University of Cincinnati Visit to Faculty of Economics & Political Science

Dr. Harknett is a Professor of Political Science, and head of the department, specializing in International Relations and Security Studies. He currently holds an affiliate faculty position with the Department of Information Technology at UC and a professorial lectureship at the Diplomatic Academy; serving as a Fulbright Professor. During his stay in Cairo, Dr. Harknett held a manifold of lectures, reflecting his specialization and diverse research interests. On one hand, his visit to economicspoliticalscience included meetings with the Dean, Dr. Abdul-Monem Al-Mashat, as well as the academic staff of the departments of Political Science, Political Mass Media, and Public Administration.

These meetings revolved around discussing prospects of research collaboration, student exchange, as well as further gates of academic and research planning for the two institutions to further nourish the already existing academic canvas of both entities. Similarly, Dr. Harknett held a workshop tackling the theme of cyber-security and national security. In this workshop, being attended by academic staff from all the departments, Dr. Harknett was able to share his experience on the field with respect to cyber-security, its relationship to policy-making and the political apparatus in the US government. This opened gateways for questions from the attendees; further enriching the workshop’s outcome.

In addition, Dr. Harknett served as a guest speaker in a variety of courses. These included his shared perspectives on research and the difference between theory and practices, reflected in the course of Specialised Writing (REM 302) with Dr. Seham Fawzy, for the Political Mass Media Department. Similarly, he shared his experiences on research in Honor Thesis (REM 401) with Dr. Yasmine Zein Al-Abedine. In this presentation he tackled the methodology he follows when conducting his research papers that focus on international relations theory, especially cybersecurity, economic development, and education. He tried to highlight the link between natural science and social sciences which could help in using the quantitative methodology in conducting research papers. Furthermore, Dr. Harknett gave a presentation and discussion in the course Introduction to Political Science (PSC 102), with Dr. Salma Shamel, discussing the basics of political science principles in relationship to cyber-security, as well as sharing his reflections in the course of Integrity and Good Governance (PSC 210) with Dr. Amr Sukar. Finally, Dr. Harknett shared his experiences on crisis managements and his experience with respect to international relations and cyber-security in the course of Crisis Management (PSC 309), accompanied by Dr. Hassan Wageih.