Ahmed Badawi, one of the co-founders of Transform e.V., joined the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik) in 2001. He held positions as Research Associate at the Institute of Development and Peace (University of Duisburg-Essen), the Oxford Research Group, the International Crisis Group and Zentrum Moderner Orient. Prior to leaving Egypt in 1999 he used to work as a print and TV journalist and as a community development specialist. He is a trained group facilitator since 1993, has an MSc in Development Studies from SOAS (University of London) and a PhD in Political Science from Humboldt University in Berlin.