Archive for Tunisia

Co-founder of Think.iT, Mehemed Bougsea ‘17, Shares His Entrepreneurial Journey

Mehemed Bougsea MPA-DP ’17 is transforming Tunsia’s tech sector with his start-up Think.iT.

Bougsea founded Think.iT after many years of desiring equality in tech markets across different countries. Growing up between Libya and Germany, Mehemed saw the vast difference in openings for jobs in the tech sector. He saw this as an injustice to gifted and skilled young STEM students, who had immense potential for success but who lacked the qualifications to meet the demand for lucrative jobs in the field.

Think.iT is based in Tunisia where 57 percent of the workforce is unemployed and where the local economy cannot produce jobs in the fields to match the talent of the workforce. Think.iT’s programs focus on training young students on newer technologies such as AI, Cloud, and Blockchain, to ensure that graduates are prepared to address today’s most prevalent and pressing problems. At SIPA, Mehemed was a Ipek Cem Taha and Shwan Ibrahim (2015-2016) and SIPA Fund Fellow (2016-2017).

Click here to learn more about Mehemed’s ethos and entrepreneurial journey.


The 2019 SIPA application is open, so keep up with our Admissions Blog here for application tips over the next few months. You can learn more about the MPA in Development Practice program here.

Tunisia Brown Bag Panel

It is not uncommon for discussions and events to take shape at SIPA in response to very current events.  The following is an example of a brown bag panel that took place this past week based on the recent happenings in Tunisia.  This is yet another benefit of the numerous student groups, institutes, and centers at SIPA.

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THURSDAY 1/27: Tunisia Before & After Ben Ali
Brownbag Panel and Q&A with Columbia University Professors Taoufiq Ben Amor and Rym Bettaieb, and SIPA alumnus (PEPM’07) from Tunisia, Rim Nour

Time: 1:00-2:30pm
Location: 1501 International Affairs Building, 420 West 118th Street

Presented by ASA, MEI and IAS. Columbia University Professors Taoufiq Ben Amor and Rym Bettaieb, and SIPA alumnus (PEPM’07) from Tunisia, Rim Nour, share their viewpoints and updates on the recent events in Tunisia exploring topics ranging from the role that young people have played, to the use of social media, to the mechanisms of grassroots mobilization, as well as the stereotypes that the revolution broke.  A Q&A session will follow the panel.

"The most global public policy school, where an international community of students and faculty address world challenges."

—Merit E. Janow, Dean, SIPA, Professor of Practice, International and Economic Law and International Affairs

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