moreover, he is a permanent ambassador, as a global young leader, in the UK-based One Young World non-profit organization.
Babar Khan
Manager, Technology Investments NEOM -Founder, MiSect
Babar Khan
Manager, Technology Investments NEOM
-Founder, MiSect
With over 10 years of experience across both academia and industry, Babar started his career as a scientist with a passion for business. During his Ph.D., he successfully developed a system to measure microbial activity in water purification systems using a chemical-based sensor. This technology is being commercialized in collaboration with leading industrial partners to reduce the cost of drinking water production through desalination.
Currently, Babar is engaged with NEOM, Saudi Arabia’s Giga-project, formulating the strategy for the Future of Food while focusing on technology assessment and investments within the Biotech and Life Sciences space.
Along with being co-inventor on multiple patents, Babar holds a BS in Environmental Biology, an MS in Clinical Biology, a certificate in Entrepreneurship from the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and a Ph.D. in Bioscience. Babar is passionate about using his experiences to increase sustainability so his children and future generations can continue to enjoy our planet.
Shaikha Alothman
Founder and CEO of CURE
Shaikha Alothman
Founder, Oraxle Inc.
Award-winning health-tech entrepreneur & ex-Public Health professional. Member of the MIT I-Corps program. Honored to serve one of the most human causes: decentralized and smart community-driven care continuity solutions for family caregivers in the US, and for aging populations at large. She is the winner of MIT Hacking Medicine Grand Prize & Weill Cornell Medicine Award ’18 in health systems innovation, and was recognized by the US Department of State to participate at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, selected as one out of 1200 hand-picked entrepreneurs from around the world – by nomination of the American Embassy in Kuwait. She is supported by the National Science Foundation, and has two aims: make societies aging-friendly, and inspire the younger generation to pour their innovation where it is needed the most: the intersection of Public Health and technology.
Abbas Sidaoui
Co-founder and CTO of Revotonix L.L.C
Abbas Sidaoui
Co-founder and CTO of Revotonix L.L.C
Abbas received his BS and MS degrees in Mechatronics engineering in 2014 and 2016 from Rafik Hariri University, Lebanon. He ranked first on his class in both degrees and was placed on Honor list throughout his academic years. Since then, he is enrolled as a PhD student at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. His research interests are in mobile robots and mixed reality, mainly in human-robot interaction. Throughout his studies, Abbas has published his research in premier international robotics conferences and journals, and he participated in several robotics programs in top universities and institutes. His passion to robotics lead him to winning several international competitions in Japan, Europe, and the Middle east.
In December 2018, Abbas co-founded “Revotonix L.L.C”, the first startup in Lebanon and the region specialized in developing fully autonomous mobile robots and mechatronics solutions. Through Revotonix, Abbas aims to create robotics solutions and services to improve people’s lives.
Alessandro Babini
CEO of the Humon Hex
Alessandro Babini
CEO of the Humon Hex
Alessandro completed a B.S in business mathematics and statistics from the London School of Economics, a M.S in management from HEC Paris, and a M.S in management science from MIT Sloan. He worked as a venture capital investor in London, with a focus on consumer mobile and wearable technologies before serving as the CEO of Humon where he leads all fundraising, business development, sales, marketing and design efforts. Alessandro was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017 in 2 different categories, as a Global Shaper for the World Economic Forum in Boston in 2018, and is part of Fast Company’s most creative people in 2019.
Fouad Maksoud
Researcher in Laboratory of Engineered Living Systems | Harvard
Fouad Maksoud
Researcher in Laboratory of Engineered Living Systems | Harvard
Fouad Maksoud is a chemical engineer, biochemist, researcher, and entrepreneur. He received his MSc in Chemical and Petroleum engineering from the American University of Beirut. He is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineering AIChE, Institution of Chemical Engineers IChemE and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). He participated in stars of science competition and won the Best Innovator Award across the Middle East and North Africa, Arab Youth pioneer at The World Government Summit, and Outstanding Research Award at AUB, where his innovative idea competed with top young Arab scientists.
He invented an electrospinning machine with more than 1000 nozzles for producing nanofibrous membranes and coating other textiles. The fabricated nanofibers and nanoparticles have been used in many applications such as waterproof, breathable and antibacterial fabrics, air and water filtration, oil-water separation, tissue engineering, and drug delivery systems by integrating healing medicine within the very fibers of nano-bandages, one nanofiber at a time!
