The master's thesis submitted by the student Diana Barrera-Salazar, in the framework of her studies in the Master of Science program in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) at Ain Shams University, won the third prize in the international competition for the best master's theses in the year 2022, which is organized by the DAIDA Foundation, based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Which deals with studies in the field of urbanization, and the theme of the award this year was "Climate Change".

Diana's thesis, one of the students of the tenth batch of the IUSD program, was titled "The Role of Bamboo in Renewable Development: A Case Study of the Guadua Bamboo in the Rural Areas of the Caldas Region, Colombia." The research was recorded, supervised and discussed at Ain Shams University under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Mohamed Saliheen, Professor of Integrated Design and Planning at Ain Shams University and founder and director of the Master's Program IUSD, and with the participation of Prof. Leonie Fischer is a professor of design and environmental sciences and head of the Department of Landscaping and Ecology at the University of Stuttgart, which is the partner university of Ain Shams University in launching the program.

The Master of Science program in Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) enables the student to study in the first year at one of the two universities (Ain Shams University and Stuttgart University), and then he can study the second year at the partner university that hosts him for a full year, and the research is recorded and conducted there under the main supervision of The university hosting the student and the participation of another supervisor from the other university, and it is necessary to conduct field visits to conduct the necessary surveys in the country under study, which was in the State of Colombia in the case of Diana Salazar, and by completing the study and successfully discussing the thesis, the student will obtain two degrees from the two universities with a double degree.

The IUSD program at Ain Shams University had previously won the student Maria Vilvardi, from the State of Peru, the first prize in the same competition in the year 2021 for the best master's theses that were discussed in the year 2020 for her thesis in the axis of the award that year, which was on the topic of management and planning urban water.

It is noteworthy that the Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design Program (IUSD) is an international program that was established at Ain Shams University in 2010, and 10 batches of more than 30 nationalities have graduated from it so far. It is a dual program between Ain Shams University, Egypt and the University of Stuttgart, Germany. Its board of directors is chaired by Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ayman Saleh, Vice President of Ain Shams University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, and Prof. Omar Al-Husseini, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors, and since it is an inter-program, it allows graduates of all disciplines to join it and qualify to complete a doctorate degree in their original specialties.

It was signed last week by Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Wolfram Russell, President of the University of Stuttgart, renewed the memorandum of understanding between Ain Shams University in Egypt and the University of Stuttgart in Germany, confirming the continuity of cooperation between them through the Integrated Urbanism and Sustainable Design (IUSD) program.