Around five minutes away from the Cairo International Airport, in the calm and peaceful streets of Heliopolis, MAB Institute’s main building stands drenched in blue paint. Their stated purpose is to become the next hub for all those creative and innovative individuals seeking to catch up with technological trends and perhaps even generate brand new ones. Why and how are they planning to achieve this? We spoke to their CEO, Neven El Sayed to find out.
The CEO of MAB Institute, Neven El Sayed, graduated with a BSc and then went on to pursue a MSc in Computer Engineering from the University of Benha and now holds a PhD in Augmented Reality (a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world) from the University of South Australia.
“The Egyptian market is going to need to catch up with these technologies sooner or later. After all, our economy seems to attract a lot of multinational companies who are at the forefront of innovating on these technologies and applying them to our daily lives,” she said kicking off our conversation. El Sayed posits that because Egyptian engineers usually work under harsh circumstances and a lot of stress within a tricky marketplace, they already have the work-around mentality needed to be playful with such technologies. Adjustably, MAB Institute provides them with the tricky know-how behind it all.
MAB Insitute’s mascot – via MAB Institute
In El Sayed’s view, the new era of technology we’re rapidly venturing into, will not depend on employees with a narrow scope. Yes, job specialization still stands, but specializing in most jobs will require a multidisciplinary background from each individual. “That’s what makes our education and training programs exclusive. The problems people face will require integrated and interconnected knowledge of a number of disciplines. Hence, all our programs take that into account,” she emphasized. “When your background is diversified, it’s easier to come up with multiple solutions for each problem you encounter, and this is precisely what a demanding market requires now.”
MAB Institute’s opening ceremony – via MAB Institute
MAB Institute’s first-ever workshop was held recently and titled ‘Fashion’s B-side’ and it prefaced the applications of Augmented Reality in the Fashion industry requiring of its participants no more than a familiarity with programming (any language/logic will do) alongside a willingness to learn, create, and build. The workshop was held at MAB Institute’s main building in Heliopolis, which also houses a simple co-working space with quite the productive environment. It further includes a DIY hall, two research labs and a VR Cinema. For more information on MAB Institute, head to their Facebook or Instagram.