Ghena Alhanaee
PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in the University of Southern California’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ghena Alhanaee
PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in the University of Southern California’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Ghena W. Alhanaee is a PhD Candidate and Research Assistant in the University of Southern California’s Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Her research focuses on environmental sustainability, energy resources, water and food security. She has been fortunate to present her work internationally, from North America to Europe to the Middle East. Ghena received her MSc in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University, and her BSc in Mechanical Engineering from The Petroleum Institute in her hometown of Abu Dhabi, UAE. Prior to her graduate work at Stanford University, Ghena served as a research fellow at NASA in Mountain View, California, where she worked on bringing hands-on space exploration experiences to students and scientists.
Hassan Albalawi
CEO and Co-founder of WakeCap
Hassan Albalawi
CEO and Co-founder of WakeCap
Hassan Albalawi received his Ph.D. degree in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Duke University and Carnegie-Mellon University, and B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Widener University. Hassan’s research focuses on low-power on-chip machine-learning algorithms. Hassan is now in Dubai leading his tech startup, WakeCap, which develops various wearable technologies to improve the safety & boost labour productivity in the construction industry. WakeCap has recently raised a funding round of more than $2.5M from a group of global investors including the leading construction industry player Consolidated Contractor Company (CCC), Silicon Valley based firm Graphene Ventures, Abunayyan Holding and Inspire Ventures from Saudi Arabia, startAD Seed anchored at NYU Abu Dhabi, SOSV and SeedCo Capital.
Abdullah Al Hajiri
Emirati Computational Nuclear Scientist
Abdulla Al Hajiri
Emirati Computational Nuclear Scientist
Abdulla Alhajri is an Emirati Computational Nuclear Scientist. He is completing his PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he is an Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation Fellow. Prior to MIT, Abdulla completed his Bachelors and Masters in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he graduated with honors. In addition to his time at MIT, Abdulla has also conducted research in various world-class institutions such as CERN, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. After completing his PhD, Abdulla plans on playing an active role in the continual development of the UAE’s research and development landscape, and pushing the boundaries of science and technology.
Baha Abu Nojaim
Serial entrepreneur, Technologist, and Co-founder of Mixed Dimensions and Baseet.ai
Baha Abu Nojaim
Serial entrepreneur, Technologist, and Co-founder of Mixed Dimensions and Baseet.ai
Baha is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and co-founder of two wonderful technology companies (Mixed Dimensions and Baseet.ai) solving complex problems at the intersection between the digital world and the physical world with a passion to tackle world-class challenges in transformative tech.
Mixed Dimensions, enables on-demand merchandising of gaming assets through 3D printing, bridging the gap between the digital world and the physical world; disrupting the toy industry.
Mixed dimensions raised +12M in funding and operate across three continents with patents that cover anything that is captured from a virtual environment, introducing the first in-game capturing and 3D printing technology in Star Trek Online, partnering with leading gaming companies such as Ubisoft.
Baha leads all technology efforts including the development of its core IP that repairs and optimizes files for 3D printing automatically and spearheaded the establishment of the company’s first full color 3D printing production facility in San Mateo.
Baha recently co-founded Baseet.ai to simplify the process of building AI applications through introducing a cloud-based, visual development platform to empower SMBs to build, train, and deploy AI-powered applications, fast.
Baha also serves on the board of TechWorks; an initiative by the Crown Prince Foundation.
Alaa Algargoosh
LEED Green Associate, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Architecture- Building Technology at the University of Michigan
Alaa Algargoosh
LEED Green Associate, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Architecture- Building Technology at the University of Michigan
Alaa Algargoosh has always been fascinated by sound and its relation to shapes. As an architect, she had a special interest in the influence of the architectural design on sound, and this was the inspiration behind wanting to study architectural acoustics. Her previous work includes patented sound diffusers inspired by the cymatics phenomenon, and her current work is focused on advancing technologies that allow for analyzing the impact of the acoustic environments in human experience, emotions, and well-being. Alaa is a LEED Green Associate, and she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Architecture- Building Technology at the University of Michigan. In addition to working as an architect with Zuhair Fayez Consultants and a project engineer in Saudi Aramco, she held teaching positions previously at the University of Dammam and recently at the University of Michigan in which she was also a Graduate Student Teaching Consultant. Besides, Alaa has received numerous prestigious awards and has been invited to present her work in international innovation exhibitions.
Mohamed Dhaouafi
Founder and CEO of CURE
Mohamed Dhaouafi
Founder and CEO of CURE
Mohamed Dhaouafi is a 27-years-old Tunisian entrepreneur.
He is the founder and CEO of CURE, a startup that aims to empower children/youth amputees by providing them with a 1000-USD 3D printed and customizable bionic hand but also with an entertaining and immersive physical therapy process using virtual reality and gamification especially for marginalized and rural areas where access to such services is impossible.
