Our Students

A Global Community Beyond Graduation

Katie Stanworth
September 30, 2021

As NYU Abu Dhabi opens its doors to the incoming Class of 2025, we warmly welcome them into our diverse, talented, and curious community here in Abu Dhabi, but also into our global network of alumni who continue to inspire and contribute from their multifarious positions across the globe.

Earlier this year, Assistant Professor of Computer Science Yasir Zaki initiated a project to connect his Computer Science undergraduates with some of the 400 alumni he has taught during his eight years at NYUAD. His aim was to inspire current students with words of wisdom, reassurance, and inspiration from experienced alumni; as well as showcasing the many varied and exciting career possibilities that a degree in Computer Science affords.

He invited a group of alumni to share their experiences - both the highlights and the challenges - in the form of a short video. The response was greater than anything he could have imagined, with more than 60 alumni - each currently pursuing different career paths, in a range of different fields, in countries all over the world - participating in the project.

Here is a selection of the videos. Click to watch or scroll down to learn more about our alumni.

Sara Aldhaheri

Class of 2019
"Ask, ask, ask! Keep asking questions."
Tomasz Bachosz

Class of 2019
"Explore things you like - not only academically!"
Paula Dozsa

Class of 2018
"Persist, learn and grow from your mistakes..."
Alia ElKattan

Class of 2020
"Tailor your CS experience to your own interests..."
Tami Gjorgjieva

Class of 2019
"Be adventurous & take classes outside your comfort zone!"
Imtiyaz Hariyani

Class of 2019
"If you are an aspiring biology major, Intro to CS is great..."
Maria del Mar Jaramillo

Class of 2021
"It's all uphill after Data Structures!"
Khairunnisa Mentari Semesta

Class of 2018
"You don't have to be an expert the first time around!"
Megan Moore

Class of 2018
"Explore what you are curious about..."
Esmie Papadimitriou

Class of 2019
"Take advantage of every opportunity to network."
Siderite Said

Class of 2017
"Stay focused, never give up, and enjoy the process."
Martin Smit

Class of 2020
"Befriend your professors!"

Yasir Zaki, Lecturer of Computer Science, NYUAD

It has honestly been a phenomenal and humbling experience getting all the feedback from the students after reaching out to them. Regardless how busy they were with their work or jobs, they all wrote back and were super excited to help out. It really encapsulates the sense of community at NYUAD that lives beyond graduation.

Yasir Zaki, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, NYUAD

Professor Zaki plays one video at the end of each of his Introduction to Computer Science classes, in the hope that every undergraduate can find someone to relate to or be inspired by. The videos will also be made available to our incoming freshmen, and the initiative is being adopted by other majors across the Division of Science.

Our Alumni

Read more from some of the former students who participated in this project, learn about their favorite NYUAD experiences, and hear their key words of advice.

Sara Aldhaheri

Year of Graduation: 2019

Nationality: Emirati

Current Country of Residence: UAE

Current Occupation: Researcher

Your Major at NYUAD: Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: The fireworks display the night before graduation

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Ask, ask, ask! Keep asking questions, no matter how clueless you might sound.
Tomasz Bachosz

Year of Graduation: 2019

Nationality: Polish

Current Country of Residence: The United Kingdom

Current Occupation: Entrepreneur

Your Major at NYUAD: Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Swimming alone in the Olympic swimming pool at 7am

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Really use the time in college to explore things you like - not only academically! It is a great time when you can make mistakes without significant opportunity costs!
Paula Dozsa

Year of Graduation: 2018

Nationality: Romanian

Current Country of Residence: Sweden

Current Occupation: Co-founder and Lead Developer at imagiLabs

Your Major at NYUAD: Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Being a part of the weSTEM (Women Empowered in STEM) student interest group, which was founded by my current co-founders, Dora and Beatrice.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Although computer science might seem like a daunting field, given how much there is to do and learn, you should persist, learn and grow from your mistakes, and work on building the confidence that you can figure things out!
Alia ElKattan

Year of Graduation: 2020

Nationality: Egyptian

Current Country of Residence: USA

Current Occupation: PhD Program at NYU Politics doing research on data science methods for social science research and the sociopolitical impact of software.

