NASPA Online Learning Community

Rethinking Career Development and Experiential Learning in MENASA

Rethinking Career Development and Experiential Learning in MENASA

Includes a Live Web Event on 10/20/2026 at 9:00 AM (EDT)

The goal is to showcase how experiential learning in the MENASA region is shaped. As career pathways become increasingly dynamic and non-linear, student affairs professionals have a unique opportunity to rethink how students explore, develop, and navigate their futures. This session will examine how experiential learning can serve as a powerful framework for career development across the MENASA region, highlighting diverse career journeys, innovative practices, and regionally relevant approaches that prepare students for a rapidly changing world of work.


Learning Outcomes:

1. Examine how cultural, economic, and educational contexts within the MENASA region influence experiential learning opportunities and shape students' career development pathways.

2. Identify innovative experiential learning practices that support career readiness, professional identity formation, and workforce engagement in an increasingly dynamic and non-linear employment landscape. 

3. Apply regionally relevant strategies for integrating experiential learning into student affairs and career development initiatives to better support students' exploration of diverse career pathways and future opportunities. 

Dana Downey

Dana Downey

Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Director, Career Development Center

NYU Abu Dhabi

Dana Downey serves as the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at NYU Abu Dhabi, overseeing the Career Development Center and Civic Engagement & Service departments, as well as the assessment and communications portfolios of the Student Affairs division. She has worked in higher education on three continents, seeking to foster cultures of curiosity, impact, and lifelong learning. She aims to connect people with each other and with opportunities, build capacity on teams, and lower barriers to access when it comes to options.

Maha El Moslemany

Maha El Moslemany

Senior Director, Career Center

The American University in Cairo

With more than 17 years of experience as a career educator, Maha El Moslemany oversees the development and implementation of the full range of career services and programs at AUC’s Career Center including employer engagement, career advising, and experiential learning. Over time, El Moslemany was a catalyst of change designing and introducing new programs/services to increase the hiring venues of AUC’s Career Center offered to students/alumni and employers to enhance AUC’s employability rates and increase AUCians’ career readiness easing their transition to the world of work.

Her purposeful passion is enabling Millennials and GenZ's to become the best version of their professional selves. She consciously shifted her career from advertising to career education with a focus on coaching, training, capacity building, and enhancing AUCians’ career preparation toolkits. She has been a Career Development Facilitator Instructor (CDFI) since 2010 and has designed and delivered modules of the FCD curriculum to certify Career Service Providers (CSPs) in addition to coaching and mentoring CSPs across Egypt.

Professional affiliations include membership in the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the National Association for Colleges and Employers (NACE).

El Moslemany graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication with a double minor in psychology and business administration from AUC.

Malak Elmoh

Malak Elmoh (Moderator)

Career Services Program Manager

Georgetown University in Qatar

Malak Elmoh is a Career Services Program Manager in the Office of External Relations at Georgetown University in Qatar. In her previous role as a Student Development Officer in the Office of Student Affairs, she played a key role in designing and implementing student programming, while also mentoring and advising student clubs, the Student Government Association (SGA), and the broader student community. A proud GU-Q alumna, Malak also holds a Master of Public Policy from Hamad bin Khalifa University, where she concentrated on education policy. Her experience extends beyond academia, having worked on high-profile events like the Doha Forum and with Memac Ogilvy's Public Relations team, where she developed a robust network in Doha. In her current role, Malak focuses on supporting students and recent graduates through career coaching and graduate school advising as well as further departmental initiatives such as professional development workshops, employer events and career fairs.

Components visible upon registration.