Adham Sannaa

Adham Sannaa (*1988) is a Syrian architect, born in Edlib city. His passion for art in high school led him to study architecture and urban design in Aleppo University and to graduate in 2011. During university he was interested in urban planning & rehabilitation and that’s why he chose the Development of informal settlement area Tal Al Zarazir, Aleppo 2011 as his graduation project. He developed his artistic and technical skills by participating in many workshops and competitions. After graduation, he worked as a free licensed architect in several architecture and interior design projects in Syria, then he moved to Czech Republic and had there more than one year professional, personal and educational experience. Adham aims to be a participant in changing the urban reality of the Arab countries, especially in Syria.

Master Thesis: Innovation and Refugee Camps: The Role of Innovation in Developing the Humanitarian System with Special Focus on Al Zaatri Refugee Camp, Jordan.

Ahmed Bakry

Ahmed Bakry (*1990, Cairo) got his BSc from Ain Shams University, urban planning and design department (UPD) July 2012, he works as a teaching assistant at Ain shams University Urban planning and design dep., his accumulative ranking is the first upon his colleagues; he began his pre-master studies for one year at the same college he was graduated from and then he joined the IUSD master program. Bakry began his practical work while he was studying by participating in competitions like Elopera & Elatabaa project in collaboration with (BECT) consulting office and (A2M) engineering office. He works as an executive engineer for the renovation of the IUSD branch in Egypt at Ain shams University and as a freelancer for several engineering projects. As under graduate he participated in a student exchange program between Ain Shams University, Artesis University, school of Architecture Antwerp, Belgium and l'ecole d' Belleville in Paris, France in December 2010 concerning urban issues. He also participated in different activities like Aces and Eye academic and time management programs. Respectively, Bakry can deal with several engineering and graphical programs.

Master Thesis: Integrating Local Ethnic Groups in the Process of the Regional Planning - The Case of the Nubian Village of Kostol - Komombo, Egypt.

Balsam Madi

Balsam Madi (*1987, Beirut) graduated from the American University of Beirut with a Bachelor of Architecture and minors in Engineering Management and Studio Arts. Throughout her undergraduate years, her chosen design studios often reflected her interests about social, economic and environmental sustainability. Her thesis dealt with the intersection between the different drives (developers, clients and public) that shape our built environment and where tradeoffs happen. The research led her to an ideal paradigm that targets a specific scale of flexible modular housing while continuing Beirut’s urban fabric and targeting the previously untargeted middle class and new “a-typical family”. She believes that the architect and planner is not alone in shaping our surrounding and thus proceeded to work with a designer and builder among engineers and consultants from different disciplines under an integrated approach. She is a LEED GA accredited professional, and was one of the founding members of the NGO Save Beirut Heritage in 2010.

Master Thesis: Processes Behind Regional Planning in Lebanon's Hinterland - The Cases of the Union of Municipalities of Jezzine and the Union of Municipalities of Tyr. 

Dima Dayoub

Dima Dayoub from Syria holds a BSc degree in Architecture (2008) as well as in English Literature (2011). She joined a consultancy firm in Aleppo for 3 years working as an architect on restoration and rehabilition projects in the old city of Aleppo along with being a teaching assistant at Ittihad Private University for one academic year. She also enrolled in an urban planning master program at the University of Aleppo for one year in which she went for a joint urban design workshop in Cottbus. Then she moved to Istanbul where she worked in an architectural practice for the past year and a half mainly on design proposals for hotels and urban regeneration projects. She joined IUSD to learn more about the analysis and design of urban environments and to build a critical perspective around urban issues.

Master Thesis: Wartime Coping and its Reconfiguration of the Urban Space - The Case of Aleppo City During the Protracted Syrian Conflict.

Friederike Thonke

Friederike Thonke (*1989) went to Northern Ghana in 2008 to work in the field of micro-financing and took part on a school project. With this experience and with the inherent wish to become an architect with the ability to use architecture as a helpful tool to improve life standards, she started her studies of architecture in 2009. For her bachelor thesis she chose to redesign an old car park into a multipurpose center for young homeless. Therefore she held workshops with them to better understand their lives, ideas and dreams. Environmental and sustainable aspects were taken in consideration, but in the same way socially, psychologically, and politically sensitive approaches were applied. To Friederike, architecture is a field to express creativity as well as social empathy and liability. For her it is significant to realize and emphasize the responsibility 'we' as planers have – therefore a holistic approach in the current development of planning is desperately needed. After her graduation she worked with a Nairobi-based NGO in participatory upgrading of informal settlements. Her further studies and work is and will be lead by the hope for mutual understanding and learning between all parties.

Master Thesis: Rethinking Relocation in the Context of Informal Areas -  Critical Analysis of Processes and the Quality of Life: The Case of Istabl Antar (Cairo).

Jude Al Issa Zada

Jude Al Issa Zada (*1989, Amman) obtained her Bachelor of Science in Architecture at the School of Architecture and Built Environment at the German Jordanian University (GJU), Amman, in 2012. During her studies she had internships in several architecture offices such as Al-Nasser Architects in Amman, Arcass Freie Architekten BDA in Stuttgart and Badran Design Studio in Amman under the supervision of Architect Rasem Badran and Architect Jamal Badran. Jude has become very interested in the fields of urban planning and landscape architecture during her studies and gained professional experience which motivated her to enter urban development competitions. She was short listed in the competition Port Gioia Tauro Vision 2030 and won second place in Project Manifesto's: Holes on Hold competition in Amman. Since her graduation, Jude has worked as a research and teaching assistant in the department of architecture in GJU where she supervised students from all classes in the fields of design, landscape and urban regeneration.

