Majeda Awawdeh

Majeda Awawdeh is a mathematician and a mathematics lover, an academic, entrepreneur and advocate for women’s education. Born in the turbulent region of ‘1948 Palestine’, she is one of two million Palestinians who lived within Israel, navigating a complex identity under occupation. As a teenager, she experienced the rise of Islamic conservatism, shaping her early life and family dynamics. Majeda’s path has been extraordinary. In 2005, she received a scholarship to study a PhD in Mathematics Education and Cognitive Load Theory at UNSW, a pivotal moment that led her to Australia, and enabled her to escape an abusive marriage and pursue a life of independence. While completing her studies, Majeda raised three children and worked multiple jobs, demonstrating remarkable resilience. Following her academic career, she founded a business applying her research findings, and self-published 98 academic. Her entrepreneurial achievements have been recognised with the Telstra Businesswomen’s Award for Small Business in NSW. Majeda’s memoir, The Sky is Concave, offers a compelling story about defeating (she does not use the word surviving) domestic violence, reclaiming her voice, and navigating cultural and political challenges as a Palestinian woman in Israel and later in Australia. Written through the lens of the language of the universe, Majeda uncovers the deep beauty of mathematics.