R8 WIE Committees

The 2025 Committee can be reached on email on [email protected], Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, and consists of:

Thanks for all the dedicated volunteers who, for years, were serving Women Engineers in IEEE Region 8. Previous Committees include:

2024

• Wafa BenHmida (UK&Ireland), Chair
• Maria-Alexandra Paun (Switzerland), Past Chair
• Samina Husain (Switzerland), ExOfficio Corresponding Member
• Baya Bouchaala (Tunisia), ExOfficio Corresponding Member
• Hazar Oklah (Jordan), Member
• Sally Musonye (Kenya), Member
• Ana Margarida Trigo (Portugal), Member
• Femia Arvaniti (Austria), Member
• Larissa Abi Nakhle (Lebanon), Corresponding Member
• Ala Chalghaf (Tunisia), Corresponding Member
• Roua Touihri (France), Corresponding Member
• Jani Dugonik (Slovenia), Corresponding Member
• Imtiez Akermi (Tunisia), Corresponding Member
• Amany Alshawi (Saudi Arabia), Corresponding Member
• Youmna El Bitar (Germany), Corresponding Member
• Ambra Sannino (Sweden), Corresponding Member

2023

• Wafa BenHmida (UK&Ireland), Chair
• Maria-Alexandra Paun (Switzerland), Past Chair
• Sally Musonye (Kenya), Member
• Hazar Oklah (Jordan), Member
• Ana Margarida Trigo (Portugal), Member
• Amany Alshawi (Saudi Arabia), Corresponding Member
• Ala Chalghaf (Tunisia), Corresponding Member
• Jani Dugonik (Slovenia), Corresponding Member
• Youmna El Bitar (Germany), Corresponding Member
• Larissa Abi Nakhle (Lebanon), Corresponding Member
• Ambra Sannino (Sweden), Corresponding Member
• Roua Touihri (France), Corresponding Member

2019

• Ana Cigarán Romero (Germany), Chair
• Youmna El Bitar (Lebanon), Past Chair
• Maria-Alexandra Paun (Switzerland), Member
• Hzar Oqlah (Jordan), Member
• Ilhem Kallel (Tunisia), Member
• Philippa Makobore (Uganda), Member
• Almedin Kavas (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Corresponding Member
• Wafa Ben Hmida (Tunisia), Corresponding Member

2016

• Taqua Khairy (Cypurs), Coordinator
• Farzaneh Abdollahi (Iran)
• Messaouda Azzouzi (Algeria)
• Joyce Mwangama (South Africa)

2015

• Simay Akar (Turkey), Coordinator
• Reem Turky (Saudi Arabia West)
• Farzaneh Abdollahi (Iran)
• Messaouda Azzouzi (Algeria)
• Safa Ismail (Egypt)
• Joyce Mwangama (South Africa)

2013-2014

• Joyce Mwangama (South Africa), Coordinator
• Reem Turky (Saudi Arabia West)
• Bernadette Bouchon-Meunier (France)

R8 WIE Committee 2013

The IEEE Women in Engineering of Region 8 would like to address the following issues (particularly during WIE sessions and events at IEEE conferences):

• how to prepare high school girls to make an unprejudiced choice regarding their study and careers in Science & Engineering and give them good background for that;
• how to seal the academic pipeline of women in order to minimize the “pipe leakage” phenomena;
• how to overcome barriers to the advancement of women in Science & Engineering;
• and how to balance career and family life.

The R8 WIE committee in Region 8 is made up of member from IEEE WIE Section Affinity Groups and Student Branch Affinity Group Chairs from Region 8:

Region 8 Women in Engineering Coordinator Team

Joyce Mwangama (South Africa) – Chair
Reem Turky (Saudi Arabia West) – Corresponding Advisor
Bernadette Bouchon Meunier (France) – Corresponding Advisor

Section Affinity Groups (AG Chairs)

Bahrain – Eshaa Alkhalifa
Benelux – Teodora Emilia Motoasca
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Lejla Banjanovic-Mehmedovic
Croatia – Vlatka Paunovic
Egypt – Nevin Darwish
France – Laura Marti Tordera
Germany – Friederike Wendler
Iraq – Yasmin AL-Agrash
Israel – Yael Nemirovsky
Jordan – Arwa Abbadi Jwaifel
Kuwait  – Bashayer Al-Awad
Lebanon – Mariette Awad
Poland – Barbara Obryk
Portugal – Professor Filomena Soares
Saudi Arabia – Najat Abu-Haliqa
Western Saudi Arabia – Reem Turky
Serbia and Montenegro – Vladanka Acimovic-Raspopovic
South Africa – Chioniso Kuchwa-Dube
Slovenia – Emilija Stojmenova
Spain – Charo Gil
Switzerland – Samina Husain
Tunisia – Ilhem Kallel
Turkey – Sule Oguducu
United Arab Emerates – Maryam Al Thani
UKRI – Dr. Teresa M. Schofield

