Four students from The American University in Cairo (AUC) School of Business have triumphed as the winners of the highly competitive 2024 Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Regional Societies Research Challenge in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, organized by the esteemed CFA Society Emirates.The team members: Hana Khaled, economics major, alongside Jana Khaled, Carol Bedawy and Raafat Saeed, finance majors, were guided by their esteemed mentor and academic advisor, Wael Abdullah, assistant professor of finance, who expressed his joy, “This remarkable achievement by the AUC team is a testament to their exceptional talent and unwavering commitment. I am immensely proud of Jana Khaled, Carol Bedawy, Hana Khaled Imam and Raafat Saeed for their outstanding performance.
Their success exemplifies the spirit of excellence and dedication that AUC strives to instill in its students.” He also added, ” The remarkable achievement of the AUC team contributes to Egypt’s growing reputation as a hub for financial research and expertise.”The journey towards victory began earlier this year in February when the AUC team secured first place in the local competition, the “Egypt Research Challenge 2024,” organized by the CFA Society Egypt with the participation of 26 Egyptian universities. Buoyed by their local success, the team embarked on an extraordinary path, culminating in their triumphant performance at the MENA Research Challenge.
The prestigious MENA Research Challenge, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), witnessed the participation of 10 university teams from 10 countries, including prominent institutions from Oman, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, Kuwait, Cyprus, Jordan and Russia. The team were tested on analytical skills, valuation techniques, report writing and presentation abilities, gaining valuable real-world experience being research analysts, as they secured the coveted first place.