“I aim to encourage people to persevere in the face of adversity, and as a female in a male-dominated field, I aim to break the barriers for more girls in the field of civil engineering and encourage them to work hard to progress in their goals and countries.”
Meet Razan…
Razan Zaidan was born and raised in Palestine. She is a motivated civil engineer and a forward-thinking professional with varied experience in supervision and operations management.
Razan is a Bseisu-Chevening scholar pursuing her master's degree in Engineering Project Management at The University of Manchester. She believes that the engineering sector directly impacts the country's development and overall growth; it influences the way we live, engage with society, and how to respond to global issues, and the Palestinian situation is more complicated and faces many challenges; thus, there is a considerable need for qualified engineers who can improve the industry.
Last year, Razan was fortunate to be selected for the Civil Community Entrepreneurship Program, where she could connect and build relationships with like-minded individuals who broadened her horizons by discussing projects focusing on community needs and ideas for how to implement them. She aims to launch her environmental initiative toward a greener future for Palestine and the world.
Razan has chosen the EPM course to learn how to best connect her knowledge, technical experience, and financial and human resources for the maximum benefit of all stakeholders. The University of Manchester was her first choice as this course is being taught through a live case study approach which will help her to apply and exercise her skills on one of the most recent mega projects worldwide. In addition, The University of Manchester was the first in the world to teach project management as an academic discipline, and they were the first to include it in the engineering curriculum. Aside from the course itself, UOM is one of the top-notch universities in the world, and in 2021, The quality and scale of its impact on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been ranked first in the world.
Razan has been selected as a student representative for her master's program, and this role as a vital channel between the students and the college will help her to develop leadership, communication, and negotiation skills.
After completing her master's degree, Razan plans to return to Palestine and contribute effectively to reflect on the journey toward sustainable development through active community participation.