Amr Ezzat Salama is the secretary general of the Association of Arab Universities. Besides serving twice as Egypt’s minister of higher education and scientific research, Dr Salama headed the housing committee in the Shura Council, the upper house of the Egyptian parliament. Dr Salama has served as president of Helwan University in Egypt and was a counsellor at the American University in Cairo (AUC) for nine years. Professor Salama holds a PhD in structural engineering from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK.