Dr. Nael Alami is a molecular neuroscientist whose research investigates disease mechanisms involved in motor neuron diseases. He joined Stanford University, California, USA, in 2014 where his research interests expanded to include global health, education technology, and the use of innovative pedagogies to address public health challenges and promotion of cultural understanding. 

In 2019, Dr. Alami was appointed as Provost at the Modern University for Business & Science (MUBS) in Lebanon, where he founded and led the Virtual Exchange Program, which draws on empirical research in the learning sciences and leverages best practices in technology design to connect students across borders to enable collaborative, cross-cultural learning. 

Email: nael.alami[at]mubs.edu.lb

Amal Safwan Hawari is a PhD candidate in Social Work. She holds an MBA and a BA in Social Service from prestigious universities. Amal is the Acting Chairperson of the Social Work Department at the Modern University for Business & Science (MUBS). Known for her dynamic and visionary leadership, Amal excels in guiding academic departments towards achieving their strategic goals through innovation and excellence. Her professional journey also includes roles such as Assistant Dean of the Social Work Department at MUBS, Academic Coordinator, and Instructor, where she has taught courses on social work practices, community engagement, and individual and family support. Amal Safwan Hawari has also delivered trainings on various social issues, mental health, child protection, and psychological topics. Furthermore, she has extensive experience in consulting on social work services for several local and international NGOs.

Email: amal.hawari[at]mubs.edu.lb

Aimée Ghanem holds a diploma in “Monitoring & Evaluation/ project management for the UN, Governments & NGOs”, a master’s degree in “Social Work”, and is a doctoral student at the Ludwig-Maximilian-University (LMU) Munich, Germany. She has around 13 years experience in social work. As an independent consultant in Lebanon and the Middle East, she has been conducting research in Lebanon at national and regional level with local NGOs, international NGOs and UN agencies. In addition, she does monitoring and evaluation studies of EU/ US funded programs aiming to support institutional reforms in government and civil society organizations. Aimée Ghanem is also a social work instructor teaching social work interventions and coaching/ monitoring field trainings at several universities in Lebanon. Since 2018, she is part of the DAAD project collaboration between THWS and Lebanese universities facilitating a higher education dialogue and exchange with social work students from Germany, Jordan, and Lebanon. 

Email: aimeeghanem[at]gmail.com