Student Branch Affinity Groups (AG Chairs)

Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium/Benelux Section) – Borbala Hunyadi
University of Zagreb (Croatia Section) – Jelena Matovina
Alexandria University (Egypt Section) – Ramy Ibrahim Omar
Arab Acedemy For Science and Tech (Egypt Section – Yomna F. Heikor
Modern science and arts university (Egypt Section) – Noha Moustafa Rashad
Passau University (Germany Section) – Jürgen Bickert
Democritus University of Thrace (Greece Section) – Nikolaos Tsiantoulas
University of Central Greece (Greece Section) – Raisa Angelidou
Al-balqa Applied Univerty (Jordan Section)  – Bushra Zakaria Al-Habashneh
German Jordanian University (Jordan Section) – Enas Abboud
Hashemite University (Jordan Section) – Hadeel Al-Asaad
Jordan University of Science and Tech (Jordan Section) – Hadeel H Awad
Princess Sumaya University for Tech (Jordan Section) – Dina Masri
University of Jordan (Jordan Section) – Fatima Jawad AL_Hamad
American University of Beirut (Lebanon Section) – Nadida Raad
Beirut Arab University (Lebanon Section) – Ziad A Osman
Notre Dame University – Lebanon (Lebanon Section) – Joan Farho
Polytechnic of Namibia Namibia
Eindhoven Technische Nertherlands (Netherlands/Benelux Section) – Femke Van Belzen
Ambrose Alli University (Nigeria Section) – Oho Ikechukwu Polycarp Nnamdi
Nnamdi Azikiwe University (Nigeria Section) – Obianuju Okonkwo
Obafemi Awolowo University (Nigeria Section) – Sarumi Bolatito Risikat Ajoke
University of Ibadan (Nigeria Section) – Toulope Falaye
University of Port Harcourt (Nigeria Section) – Chinwe P Omaegbu
Instituto Superior (Portugal Section) – Joao Dias
Iscte University of inst of Lisbon (Portugal Section) – Patricia Duarte Mateus
Texan A&M university at Qatar (Qatar Section) – Fatima Ali
Cyril and Methodius (Rep of Macedonia Section) – Jasmina Bujaroska
Biysk Technological Instutute (Russia Section) – Natalya Bedina
University of Cape Town (South Africa Section) – Magnaem Simon
University of Pretoria (South Africa Section) – Rina Helena Mostert
CPS Universidad De Zaragoza (Spain Section) – Pablo Herrero Tomas
Escuela Tec Sup De Ing Tele – Valencia (Spain Section) – Meli Delgado Calot
Universidad De Sevilla (Spain Section)
Universidad Nacional De Educacion a Distancia (Spain Section) – German Carro Fernandez
Royal Institute of Technology KTH (Sweden Section) – Nasim Farahini
Ecole Nationale D’Ingenieurs De SFAX (Tunisia Section) – Fatma Elleuch
Ecole Nationale D’Ingenieurs De Tunis (Tunisia Section) – Sonia DjaziriLarbi
Bilkent University (Turkey Section)
Dogus University (Turkey Section) – Nazli Turker
Erciyes Universitesi (Turkey Section) – Tugba Ertugrul
Hacettepe University (Turkey Section) – Aysin Cetin
Istanbul Technical University (Turkey Section) – Ilkcan Bilgin
Izmir Ekonomi Universitesi (Turkey Section) – Seren Kuru
Lviv Polytechnic National Univ (Ukraine Section) – Maryna Kushnir
Ajman University of Science and Tech (United Arab Emirates Section) – Tazeen Sharif
American University in Dubai (United Arab Emirates Section) – Mahra Mohammed AL Khaja
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (United Arab Emirates Section) – Swarnalatha R
Higher Colleges of Tech, Sharjah womens college (United Arab Emirates Section) – Widad Suwaidi
The Petroleum Institute (United Arab Emirates Section) – Nada Abdul Kareem Al-Hamar
United Arab Emirates University  (United Arab Emirates Section) – Hend Alqamzi
University of Sharjah (United Arab Emirates Section) – Noora Y Esmail
Queen Mary University of London (UKRI Section) – Roya Haratian
University of Southampton (UKRI Section) – Hamza A Rouabah
University of York (UKRI Section) – Selen Toplu

Greetings from Ferdinanda Ponci, WIE Region 8 Coordinator.

I am very happy to have this opportunity to contribute in facilitating the entry, development, retention and success of women in the technical professions, particularly in our Region.

I graduated with a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Politecnico di Milano in Italy, and entered the academic world as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina in Columbia in the USA. I am currently apl. Professor at the Institute for Automation of Complex Power Systems at the E.ON Energy Research Center at RWTH University in Aachen, Germany. I have served as Society Liaison with WIE and in other capacities for the IEEE PELS and IMS.