Your Major at NYUAD: Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: I took a game programming class at Tandon that was both one of the most technically challenging and creatively stimulating. My roommate Yousra and I spent a lot of time struggling through our homework in our dorm but working on these projects together is one of my favorite CS experiences.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Push yourself to seek the support you need when you need it, whether that's asking other students for help, going to office hours / the Unix lab / or learning through different resources. CS has endless applications, try to tailor your CS experience to your own interests and passions rather than feeling the need to fit into someone else's stereotype of what a CS student does or likes.
Year of Graduation: 2020

Nationality: Ethiopian

Current Country of Residence: USA

Current Occupation: PhD student in Wireless Communication at NYU Tandon

Your Major at NYUAD: Electrical Engineering

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Late night walks around Hamdan or Electra Street after getting food and shopping around.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Don't be discouraged and give up though you will be challenged.
Tami Gjorgjieva

Year of Graduation: 2019

Nationality: North Macedonia

Current Country of Residence: Boston, USA

Current Occupation: Predoctoral Fellow at The National Bureau of Economic Research

Your Major at NYUAD: Biology

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Debating President Emeritus John Sexton in the final class of his Relationship between Government and Religion class.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: You only get one shot at choosing your undergraduate courses, so be adventurous and take classes outside your comfort zone and major!
Imtiyaz Hariyani

Year of Graduation: 2019

Nationality: Indian

Current Country of Residence: UAE

Current Occupation: Research Assistant, NYUAD Evolutionary Genomics Lab

Your Major at NYUAD: Biology

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: One of my top memories was leading the NYUAD cricket team to the final of ADISL in 2016-17.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: If you are aspiring to become a biology major, knowing some bioinformatics is necessary and Intro to CS is a great place to start.
Maria del Mar Jaramillo

Year of Graduation: 2021

Nationality: Colombian

Current Country of Residence: UAE

Current Occupation: Student/Product Manager

Your Major at NYUAD: Computer Science with a Minor in Applied Mathematics

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Consistently getting the exact same scores as one of my best friends and thus failing to decide who was smarter!

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: It's all uphill after Data Structures. The content will be harder but you'll be more confident in your skills!
Khairunnisa Mentari Semesta

Year of Graduation: 2021

Nationality: Indonesian

Current Country of Residence: USA

Current Occupation: MA/PhD candidate in Science Policy and Pharmacology, Duke University

Your Major at NYUAD: Biology

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Going on a solo impromptu trip to Muscat

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Don't be afraid to keep relearning things - you don't have to be an expert the first time around.
Megan Moore

Year of Graduation: 2018

Nationality: American

Current Country of Residence: Sweden

Current Occupation: Software Engineer

Your Major at NYUAD: Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Camping in the desert on the sand dunes under the stars near al-Ain and waking up to rain in the middle of the night!

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Don’t worry about getting the “big tech” internship, explore what you are curious about and there will probably be an application for comp sci within that field.
Esmie Papadimitriou

Year of Graduation: 2019

Nationality: Greek

Current Country of Residence: London, UK

Current Occupation: Data Analyst, Bloomberg

Your Major at NYUAD: Economics with a Minor in Computer Science

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Going on a desert trip and watching the sunset with my friends.

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Take advantage of every opportunity to network and make sure to nurture these relationships. The NYUAD Alumni community grows every year and there are plenty of alumni willing to help.
Siderite Said

Year of Graduation: 2017

Current Country of Residence: Dubai, UAE

Current Occupation: Assistant Manager, Noon e-Commerce

Your Major at NYUAD: Mechanical Engineering with a Minor in Economics

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Intramural Soccer and D1 breakfast!

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Stay focused, never give up, and enjoy the process. Always give things time and expect them to get better for you.
Martin Smit

Year of Graduation: 2017

Current Country of Residence: USA

Current Occupation: Financial Services Consultant

Your Major at NYUAD: Economics

Stand-Out Memory of NYUAD: Stuffing ourselves with Abd El Wahab hummus every Tuesday

Key Advice for Current Undergraduates: Befriend your professors!