Dina El-Abd

INSEAD

“A passionate human-being seeking to constantly learn and leave a positive impact in the world.”

Hometown: Cairo, Egypt

Fun Fact About Yourself: when I get really stressed I start laughing and sometimes dancing

Undergraduate School and Major: The American University in Cairo, Mechanical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: WeddingHubEG.com – Co-founder

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Having the courage to abandon my full-time job and start-up a business and breaking even in less than one year, depending on my entrepreneurship intuitions.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? All INSEADers I have met have a set of common characteristics: curious, flexible and humble

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I chose INSEAD for its ranking, of course, but most importantly for the diversity it offers. I was looking forward to meet people from different backgrounds to lend me new perspective.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’m looking forward to be part of INDEVOR focusing on social entrepreneurship as well as the entrepreneurship club to be exposed to new ideas.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Coming from a mechanical engineering background and seeking to move into entrepreneurship, I found that pursuing an MBA will help me accelerate my business understanding and will put me in contact with investors and fellow entrepreneurs – a network I would definitely use in my future career.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Looking at the size of the opportunity INSEAD offers in terms of networking and exposure to new ideas and investors, in addition to my positive experience with start-ups, the MBA investment was justified.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? None

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I prioritized diversity, networking and location – being the most impactful on my future career.

I knew about the culture of INSEAD through the diversity rating and meeting with alumnus and listening to their experiences.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are?  My defining moment was meeting with my interviewers and getting the positive humble vibe full of openness I was told about by other Alumnus. Moreover, the generous scholarship I was offered through the university.

What do you plan to do after you graduate?  Grow my start-up and maybe start another one through networking at INSEAD

Where do you see yourself in five years?  Either the owner of a big business company or a venture capitalist.