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In Brief

The 2026 Cohort of Graduating Fashion Designers Gain Insights from Elie Saab

As they prepare for their graduate fashion show, this year titled Panorama, 15 senior fashion design students presented their collections to a closed jury headed by Honorary Chair of the LAU Fashion Design Program Elie Saab on April 17 on the Beirut campus. The jurors included Senior Collection Instructors Jurgi Persoons, Jalal Moghraby and Ana Har, as well as Interim Fashion Program Director Silia Abou Arbid and Fashion Faculty Elie Baroud.

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Introducing the Office of Professionalism and Ethics at LAU

In line with its academic mission and commitment to its core ethical values, LAU has launched the Office of Professionalism and Ethics (OPE), under the direction of Dr. Emily Gafney. The OPE provides guidance, education and support to faculty and staff and promotes a culture of accountability. Its services cover confidential assistance in resolving concerns, training on professional standards and offering direction on university policies.

 

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Inauguration of the Mona Riad El Solh ICU

LAU and the Al Waleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation, led by its vice president Leila El Solh Hamade, inaugurated the Mona Riad El Solh Intensive Care Unit at the LAU Medical Center–Rizk Hospital on April 11 in honor of Hamade’s late sister and mother of Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal Al Saud. At the ceremony, El Solh Hamade spoke of the 20-year-long fruitful partnership with LAU, a collaboration which LAU President Chaouki T. Abdallah said reaffirmed their shared commitment to Lebanon.

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International Mentors Convene at LAU Innovate

The Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center hosted a panel discussion on April 5 on the Beirut campus to provide this year’s startups with insights into entrepreneurship and how to avoid the typical Startup-life pitfalls. The Director, Annie Seferian moderated the panel where the TechWomen speakers Rekha Pai—a tech innovator and impact investor with Capria and Partner at Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund, US—and Jill Finlayson, an innovation leader and DEI advocate at the University of California, Berkeley, US, helped refine participants’ ideas, and offered guidance on advancing their ventures. 

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Dr. Abi Raad Honored by the Académie Nationale de Chirurgie

Dr. Vanda Abi Raad, clinical professor of anesthesiology and associate dean for Faculty Affairs and Development at the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, has been elected as an associate member of the Académie Nationale de Chirurgie, France’s oldest and most prestigious surgical institution. She is the first anesthesiologist from outside France and one of only four worldwide to receive this honor—a testament to her pioneering role in simulation-based education in Lebanon and her contribution to her field.

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Entrepreneurs Gear Up to Innovate

The Fouad Makhzoumi Innovation Center launched the fifth LAU SPARK Program on March 21 at the Beirut campus, bringing together students, alumni and staff entrepreneurs selected from more than 100 applicants. Attendees explored the program’s roadmap, learned about success stories and networked with industry experts. Over five months, participants will benefit from intensive workshops and professional mentorship to refine their pitches before presenting to the LAU investment committee, where 10 startups will each receive $10,000 to help turn their ideas into thriving enterprises.

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AKSOB Students Aligning Values with Actions

The Department of Management Studies at the Adnan Kassar School of Business recently welcomed children from Dar Al Aytam Al Islamiya for a day of culinary exploration. Children aged 14 to 15 enjoyed a hands-on experience in the kitchen labs, learning essential cooking skills. This initiative is part of a student-led project management course by Assistant Professor Samar Aad, that aims to foster meaningful connections within the community while equipping students with practical organizational skills. 

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Preserving Entrepreneurship and Self-Employment in a Crisis

With Lebanon’s economic recovery in mind, the LAU Department of Economics, along with the Lebanese Institute for Market Studies and the Templeton World Charity Foundation, recently hosted a panel on the prerequisites to safeguarding entrepreneurship and self-employment in Lebanon and the region in times of crisis. Economists, government officials and experts discussed the need to implement essential reforms, secure international aid and create a roadmap to managing political instability, economic recessions and pandemics.

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Michael Kouly on AI and Leadership

Renowned leadership expert and strategic advisor Michael Kouly, founder of the Kouly Institute think tank, recently gave a lecture on AI and leadership at the LAU Beirut campus, organized by the Department of Management Studies and the Institute of Family and Entrepreneurial Business. Kouly underscored the ethical considerations surrounding AI and human intelligence. He described AI as the “alphabet of the upcoming era,” essential for navigating challenges provided it is used with the ethical awareness and leadership skills needed to thrive in an increasingly AI-driven world.

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Dr. Chaouki Abdallah Honored as AAAS Fellow

LAU President Chaouki T. Abdallah has been named a 2024 Fellow of the pre-eminent American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for his distinguished contributions to research in control, communications, and computing systems, and leadership in higher education. The AAAS is the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society dedicated to advancing science, engineering, and innovation worldwide, and the publisher of the Science family of journals. An AAAS fellowship is a lifetime honor and is highly regarded in the scientific community.

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