Master Thesis: Place Attachments of Different Influx Groups in West Amman, Jordan - The Case of Palestinians and Iraqis.

Maram Sha'ban

Maram Sha'ban (*1987) was born in Jerusalem and has lived in Amman since the early 90's. She gained her B.S in Architectural Engineering from Jordan University in 2010. Throughout her B.S studies, Maram took part in extracurricular excursions to different cities for a close examination of the existing urban models. Having been also a part of the urban fabrication workshop held at IaaC in Barcelona, has enabled her to adopt further urban awareness. In 2009, she was an exchange student through IAESTE, where she had her 1st technical experience in an inter-cultural living in Tunisia. Shortly after graduation, she worked as an architect with the United Nations for Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for two years.  Her work experience with the camp improvement project/UNRWA has enriched her knowledge about urban improvement from grass-root.  She was involved in the procedural production of Talbieh and Husun Camps improvement plans (CIP) in Jordan, and concurrently worked on Talbieh shelters’ assessment for rehabilitation based on self-help. Between 2011 and mid 2012, she led the production of Talbieh Camp improvement material for two exhibitions, one in Amman and another in Berlin, tackling the Palestinian camps and CIPs in the region. Later, she joined an architectural office based in Amman that enhanced her knowledge in local architectural methods.

Master Thesis: Resistive Urbanism in the Spatio-Genesis of Self-Awda: Spatial and Non-Spatial Variable of IDPs' Self-Repatriation to Palestinian Depopulated Villages.

Maroua Ennouri

Maroua Ennouri (*1988, Bizerta) studied Architecture at the National School of Architecture and Urbanism of Tunis (ENAUT) from 2007-2013. During her studies she attended many workshops in Vernacular Architecture in Tunisia. She graduated in June 2013 with honors. During 8 months she had a professional internship. She worked on several projects dealing with the problematic of sustainable architecture with “Atelier AWS”, an unique architecture firm in Tunisia that designs wooden buildings focusing on lumber construction. There she discovered her interest for sustainable design. 

Master Thesis: Ruins of Urbanity: Rethinking the Prospective of Urban Voids for a Sustainable Urban Development with Special Focus on Tunis.

Mohammed Fawzi

Mohammed Fawzi (*1990, Cairo) studied Architecture, Urban Design and Urban Planung at Ain shams university in Cairo and graduated in 2012. Mohammmed was assigned as a teaching assistant in the same faculty and worked there since. Mohammed started working on projects before his graduation,  participating in several projects like working as a coordinator in the ECG UTW initiative for students trainings, for the refurbishment of the IUSD headquarters in Cairo and planned the interior design for many apartments and offices. Mohammed started his Academic career driven by the passion and the sincere believe of the importance of the education trying to combine both science and fun in the education process. That's why he participated as  a moderator in ACES academic program activity, in the ISLC cultural conference in the AUC  and in the scientific committee of the department. Mohammed participated in many activities abroad like the student exchange program in 2010 in Belgium and France. Also he was a member of the technical committee for EZBET competition (2013) in Stuttgart University.

Master Thesis: Rethinking the Urban Development Process in Egypt's Informal Settlements.

Neila Zouainia

Neila Zouainia (*1990, Oran) graduated in Architecture at the University of Sciences and Technology of Oran (U.S.T.O) in 2012. During her studies, she took part on a local association called “Bel Horizon” where she was an active member where she participated in different cultural events, architectural manifestations and workshops. Passionated by architecture, she devoted her extracurricular activities to internships in different architecture offices in her home country. Furthermore, to extend her knowledge, she got involved in an international association ’Rampart’, where she participated to construction sites and workshops. Since her senior year her motivations towards architecture have changed especially after working on the rehabilitation of a railway line in the centre of Oran. Her interests were not about the buildings themselves but more about their issues related to the city having a close relationship with the cultural aspects, history and the human behavior. 

Master Thesis: Learning from Informality: Conflict between Institutional Planning and Practice in Oran Algeria

Tayseer Khairy

Tayseer Khairy graduated from Tanta University in Egypt with a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering in 2002. She gained ten years of experience working on architectural and interior design of different kinds of residential, administrations, services and recreational buildings in UAE & Egypt. As a social and environmental activist with management and leadership skills she worked with national, international organizations and private sector firms in community development projects. In 2011, she joined URBANICS, For Sustainable Natural and Built Environment, assisting the director in preparing and monitoring departmental goals. She served as representative of the entity at state, regional and national organizations, boards, councils, and committees. Her work included fundraising, networking, research and helping as Community Architect. Tayseer is passionate about community development projects and she believes in collaborative participatory planning development with local inhabitants, driven by certain values of qualities and initiatives within a sustainable frame work that benefits people and saves our planet system. As an environmental activist she  organized and supervised many campaigns and events related to climate change and its impact on urban livelihoods, waste management, water crisis, sustainable architecture and capacity building for young youth with schools and NGOs. She is also founder, board member and member in many associations and NGOs which activities are covering a wide range of development, sustainability and projects with environmental scopes: she travelled to USA, Denmark, Jordan, Qatar and KSA gaining an extensive cross cultural experience. She felt the need to enrich her knowledge and experience within academic research and therefore joined the Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design program in 2013.

Master Thesis: "Kafr Wahb" Village as a Case of Social Innovation - Understanding Social Innovation in Rural Community Development in Egypt.