Waleed Mahmoud Mansour from Egypt

In Egypt there is a movement towards industrialization, and we have recently experienced a lot of negative environmental impacts that hider the quality of our lives. As a graduate of Pharmacy and health science I was really aware of the link between environment and human health. This has helped me decide on the discipline of my postgraduate education which is why I arrived at the University of Twente.

Within the framework of courses conducted in the MEEM programme I obtained a great exposure to what the Netherlands is doing for sustaining its environmental quality. The north to south perspective orientation of the Masters course did the trick of wanting me to go back and work on the Egyptian environmental profile. In this context I did my graduation project on the role of businesses in implementation of sustainable development. The study was Egypt-specific and helped me better understand the potential in my country towards a more sustainable industrial development. Within the period of my research project I had to meet with environmental stakeholders in Egypt whereby the outcome was a one year assignment at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). This resulted in my current position with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the World Bank (WB) on human induced biological disasters.

I must say that the quality of education I received during my Masters was recognized within my professional arena, it has also opened as many doors for me to interact with the international societies and delegations in my country. For this I am thankful. The MEEM programme is therefore a turning point in both my professional and personal lives.

Waleed Mahmoud Mansour, MEEM 2008-2009 Programme