We are pleased to announce that Dr. Majid Ali, Lecturer in Clinical Pharmacy, School of Life and Medical Sciences at UH-GAF, has been shortlisted for Zenith Global Awards in the Clinical Education and Research Category. Dr. Majid will be attending the awards ceremony held in London on November the 27th, 2021. An exclusive interview has been conducted with Dr. Majid to learn more about the award and his views on UH in Egypt.
Q: Please give us a background on your academic journey and when did you join us?
Dr. Majid: I joined UH-GAF a month ago as a lecturer in pharmacy, School of Life and Medical Sciences. Before joining UH-GAF, I was in Saudi Arabia for five years and before that I was in UH, UK for seven years.
Q: Can you tell us more about the Zenith Global Awards UK?
Dr. Majid: I have been nominated by Zenith global awards, which is a UK based organization where every year they nominate professionals who have contributed to the healthcare profession. This includes medical, nursing or any healthcare profession as well as the educational sector. I have been nominated in the category for Clinical Education and Research for my specialization in pharmacy and my contribution to the educational sector throughout the years. Another reason for being nominated to the Zenith Global Awards is my contribution to pharmaceutical education in different countries.
Q: Can you tell us more about the nomination process?
Dr. Majid: Every year, the organization receive nominees applications. You can nominate yourself or you can nominate any of your colleagues. The nominees fill in an online application and submit a nomination statement stating why they think they or the person they are nominating is suitable for the award. After sending my application, I have been shortlisted in the Clinical Education and Research Category along with three other nominees.
Q: What is the voting process like?
Dr. Majid: They have their own selection committee, which decides who should be shortlisted. The same committee will be deciding the award winner from each category at the ceremony in London.
Q: How did you feel when you heard that you were shortlisted for 2021 award?
Dr. Majid: It is always great to be nominated and to be recognized and acknowledged for your contribution and your hard work. When I was at UH-UK I was nominated for the tutor of the Year award in 2012. It is a university-wide award, where faculty members get nominated by the students. After winning that award, I felt it came with a big responsibility as well. You start thinking more about self-accountability and think whether you are giving your 100% or contributing enough to the students’ education and lives. People expect more from you and so you must be on top of your performance all the time. I had the same feeling when I heard that I was shortlisted for the award. So, I feel responsibility now on my shoulders. However, I am looking forward to attending the ceremony and meeting all the nominees while learning about their success stories.
Q: How are we preparing our students at UH-GAF to become eligible for such an accomplishment in the future?
Dr. Majid: I will give you an example of what we do in pharmacy. In pharmacy, we do a lot of real –life case scenarios. Starting from the early years, we introduced the real-life case scenarios to the students, and we show them how pharmacists can contribute to people’s lives and improve their health, and thus students learn that pharmacists can contribute to the overall public health. This educational method enables students to contribute to the healthcare on a wider scale after they graduate, and can help them if they like to apply for awards, like Zenith Global Awards.
Q: What advice would you give to our future pharmacists at UH-GAF to get nominated in the Zenith Global Awards in the future?
Dr. Majid: At Zenith Global Awards, they are looking for professionals in the medical field who have contributed to their profession and to people’s lives. I advise future pharmacists as well as colleagues in physiotherapy at UH-GAF to keep an eye on the nomination dates and take a part in contributing to public health in order to be able to apply for the awards in the future.
