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Shima Barakat
Entrepreneur, Director, Academic, Mentor committed to growing sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystems
Dr. Shima Barakat is an accomplished academic, entrepreneur, and advisor with extensive experience in sustainability, entrepreneurship, and engineering. She currently serves on the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) for Engineering.13
Professional Background
Dr. Barakat has held several notable positions:
- Founder and CEO of Cambridge BAST Ltd1
- Associate Professor and Director of the Entrepreneurship for Sustainability Programme at the University of Cambridge (until spring 2024)1
- Food Enterprise Manager and Director of the Entrepreneurship for Sustainability Programme at the Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge2
Her academic career at the University of Cambridge spanned 14 years, including 10 years as the Head of Entrepreneurial Learning Programmes at the Judge Business School.2
Expertise and Impact
Dr. Barakat's work focuses on:
- Helping organizations embed sustainability into their core practices
- Supporting startups and entrepreneurial women (over 200 startups and 450 women entrepreneurs)1
- Developing mindsets and competencies for addressing global challenges
- Integrating environmental considerations into organizational strategy2
She has been involved in founding several organizations aimed at community development, including Nahdet El Mahrousa, which became a successful Social Enterprise Incubator in the Middle East.2
Board Memberships and Advisory Roles
- Trustee of the Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship in the UK1
- Member of the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Team (SAT) for Engineering1
- Experienced board member and chair in various organizations12
Education and Background
Dr. Barakat holds an MBA and began her career as an engineer working in infrastructure construction before transitioning to sustainability and entrepreneurship.2
Her LinkedIn profile can be found under the username shima-barakat-4276016.4
Highlights
The things that make an academic’s day: when we learn that people are reading our work! #venturecapital #cambridge #innovationecosystem
Great job Maggie McCammon M.Sc., Ph.D., M.B.A. Edwina Pio and Shailendra Vyakarnam !
Thank you to those who joined us on the couch (on screen!) today to discuss impact through the School of Technology as well as the School of Humanities and Social Sciences! #WEImpactSparks Huge thank you to our Guest Spark and Chair for the day Prof Dr Marie Claire Cordonier-Segger.
Looking forward to our next round of discussions tomorrow (Wednesday) with new speakers, new topics, new avenues for impact. Are you joining us?
13.30-15.00 BST Clinical Medicine roundtable: https://lnkd.in/epX2QYSw &
🔥Guest Spark: Kärt Tomberg, Co-founder and CEO, ExpressionEdits
15.30-17.00 BST Arts and Humanities rountable: https://lnkd.in/eJ639JZA 🔥Guest Sparks: Saussan Khalil, Founder and MD, Kalamna and Louise Atkins, Head of Impact and Knowledge Exchange, University of Cambridge
Video, any slides and impact plan template will be sent to all those who register, after the session.
Emily Keller Annabel Sherwood Saussan Khalil
