“I envisage, in the longer term, that Jordanian women will occupy more than 50% of the ICT space and leadership and become pioneers in research and strategic studies in relation to the field of information and communication technologies. As such, I aim to partake in this timely and necessary change by leveraging the combined support and expertise of Nottingham, Chevening, and Bseisu alumni who work in IT firms, to eventually establish partnerships with international organizations such as UN Women, ArabWIC, among others.”
Meet Mallak…
Having been born, raised and schooled in Jordan, Mallak says she is most grateful for the diversity of her educational journey.
Mallak attended King’s Academy, an international boarding school based in Jordan, on a full scholarship. Upon graduating, she was awarded the King’s Scholar scholarship which allowed her to pursue her Bachelor’s degree at Columbia University, New York. Four years later, Mallak graduated from Barnard College, Columbia University (May 2019) with a double major in Economics and Human Rights.
Throughout Mallak’s time at Columbia, her learning and growth happened inside and outside the classroom. From 2017-2018, Mallak served as the President of the Turath club: the Arab Students Association at the University, and later as a Senior Advisor during her last year. Alongside this, she worked as an assistant translator to Pulitzer Award-winning author, Professor Hisham Matar, supporting the translation of his award-winning book, The Return. She also interned at the Amman-based NAMA- Intelligence Strategic Solutions think-tank as a researcher/analyst, as well as at the Permanent Mission of Jordan to the United Nations.
Upon graduating and returning home to Jordan, Mallak joined the newly established STRATEGIECS - Think Tank in Amman, supporting their research and editorial efforts, before leaving for the United Kingdom when she was awarded the Chevening Scholarship for the 2020/2021 cycle.
Currently, Mallak is pursuing an MSc degree in Information Systems and Operations Management at the University of Nottingham. Finding this specific Master’s program at Nottingham University Business School NBS was a natural choice for Mallak; the school is a pioneer and international leader in finance, entrepreneurship, and management education. Equally importantly, NBS ranks sixth among UK business schools in research power, a field she is invested in exploring. To be taught under esteemed IS professors will further provide Mallak with the necessary tools to transform her understanding of big data and the future of socio-technical information systems and business intelligence in the world, and in her particular region of interest: the Middle East.