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Auburn Engineering grad makes impact at World Economic Forum

Published: Jan 26, 2018 11:00:00 AM

Basima Abdulrahman Basima Abdulrahman

An Auburn University College of Engineering graduate took center stage alongside global leaders at the 2018 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

Basima Abdulrahman, a 2014 graduate with a master’s degree in civil engineering, was part of a panel discussion titled “From Fragile Cities to Renewal” along with former United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron, Swiss President Alain Berset and other leaders from around the world.

An Iraq native, Abdulrahman came to Auburn University in 2012 through the Fulbright Scholar Program. After graduating, she returned to Iraq and founded Erbil-based KESK, which means “green” in the Kurdish language.

This initiative is designed to bring high-performance and sustainable building consulting services to her home country. The World Economic Forum highlighted Abdulrahman’s work with sustainable building in Iraq in this story.

Abdulrahman was also named a World Economic Forum Global Shaper, and she aims to have her first green building built in Erbil in the next few years. Abdulrahman has also worked as a project manager and structural engineer for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Watch the panel discussion featuring Abdulrahman below. Her remarks begin 12 minutes into the video. Abdulrahman took part in a second panel discussion on "Mapping the Arab World: The Long View." You can watch that video on this web page

Media Contact: Chris Anthony, chris.anthony@auburn.edu, 334.844.3447

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