COMMITTEES

This committee is responsible for policy making and approval of key strategic decisions that impact AEIC and meets once every quarter.

PERMANENT

Dr. Lance de Masi

President Emeritus, Board Member, AUD

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr

Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Dr. Kyle Long

President, AUD

Dr. Assaad Farah

Provost and Chief Academic Officer, AUD

ADHOC

Ms. Tala Makhlouf

Associate Executive Vice President, AUD

Mrs. Maya Amiouny

Chief Financial Officer, AUD

Mr. Elie Sawaya

Director of Central Services, AUD

This committee is responsible for ensuring that Key Performance Indicators of the Incubator are being met and achieved as desired. This committee meets once every two-three months in the year.

Abdelaziz Daoud Al Maazmi

Director of Business Incubation Department, Dubai SME

Yousuf Khalifa Lootah

Senior Manager – Hamdan Innovation Incubator (HI2)
Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economy and Tourism in Dubai

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr

Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration

This committee is responsible for advising and recommending on the strategic direction of AEIC, and for evaluating new AEIC startups for membership. This committee meets once every month during Spring and Fall semesters.

Responsible for building networks, partners and for facilitating digital training

Dr. Ruchi Dana

Partner, Dana Group

Facilitates and evaluates ideas, business models, prototypes and funding

Dr. Rassel Kassem

Contemporary Management Expert

Has overall responsibility
Works through all committees
Available on the incubator at all times
Manages daily work

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr

Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Facilitates and evaluates ideas, business models, prototypes and funding

Dr. Vinod Pangracious

Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering & Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering

Facilitates and evaluates ideas, business models, prototypes and funding

Dr. Charmaine Gangen

Global Entrepreneurship Collaborator & Consultant

Facilitates and evaluates ideas, business models, prototypes and funding

Mr. Salman T. Jaffrey

Venture Capital Investment, Innovation & Impact

Facilitates and evaluates ideas; provides mentoring and training.

Dr. Racha Abdrabbo Haffar

Founder, Managing Director - DeXB

The Blockchain Committee is responsible for creating a technology park and framework to support students, startups and technology partners in the area of Blockchain and aligned services. This will help bring current eco-system developments in the space of Web3 (NFT, Crypto, Metaverse...) to AUD’s vast community.

Dr. Vinod Pangracious

Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, AUD

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr

Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Mr. Srikhar Reddy

Advisor

Mr. Muhammed Ashraf

Application Developer, AUD

This panel is responsible for the academic evaluation of AUD students and AEIC members, who may wish to join AEIC’s Level 2 (BUSI 251) directly through the alternate pathway, without completing Level 1. The panel convenes twice during each Spring and Fall Semester.

Chair of the Department of Decision Sciences and General Business and Assistant Professor of Management Sciences

School of Business. As an Assistant Professor of Management Sciences at the American University in Dubai, she teach and mentor students across business communication, research methods, and management.

Dr. Lena Kurban

Chair of the Department of Decision Sciences and General Business and Assistant Professor of Management Sciences

Dr. Vinod Pangracious joined AUD in Fall 2014 as Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering. He has been giving backbone support to AEIC from the beginning as a facilitator, technical expert and mentor.

Vinod Pangracious, Ph.D.

Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering & Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering

Chair of the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences and Associate Professor of Biology

School of Arts & Sciences, AUD

Dr. Muriel Tahtouh Zaatar

Chair of the Department of Biological and Physical Sciences and Associate Professor of Biology

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr is the Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration.

Dr. Maya Nabih Abou Zahr

Interim Director, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center (Certified Incubator) and Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Professor Dina Faour is a Professor of Advertising, she is also the Academic Coordinator for the advertising program and the outreach coordinator for the Visual Communication Department. She also holds the position of Chapter Lead for the SheSays.Dubai Group, a group concerned with empowering women in the creative industries, and President of the MEDEA, Middle East Design Educators Association.

Dina Faour

Outreach Coordinator - Visual Communication and Professor of Advertising (Creative)

AEIC Faculty Committee is represented by a Faculty from each of the 6 AUD Schools of Business, Engineering, Arts & Sciences, Communication, Education and Architecture. The role of the Faculty Committee is to bridge the gap between various schools and AEIC.