Amr Metwally (E.16) was meant for a great career as a midfield player in a big football club of Alexandria. Instead, he has become a major actor in the health sector across the Middle East. He now conceives and manages the most spectacular medical centers.

 

Every week, same story. When Amr Metwally (E.16) is about to watch a football game on television, he invites his family over. Anas, Adam, Lina and their younger brother Yahya struggle to stay still. The siblings would rather focus on other activities. The Egyptian architect-engineer, who has been living in Qatar for 11 years now, can’t help but think his children would have been a little more excited to see their dad performing on a football pitch. « It came down to only a few things, I came very close to becoming a footballer, he says. Becoming a champion was always my childhood dream. But at the same time, I had very good results in school. I was offered to study medicine at the age of 16, then I had the opportunity to join an engineering school to study in the architecture department. »

The young man quickly understood he would not be able to combine everything. « To become a top player, you have to train at least five hours a day. When I came of age, I told my teachers and parents that I was giving up traditional studies to fully devote myself to sports. It was a cataclysm. My father was so hurt that he became seriously ill. He couldn’t imagine his eldest son giving up a prestigious career as an architect to kick a ball around… » Completely under pressure, Amr was forced to give up on his dream even though Al Olympi, the main club in Alexandria, had made him an offer. A sacrifice that would leave a deep lasting scar.

Health expert in spite of himself

After obtaining his degree in architecture in 2022, he taught for a few months at the university and quickly switched to working at an architectural firm at the Eslamiya Art Center. « I was the youngest in the team and I was given projects the seniors didn’t want. I was hoping to design museums, hotels or shopping malls, all these prestigious projects you can see in the media, but my superiors entrusted me with the design of a medical center. I was in no position to turn it down. It felt like my dreams were being shattered a second time. »

The blow felt all the harder since he had to give up working on the hall of the Alexandria National Museum, a project dedicated to Egyptian archaeological treasures that President Hosni Mubarak would inaugurate a year later in front of the cameras. With a heavy heart, the young architect devoted his energy to the medical center, thinking
he would finalize his work in a few weeks time. « I couldn’t have been more wrong! It took me more than two months just to talk to the doctors and nurses about the future hospital in order to get a clear understanding of their expectations. Two years ago, I was assigned a similar project since my superiors were fully satisfied with my work. I had the unpleasant impression that a label had been stuck to my forehead. »

Solicited from all sides of the Emirates

He would soon turn this label into a strength. On the international market, it is way easier to find an architect capable of building towers than a hospital in compliance with strict health standards. Amr Metwally realized this in 2005 while solicited from all sides and moved with his family to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. He worked on huge projects such as the Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City Mayo clinic in Abu Dhabi. « It was a turning point. I realized that I had acquired knowledge far beyond the simple design of buildings, and that I was able to understand the strategy of a health care institution. Then I wanted to go even further in my expertise, particularly on the financial and strategic side. And it was only natural that I turned to an Executive MBA. » While working at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), the country’s leading non-profit healthcare provider, he continued his studies at HEC Paris in Qatar.

In addition to the EMBA, the school offers a Specialized Master in Strategic Business Unit Management as well as certificates and customized programs for companies in the Gulf Cooperation Council region. Courses are taught in English to meet the specific needs of professionals already holding management positions in Qatar and the Middle East. In 2021, HEC Paris in Qatar had just inaugurated new buildings in the fast-growing Msheireb Downtown district on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. Home to more than 700 alumni, it is one of the largest and most dynamic communities in the HEC network internationally. « This learning experience has changed my way of working. Until then, I had only learned through doctors. HEC taught me to understand the entire spectrum of the healthcare world. »

In Doha, a state-of-the-art medical center

He is now putting this holistic approach to good use at the Itqan Simulation and Innovation Center, at the heart of the Hamad Bin Khalifa medical campus in Doha. The gigantic 12,000-square-meter facility inaugurated in 2019 after eight years of construction, offers state-of-the-art techniques to train Qatar’s doctors and nurses. Diagnosis simulators, surgical training rooms, virtual reality laboratory… For the conception of the general design as well as the follow-up of its realization, the engineer-architect has benefited from substantial means. « Since I obtained my EMBA, I have been offered the position of deputy executive director with the mission to cover all the operational aspects of the center, to define the internal and external procedures and, above all, outline a business model in order to make Itqan 100% financially independent. We should be able to achieve this goal within a year, and thus create a benchmark for other public institutions in the country. »

Importing cats, sheep… and corpses

A perfect knowledge of medical law is necessary on a daily basis, especially to manage the wet lab entry and exit procedures. The place is conceived to avoid leaks and contamination and it has to accommodate the guinea pigs used by future doctors. We are not only talking about mannequins here but mice, cats, sheep and also… human corpses, which constitute up to 20% of the subjects of experiments. « It was a first, in the history of Qatar, to have remains of men and women imported for medical research. We had to show our credentials to the Ministry of the Interior, to the Ministry of Public Health… But since Qatar is a Muslim country, we also held discussions with the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Islamic Affairs. In the end, it took six months for us to get the authorization. Now I have to face another challenge : convince authorities to allow us to do research using pigs. Their metabolism and anatomy are the most similar to ours. But if I’m being honest, you have to be very diplomatic to get pigs into Qatar! »

Looking back, he smiles as he recalls the many bumps in the road that marked his career. « My life has not always been easy, but I have learned to never give up. Fate didn’t take me where I expected it to, but today I am at peace with who I am and what I have become. In Itqan, people forget that I am an architect. They often call me Dr. Amr », he smiles. Tonight, he might find some time to watch a football game on TV. He knows he’s still unlikely to have his children on the sofa with him. But one thing is certain: this time there will be no heartache when he sees the players on the field.

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