Mohamed Dhaouafi is very passionate about entrepreneurship and youth empowerment and his entrepreneurial journey inspired him to co-found ZETA HUB, (https://dhaouafimed.wixsite.com/zetahub), the first early-stage incubator and capacity-building center for university students in his city Sousse, Tunisia.
He holds an engineering degree in electronics and embedded systems from Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sousse and a master degree in Management of NGOs from Tunis Business School.
Mohamed is a MEPI Student Leaders 2016 alumnus which is a US department funded program, an OBAMA Africa Leader for 2019 and one of the 8 UNITED NATIONS SOLUTIONS SUMMIT innovators in 2019. He was honored by the past tunisian president Beji Kaid Sebsi for his outstanding efforts.
He was also part of more than 60 national and international program and event such as Tony Elumelu Program, RISE FOR CHANGE by UNIDO and Fondazione CRT, Stars of Science, etc…
Mohamed strongly believes that disabilities are not obstacles but opportunities and even superpowers and dreams of a more inclusive communities.
Saeid Alzahrani
Founder of BRAQ Aerospace
Saeid Alzahrani
Founder of BRAQ Aerospace
Saeid Alzahrani is CEO and Founder of BRAQ Aerospace where he works on developing the next-gen Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be utilized at the sci-fi city “Neom” in Saudi Arabia.
He is well-known for being a Saudi national young inventor and he is considered as a Saudi pioneer in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). He is the first Saudi to study that major in the United States where he also worked as a visiting scholar with several patents related to his field.
Saeid believes that he can influence the Arab youth through promoting STEM education, innovation and entrepreneurship. He sees himself as a role model for young Saudi professionals who want to have a career in the Aerospace industry.
Haytham Dbouk
Founder and CEO of Innovating Green Technology (I.G.T)
Haytham Dbouk
Founder and CEO of Innovating Green Technology (I.G.T)
I am an Electrical and Computer Engineering student at AUB working towards my PhD
degree with a focus on automation, control, and energy. I am also the founder and CEO
of Innovating Green Technology (I.G.T), a startup developing innovative green energy
systems improving the efficiency and reliability of various sectors. I am passionate about
revolutionizing green technologies and this is an awesome opportunity to link with
likeminded communities to raise awareness, promote renewable energy schemes, and
save our region and the world. I have been working in this field for four years and my
passion is rapidly growing. Day after day, I am learning more about renewable energy and
energy efficiency and its professional role in the humanity enhancement and welfare.
Being one of the 20 Innovators Under 35 by EmTech MENA 2019 is an awesome
opportunity to expand and accelerate the ripples of impact in MENA.
Mohamed Labadi
Founder and CEO/CTO of Singularity Computing More
Mohamed Labadi
Founder and CEO/CTO of Singularity Computing
Mohamed Labadi is the founder and CEO/CTO of Singularity Computing, a science-based startup specialized in developing computational modeling and simulation solutions for resolving a multitude of scientific and technological problems. He is a co-founder of the first independent R&D lab in Algeria, Frontiers Labs, and the founder and CEO of Industrialized, an industrial venture builder/accelerator assisting and partnering with young entrepreneurs to co-build manufacturing and AgriFood ventures in Algeria. Previously, Mohamed co-founded Kadabra Labs; a startup studio focused on creating and developing startups in the Maghreb region in key sectors.
Mohamed worked as R&D engineer and researcher with more than five years of experience in high performance computing, renewable energy, nanotechnology, manufacturing, biomedical devices, and aerospace structures. He received a Dipl.-Ing. degree in Multidisciplinary Engineering (with a major in aerospace engineering and a minor in energy systems) from the University of Blida, Algeria, and earned double/joint master’s degrees in Nanotechnology and Bio-Photonics from Ecole Normale Superieure Paris-Saclay (France), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), University of Wroclaw and Wroclaw University of Science & Technology (Poland). He started a PhD in computational sciences and engineering at Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay and Ecole Polytechnique, but he is taking a research break to purse his entrepreneurial journey.
Laila Ziko
Adjunct assistant professor in the biology department at the American University of Cairo
Laila Ziko
Adjunct assistant professor in the biology department at the American University of Cairo
Laila Ziko is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Biology Department at the American University in Cairo. Laila is teaching introductory biology, genetics and cell and molecular labs to undergraduate students since February 2019. During her PhD, Laila worked with Prof. Rania Siam’s research team to explore Red Sea harsh environments and mine their microbial metagenomes for antibacterial and anticancer effects. They reported their work in 2019 in two publications and they are currently working on expanding on their work. She completed her PhD in Applied Sciences at the American University in Cairo in January 2019 and was awarded the EMBO short-term fellowship in 2017. In 2018 she won with her PhD thesis project the Falling Walls Lab in Cairo and represented Egypt in the Berlin Finale. Earlier, she earned her MSc. degree in Biotechnology in 2013 from the American University in Cairo, which she worked on multiple stressors for more efficient cancer therapy. Laila’s main research interests are natural products with antibacterial and anticancer effects. In 2008, Laila received her BSc. in Pharmacy and Biotechnology from the German University in Cairo. Laila lives in Cairo, she enjoys spending her weekends with her family and young nephews.
