Prof. (Dr.) Zina Kyriakou, Dean of the International Executive School, has published new research exploring how Egyptian women experience empowerment through hospitality education. The study was co-authored with Frank Naboulsi and Roy Naipaul.

The research explores how hospitality education shapes Egyptian women’s sense of professional identity, confidence, and independence, while highlighting how participants navigate cultural expectations without compromising their cultural or religious identities. The findings show that hospitality education can serve as a powerful space for women to grow professionally while remaining rooted in their cultural values, a concept the researchers term “contextual empowerment.”

We congratulate Dean Prof (Dr.) Zina Kyriakou on this valuable contribution to hospitality education scholarship, and take pride in supporting research that advances our understanding of women’s empowerment across cultural contexts.

Reference: Kyriakou, Z., Naboulsi, F., & Naipaul, R. (2026). Empowerment Within Context: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of Egyptian Women’s Experiences in Hospitality Education. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2026.2699352