What has motivated you to venture into engineering studies?

I grew up in an engineering family. My father and an older brother are civil engineers, and another older brother is an architect. The family owns and operates an engineering contractor business in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. I have always been intrigued by their conversations about engineering problems and construction issues. As the younger daughter of the family, I wanted to be included in those conversations and contribute to their problem-solving. That’s why I decided to study engineering at the university!

How did your family feel about your decision?

In the beginning, my father was worried. “Why not choose a ‘softer’ discipline?” Fathers are always worried about their daughters; they don’t want them to have to work too hard, and they don’t want them to get dirty in the field or be in industries where historically there was a gender imbalance. But in the end, I told him that engineering runs in my blood and I needed to pursue something I love. My dedication won him over. I ranked at the top of the class year after year throughout my undergraduate years to prove to everyone that I had made the right decision.

You chose project controls as your specialty after your undergraduate studies. How did you end up selecting that trajectory?

After I graduated, my education earned me a place in my father’s contractor business. He became my compass and my anchor from then on. My father had always told me that to be a good engineer, you need to be on the perpetual path of learning to understand all aspects of the business – including how projects are planned, how they should be budgeted, how costs are managed, and how contracts are negotiated. So, I joined the project controls department of the company!

 My father’s other advice was, “Don’t know the answer? Ask, read, search, and learn!”  That’s what I did. I started my master’s degree in construction management, with concentrated studies in planning and cost management while working. After learning the ropes at the company, I quickly became immersed in the thoughts of how I could improve the business and make things more efficient. I snuck into my father’s library to read all his books on cost control. Then, I decided to build an extensive cost database to estimate and tender contracts faster and more accurately! I reveled in the responsibility I was given, and I loved that I contributed to the company being more profitable!

You have also decided to further your studies by pursuing a doctorate degree in construction management. What prompted that decision, and how did that change your career?

Furthering my studies was part passion and part need. I love to solve problems. At the same time, the more projects you work on, the more you realize what you don’t know. Around the early 2010s, I worked on several power plant and electrical substation projects. These projects opened up the world of “contract management” to me, from contract development to stakeholder management, and claims management. I decided to pursue a Ph.D. at the American University in Cairo and ultimately focused my research on simulation and optimization modeling to construct civil works for electrical substations.

Soon after my Ph.D., I also became a professor at the Kafr El-Sheikh University, teaching construction management. Teaching was rewarding as it allowed me to share my passion for construction management with my students! I also believed I had a responsibility to help the undergraduates and my post-graduate students, just like how my father guided me.

After you got your doctorate, you decided to leave the family business. How did your family react to that?

My father was opposed to me leaving the family business. As a protective and loving father, he wanted his daughter to be kept under his wings. However, my mother helped convince him that allowing me to work elsewhere was a great learning opportunity. Working outside the family business was a tough transition, but the joy of learning for different management firms and the plethora of projects out there was a tremendously rewarding experience.

What is one of the biggest highlights of your career, in your opinion?

Professionally, my current position as a contracts manager at Hill International Inc. is a position that brings joy to me every day. Hill International is a global construction consultant firm, and this opened a new horizon of unique and exciting projects for me, including the Grand Egyptian Museum and the Monorail. It is a supportive company for me as a woman in the field of project control and gave me excellent opportunities to learn and develop.

From a personal perspective, I would have to say obtaining my Master of Laws degree in 2023 is a big highlight. As a part of the family contractor business, we were always just the initiator of claims. If I could understand the “other side” of a claim, I would have a comprehensive view of contract arbitration and adjudication! As a contract manager, I’m still constantly learning from different contracts from different disciplines, court rulings, and industry lessons learned. With all the education and experience I’ve received, I was able to look for the most optimal win-win solution for the engineer, the project manager, and the contractor – all the roles in which I have gained first-hand experience.

What advice would you give to women considering a path in construction management, project controls, or claims dispute?

I will relay the best advice I have received from my father, who, to this day, is still my lighthouse in my career and my life. He told me always to seek opportunities and try new things, even though deep inside, I feel I may not be qualified for that role. Take the challenge, learn, and persevere.

Let the quality of your work speak for you. Start writing papers as an undergraduate because writing down your thoughts logically, and don’t be afraid to get feedback from experts in the field as it is one of the best ways to learn. I always encourage my students to familiarize themselves with best practices and attend and present at AACE events to “ask, read, search, and learn!” 

Rania Fayed, Ph.D., LLM, MSc, FCIArb, PMP, is an experienced construction management professional working at Hill International Inc. in Egypt. She is the vice president of the AACE Egypt Section and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) liaison for the AACE Women in Project Controls committee.