NSGM Insights: Interview with research assistant & lecturer Ayman Fouda

A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO HIS CAREER AND WORK AT MCI

How did you get to know the MCI and why did you choose to work here?

I got to know MCI in 2011 when I met Professor Siegfried Walch in Cairo. He was on a business trip to explore cooperation with the American University in Cairo (AUC), my former employer. I had the chance to discuss with him the International Health and Social Management (IHSM) master program at MCI, which I applied to a few months after our meeting. After my graduation from IHSM in 2014, I always looked for a chance to come back and live in Innsbruck and I was lucky to find an opportunity at MCI. Besides the fact that I was familiar with the department, MCI allows me to work in an international environment with students, faculty, colleagues and field partners from different backgrounds and nationalities. In addition, at MCI, I work, teach, and research in English, which suits my lingual skills, as I do not speak German…yet!

What did you do before you started to work at MCI?

Before joining MCI, I conducted research as part of my PhD at the University of Bologna, University of Hamburg, and Erasmus University Rotterdam. I also collected experience as a medical doctor in Egypt, my home country, and as a program manager and research analyst at the AUC School of Business.

What are your research interests?

My research interest is about applied health economics. Specifically I research the economic and regulatory arrangements of professional healthcare markets. I study the financial incentives and the soft law tools (such as clinical practice guidelines), and how they affect the multiple-principal agent relationships in healthcare between patients, healthcare service providers, and service regulators or funders. I also had a research spell on regulating health insurance markets and the process of risk adjustment or risk equalization. Currently, I am involved in research projects to investigate the effect of different degrees of regulations on the prescription of branded and generic medications; also, I am involved in COVID-19 research.   

What is particularly important to you when working with students?

Several aspects are important to me to work with students. First, engagement and participation. I believe that active discussions, continuous feedback and peer learning are important to achieve the learning objectives. Second, diversity and inclusion. We have international students with diverse educational and cultural backgrounds, creating a welcoming and safe environment to mix and share these backgrounds helps the class dynamics and provides new learnings for students and for myself. Third, practicality and application. Transitioning from theoretical backgrounds to real-life examples and applications is something I consider vital; equipping students with knowledge and skills to apply what they learn is a key objective of my courses.

How would you describe the Nonprofit, Social & Health Care Management department in 5 words?

Vibrant, flexible, international, kind and fun

Thank you for the interview!