AGYA Goes Viral

In this podcast episode, AGYA Co-President Professor Maha Nasr from Egypt and AGYA Steering Committee member Professor Marc Ringel from Germany talk about the current Coronavirus vaccines and how to stay healthy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Maha Nasr is Associate Professor for Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy at Ain Shams University in Egypt. Marc Ringel is Professor for Economics at Nuertingen-Geislingen University in Germany.

In this podcast episode, two AGYA alumnae from media studies, Professor Hanan Badr from Egypt and Professor Carola Richter from Germany, exchange views on the media coverage surrounding COVID-19 and the role of science journalism in the dissemination of reliable and credible information in society. Hanan Badr is Associate Professor for Mass Communication at the Gulf University of Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait, and is also affiliated with Cairo University in Egypt. Carola Richter is Professor for International Communication at Freie Universität Berlin in Germany.

In this podcast episode, AGYA member Dr. Luise Fischer from Germany and AGYA alumnus Professor Ahmad El-Guindy from Egypt share their thoughts on a possible second wave of COVID-19 and the role of scholars in society in times of crisis. Luise Fischer is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy in Leipzig. Ahmad El-Guindy is Professor of Mathematics at Cairo University.

In this podcast episode, AGYA member Dr. Amro Ali from Egypt and AGYA alumnus Dr. Kalman Graffi from Germany discuss Coronavirus warning apps, delving into their advantages, disadvantages and effectiveness from both a technological and ethical point of view. Amro Ali is a lecturer in Political Sociology at the American University in Cairo, while Kalman Graffi is a Principal Scientist at the Honda Research Institute Europe located in Offenbach am Main.

In this podcast episode, AGYA members Professor Dr. Zeina Hobaika from Lebanon and Dr. Konstantin Klein from Germany discuss lessons learned from plague epidemics in ancient times as well as the benefits of using modern software and 3D simulations to better understand how COVID-19 behaves and how it might react to certain treatments. Zeina Hobaika is Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Life and Earth Sciences-Biochemistry at Saint Joseph University of Beirut in Lebanon. Konstantin Klein is Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Bamberg in Germany. In his current research, Konstantin studies the works of the Greek historian Thucydides, including his account of a plague that haunted Athens in the 5th century BC.

In this podcast episode, two AGYA alumni, Professor Julia Hauser from Germany and Professor Bilal Orfali from Lebanon, discuss the implications of COVID-19 on research in the humanities. Julia focuses on the history of masks and the public perception of facial covering in Europe, while Bilal illustrates how Sufi practises in Islamic mystical traditions can offer spiritual guidance in times of crisis. Julia Hauser is Junior Professor of Global History at the University of Kassel in Germany. Bilal Orfali is Professor for Arabic and Near Eastern Languages at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon.

In this podcast episode, we welcome AGYA members Professor Lena-Maria Möller from Germany and Professor Mohammed Alkatan from Kuwait. Their conversation will delve into the implications of COVID-19 for the Islamic pilgrimage, the Hajj, and for public health. Mohammed will also provide some practical tips for staying fit while working from home. Lena-Maria Möller is currently Acting Professor of Islamic Law at the University of Leipzig, as well as one of AGYA’s two Co-Presidents. Mohammed Alkatan is Associate Professor at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training in Kuwait, and the AGYA member in charge of the Academy’s Working Group Health and Society.