Student Information
Graduate StudentInnovation in Global Development
College of Global Futures
My name is Yaser ياسر, it means making things easier (which is part of my mission to make knowledge accessible).
I am from Makkah in Saudi Arabia.I worked in corporate social responsibility mainly in STEM education programs in rural areas in Saudi Arabia for around 10 years before I continued my Masters in social entrepreneurship at USC. I experienced a short job at a social enterprise in Mumbai, India focuses in childhood education and women empowerment.
Currently, as a doctoral candidate completed 4 years at the Innovation in Global Development Phd program, I am journeying on to expand and produce knowledge on how people, indigenous/local knowledge, public and private institutes, can be engaged in community building processes, and shaping innovation policies. Hence, I am diving deep in global development theories and applications through this learning experience, with a focus on indigenous sustainability solutions, participatory knowledge production, ethical governance, futures thinking, Islamic epistemology, place-based economic development, and digital storytelling.
- Ph.D. Candidate Innovation in Global Development at School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University.
- Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship at USC Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California.
- Bachelor of Science in Earth Sciences at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals KFUPM, Honor Award.
Social Impact, Development Studies, Islamic Development, Knowledge Systems, Indigenous Development, Participatory Governance, Ethical Sustainability, Futures Thinking
- Participating at the International Islamic Economics and Finance Conference for Sustainable Development IFESDC with a paper entitled by “Innovation in Participatory Governance of Waqfs in Medina: Re-imagining an Islamic Development Model”.
- Co-Presented at the 4S Society for Social Studies of Science conference. The session entitled by “Weaving Stories from Latin America and the Arab World around Buen Vivir and Husna".
- Co-authored the open-source social impact guide entitled by “Designing Social Impact Initiatives by Atharonaa”.
- Best 99 innovators in Early Education Childhood Open IDEO Prize, for "Playfull Space," 2018.
- World Innovation Summit for Education WISE2013 prize for Ithra Youth initiative, Doha, 2013.
- Co-authored the open-source social impact guide entitled by “Designing Social Impact Initiatives by Atharonaa”.
- Translated content to Arabic through the Thousand Languages project, a Hayden public library initiative.
- Sustainability Graduate Certificate. Completed the ASU sustainability solutions foundational knowledge and skills in systems thinking, values thinking, futures thinking and collaborative thinking. From the School of Sustainability, Arizona State University.
- Leave No Trace Instructor. In-depth practical training of the 7 main principles, ethics and skills in leading sustainable outdoors and protecting wilderness. Organized by NOLS The US National Outdoor Leadership School.
- ASU Walton Sustainability Solutions Service Worked with WSSS on a project produced a paper entitled Democratic Entrepreneurship: Integrating an Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Approach to Empower Human-Centric Worker Cooperatives. In addition to support designing a knowledge hub for worker cooperatives.
- Ithra Cultural Center, Saudi Aramco: Led Ithra Youth, the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative of Saudi Aramco focused on educational and cultural programs.
Moving Worlds Global Fellowship prepared me to consult social impact organizations through skills-based projects for sustainable development goals. We have developed monitoring and evaluation metrics and updated the theory of change framework for ANIMEDH, a non-for-profit in Mumbai, India enabling women via hands-on crafts and upskilling programs.
Ignite Dhahran Events; Dhahran 2012-2015: Youth inspiration public events to share unique personal and professional experiences.