Academics

Samhaa R. El-Beltagy is a Professor of Computer Science. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southampton, UK, in 2001, and her Masters and Bachelor’s degrees in Computer Science from the American University in Cairo in 1997 and 1993, respectively. Prior to joining NGU, Prof. El-Beltagy was the Head of Research and Development at Optomatica (a company dedicated to the development of AI solutions to real-life complex problems). She is also a co-founder of AIM Technologies, a start-up operating in the Middle East utilizing NLP technologies and advanced analytics. From 2010 to 2018, Prof. El-Beltagy was a faculty member at Nile University (NU) where she served as the Dean of the School of Communication and Information Technology, the Director of the Center for Informatics Science, the founder and Head of the Text Mining Research Group and the Director of the Informatics, Computer Science and Big Data programs. She has participated and played a pivotal role in a number of national projects and is currently a member of the technical committee of the National Council for AI established by MCIT. She currently has over eighty international refereed publications and has served and continues to serve on the international program committees of numerous international conferences, workshops, and committees including L’Oréal’s committee for Women in Science, Fulbright’s Junior Faculty Development Program selection committee, and Fulbright’s Egyptian Student Program interview committee.  Her research interests include Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, Text Mining, and  Data Mining.

Prof. Hesham Ali is joining NGU this Fall (2021) as a Visiting Professor at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza  University.  Prof. Ali’s visit to Newgiza university comes after stepping down from his role as Dean of the College of Information Science & Technology at the University of Nebraska Omaha, USA, where he assumed this role for the last 15 years and where he has been working since 1988. During this time Prof. Hesham introduced a multitude of programs and degrees to the school the latest of which was the Master of Science in IT Innovation and the Master of Science in Data Science.   Prof. Hesham is an accomplished scholar, who has co-authored more than 50 refereed journal articles, two books, and more than 150 papers in areas of bioinformatics, mobile computing, wireless sensor networks, and scheduling.  He was also the PI or co-PI for more than 40 grants receiving over $12 million. Dr. Hesham follows a “student-centered, collaborative approach” in teaching and research. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of Wireless Networks and Bioinformatics.

Dr. Laila H. Afify is an assistant professor at the School of IT, Newgiza University. She received her Ph.D. degree from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia in 2016. She received her M.Sc. degree in Wireless Technologies from Nile University in 2011. From 2011 to 2012, she was jointly affiliated with Nile University and the American University in Cairo as a junior scientist. She received her B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt, in 2009. Prior to joining NGU, she was an Assistant Professor at the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Nile University. Her research focuses on the use of stochastic geometry in next-generation, large-scale, wireless networks. Her main research interests include signal processing, stochastic geometry, vehicular networks, and cognitive radio systems.

Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim is joining NGU this Fall (2021) as an Assistant Professor at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza  University.  He received his PhD from Technische Universität Ilmenau, Germany, his Masters from Ulm University, Germany, and his Bachelors from the German University in Cairo.  His research interests revolve around Artificial Intelligence and Signal Processing.

Nancy Ali is a scholar of memory and gender studies, holding a Ph.D. in comparative literature and history from the Paris Iv-Sorbonne in Paris. As a research associate at the University’s Centre du Recherche en Littérature Comparée (CRLC), her research publications explore the formal and informal ways collective memory is experienced and reimagined. She is also a lecturer of Citizenship, Sociology, and Communications at New Giza University, where she contributes to the design of the curriculum in collaboration with King’s College London and UCL. She joined Newgiza University to support its interdisciplinary approach that marries human and natural sciences. As Cultural and Public Outreach Manager of the Cairo International Film Festival, Nancy oversaw several collaborations between the festival and other bodies in the public and private sectors, in addition to adding creative new content to the festival’s program. In her spare time, Nancy moonlights as a content consultant, and has worked on several well-acclaimed advertising campaigns in Cairo and elsewhere.

Dr. Ibrahim Youssef is a guest lecturer at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza  University.  He received his PhD from Virginia Tech, the USA, and his Masters and Bachelors from Cairo University, Egypt, where he is currently an assistant professor. From 2017 to 2019, he was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Anna Ritz’s computational biology lab, Reed College, Oregon, USA.

Luc Frachon is a guest lecturer at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza  University.  He is a  PhD Candidate in Deep Learning at Heriot-Watt University (Edinburgh, UK) as well as a Senior Data Scientist and Project Lead at Lyra Analytics. He posses a recognized talent for translating theoretical knowledge into practical solutions, powered by intense curiosity, a passion for learning, and wide-ranging research skills. He’s a former senior manager in Marketing and Sales who transitioned to Machine Learning and Data Science in 2015.

Nagwa Moawad is an assistant lecturer at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza university. She has over 12 years of experience in teaching 8 of which were at Nile University. She obtained her Master’s degree from Helwan University in the field of evolutionary creative design algorithms. She has also worked as a community Moderator and session lead at Udacity.

Eng. Badiaa Gabr is a teaching assistant at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza university.  She received her M.Sc. in Wireless Communication Networks from Nile University, Egypt in 2020 where she was also a research assistant and is currently pursuing her PhD in the same field. While working on her Master’s degree, she joined Aalborg University, Denmark for a five months internship. Her research interests include Proactive Caching, Device to Device (D2D) networks, Coexistence of LTE with WiFi in unlicensed spectrum, Meta-cognition in wireless networks.

Anan Gamal is a teaching assistant at the School of Information Technology, Newgiza University. She graduated with honors from the Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport in 2020 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science. Her main areas of interest are Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, and Game Development.