Mohamed Dhaouafi
Founder and CEO of CURE
Mohamed Dhaouafi
Founder and CEO of CURE
Mohamed Dhaouafi is a 27-years-old Tunisian entrepreneur.
He is the founder and CEO of CURE, a startup that aims to empower children/youth amputees by providing them with a 1000-USD 3D printed and customizable bionic hand but also with an entertaining and immersive physical therapy process using virtual reality and gamification especially for marginalized and rural areas where access to such services is impossible.
Mohamed Dhaouafi is very passionate about entrepreneurship and youth empowerment and his entrepreneurial journey inspired him to co-found ZETA HUB, (https://dhaouafimed.wixsite.com/zetahub), the first early-stage incubator and capacity-building center for university students in his city Sousse, Tunisia.
He holds an engineering degree in electronics and embedded systems from Ecole Nationale d’Ingénieurs de Sousse and a master degree in Management of NGOs from Tunis Business School.
Mohamed is a MEPI Student Leaders 2016 alumnus which is a US department funded program, an OBAMA Africa Leader for 2019 and one of the 8 UNITED NATIONS SOLUTIONS SUMMIT innovators in 2019. He was honored by the past tunisian president Beji Kaid Sebsi for his outstanding efforts.
He was also part of more than 60 national and international program and event such as Tony Elumelu Program, RISE FOR CHANGE by UNIDO and Fondazione CRT, Stars of Science, etc…
Mohamed strongly believes that disabilities are not obstacles but opportunities and even superpowers and dreams of a more inclusive communities.
Ahmad Alkhateeb
Founder of Hive
Saeid Alzahrani
Founder of BRAQ Aerospace
Saeid Alzahrani is CEO and Founder of BRAQ Aerospace where he works on developing the next-gen Urban Air Mobility (UAM) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to be utilized at the sci-fi city “Neom” in Saudi Arabia.
He is well-known for being a Saudi national young inventor and he is considered as a Saudi pioneer in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). He is the first Saudi to study that major in the United States where he also worked as a visiting scholar with several patents related to his field.
Saeid believes that he can influence the Arab youth through promoting STEM education, innovation and entrepreneurship. He sees himself as a role model for young Saudi professionals who want to have a career in the Aerospace industry.
Heba Aly
Research scientist at Amazon and a CS PhD candidate at the University of Maryland College Park
Haytham Dbouk
Founder and CEO of Innovating Green Technology (I.G.T)
I am an Electrical and Computer Engineering student at AUB working towards my PhD
degree with a focus on automation, control, and energy. I am also the founder and CEO
of Innovating Green Technology (I.G.T), a startup developing innovative green energy
systems improving the efficiency and reliability of various sectors. I am passionate about
revolutionizing green technologies and this is an awesome opportunity to link with
likeminded communities to raise awareness, promote renewable energy schemes, and
save our region and the world. I have been working in this field for four years and my
passion is rapidly growing. Day after day, I am learning more about renewable energy and
energy efficiency and its professional role in the humanity enhancement and welfare.
Being one of the 20 Innovators Under 35 by EmTech MENA 2019 is an awesome
opportunity to expand and accelerate the ripples of impact in MENA.
Amer Al Jaberi
Branch Manager of Analyzing and Developing Business Section in Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates
Amer Al Jaberi
Branch Manager of Analyzing and Developing Business Section in Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates
Amer Al Jabri, the inventor of the 7E Reader, created this unique device to be the first device used in the world to scan and authenticate official documents and records to enhance the safety and security levels in the country and to be operated across all borders and airports. In addition, this device promotes the international community’s vision to have a stable and secured world by detecting and preventing terrorism and organized crime activities. Al Jabri’s role focuses on developing the 7E device even further to be used internationally in different fields that needs extra safety and security measurements. As a Project Manager, he’s responsible for the device marketing by establishing regional and international relationships.
Al Jabri is also a Branch Manager of Analyzing and Developing Business Section in Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates since 2015.
Al Jabri holds a Bachelor of Public Relations and Communications, and a MA in Security and Strategic Studies. In 2007, he became Governmental Communication Head of Section in the Interior Ministry. he served as a Branch Manager of the Partnerships Section from 2010-2014. Moreover, in 2016 he was appointed as Representative of Customer Service in the Ministry of Interior.