Hello Microsoft Community Ninjas
Welcome back to the Monday interview!
It's been a while since our last interview. The world has been through a difficult period in the last two years and many of us are just starting to get back to routine now, but as you probably noticed - we are back big time with new posts and awesome new activities in our Facebook group, with new members and tons of new plans. Definitely it's good idea to stick around and participate in the Microsoft Community activities.
About three weeks ago Microsoft annual Build conference ended and we published a set of posts related to the event. We started with a very important post with technical information about "Microsoft Docs updates and news following the Microsoft Build 2022 announcements!". Check it out if you did not read it. Following this post we published several reviews of the events from the community perspective. A group of six reviewers were select to the task before the event and a week after the event we started to published the reviews which include multipole interviews and interesting insights from Microsoft employees and the community, from speakers and participates. You can find all the posts in the main page of the Community Ninjas Blog. In a day or a few days we plan to close the project and publish the last post in the series. Stay tuned 
Today it's time for Monday Interview, which usually means that we meet one of the most active Microsoft Community members who impressed us in its activities for the Microsoft technological community. I said "usually" since for the first time We break the mold. Why having an interview with one ninja when we have a whole family of Ninjas?
Today, we are delighted and honored to meet with Mohamed El-Qassas & Heba Kamal who have achieved a distinctive world achievement by receiving the Microsoft MVP Award in two different categories (Office Apps and Services and Business Application) and become the first MVP family in Middle East and Africa and the second MVP Family over the world.
What is Microsoft MVP?
Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, or MVPs, are technology experts and outstanding community leaders who passionately share their knowledge with the community. They are always on the "bleeding edge" and have an unstoppable urge to get their hands on new, exciting technologies. They have very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services, while also being able to bring together diverse platforms, products and solutions, to solve real world problems.
In this link you can watch 39 seconds recording, I uploaded about the three rules of becoming a Microsoft MVP, as I see it, but remember that there are no written rules and the only people who can choose who will get the MVP award are the Microsoft MVP team.
Today the MVPs make up a global community of over 3,400 technical experts and community leaders across 90 countries/regions and are driven by their passion, community spirit, and quest for knowledge.
About
Mohamed El-Qassas is a Technical solution architect with +13 of experience in Microsoft Technology (SharePoint, Project Server, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams, and Power Platform)
- He is Microsoft MVP for four years in a row since 2018.
- He has been ranked as the 2nd top contributor in SharePoint Stack Exchange (Stackoverflow) of all the time.
- He has been ranked as the 1st top contributor in SharePoint Stack Exchange in 2018 (2nd time in a row).
- He is honored to be the 1st top contributor in the GCC, the Middle East, and Africa in SharePoint Stack Exchange.
- He has been elected as the first Stack Exchange Moderator in the GCC, Middle East, and Africa.
- He has been selected as a Microsoft QnA Moderator.
- He is Microsoft Certified Trainer.
- He has been selected as the first Microsoft TechNet Wiki Judge in Saudi Arabia.
- He has been received 45 Medals in Microsoft TechNet wiki Technical Guru Awards (Gold (24), Silver (15) and Bronze (6)).
- He has been number 5 on the top 20 list of "Most awesome Microsoft TechNet Wiki Technical Gurus" for the past 5 years.
- He is a group leader of the first Saudi Arabia Power Platform User Group.
- He is the founder of QnA debug.to community.
- He is a technical author in Microsoft TechNet, SPGeeks and devoworx.
Follow Mohamed at Twitter, GitHub, LinkedIn and Facebook, and also join his Power Platform User Group and QnA debug.to.
Now let’s introduce Heba kamal as one of the Arab women in Tech and she is the first Egyptian to receive the MVP award in the Microsoft business application #PowerPlatform #PowerApps, and currently, the only #PowerApps MVP in the Middle East.
- Heba is a mom for three sweet kids (Judy, Hamza and Omar)
- She is Microsoft Certified Trainer.
- She is an active contributor in debug.to QnA Community.
- She is the first Microsoft MVP in the Business Application category in Egypt and currently, the only Power Apps MVP in the Middle East.
- She is the founder of Power Platform Geeks blog.
- She is also the founder of Power Platform بالعربي which is the first group on Facebook to focus on sharing the Power Platform knowledge in Arabic.
- She is the founder of the Power Platform Geeks YouTube Channel
- she is a key featured speaker at Global Power Platform bootcamp in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia and Egypt)
Follow Heba at Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and check her blogs site devoworx.net
Now let's dig into the interview with the first MVP family in the Middle East and Africa who have achieved a distinctive world achievement by receiving the Microsoft MVP Award in two different categories!
Who are you, where are you, and what do you do?
Mohamed: First and foremost, I would love to thank you for providing us with this wonderful opportunity to meet with the Microsoft Community, as well as for this wonderful introduction!
Well, my name is Mohamed El-Qassas, I’m Egyptian, and I have been living in Saudi Arabia since 2011, I graduated from the faculty of computer and information in 2007. I am a father for three sweet kids (Judi, Hamza, and Omar).
With over 13 years of experience in Microsoft Technologies, I am a Microsoft MVP, MCT and Technical Solution Architect. I'm also a community leader in SharePoint StackExchange, debug.to, and the Saudi Arabia Power Platform User Group, as well as a StackOverflow and Microsoft QnA Moderator, Microsoft Certified Trainer, Technical Author, and speaker.
This picture was taken in 2019, I attended my first MVP Summit at Microsoft's headquarters in Seattle, USA.
Heba: My name is Heba Kamal, and I'm Egyptian. I've been living in Saudi Arabia with my wonderful family (Mohamed El-Qassas, Judy, Hamza, and Omar) since 2011. I graduated from Ain Shams University's faculty of computer and information science in 2009.
I'm a Microsoft MVP, MCT, blogger, speaker, Power Platform Consultant | Founder of Power Platform Geeks YouTube channel, and Facebook group owner for Microsoft Power Platform in Arabic.
Judi, Hamza, and Omar, my loving children, are at Riyadh City's Boulevard.
Describe your feeling when you receive the congratulation email from Microsoft tell you become MVP?
Mohamed: Indeed, my joy was indescribable because receiving the Microsoft MVP award was a dream come true and one of my main goals. I still vividly recall the moment four years ago when I opened my email and saw this long-awaited email. It was really an amazing and honorable moment.
But let me tell you a secret, my joy at receiving the MVP award was great, but it pales in comparison to the joy I felt when my beloved wife received the award. I always encouraged her, guided her, instilled confidence in her, told her she was the best, and promised her that one day she would outperform me personally, and this is of course make me pleased and honored.
I know very well that the burden of responsibility was heavy on her because taking care of three children and me in particular was a very daunting task. However, I had faith in her, and she went on to become the first Egyptian woman to receive the Microsoft MVP Award in Business Applications.
Wearing MVP Swag makes me proud and confident while also making me feel accountable.
Heba: Well, it was a watershed moment in my life because it restored my confidence and made me feel like I could accomplish anything if I wanted to.
But it was my husband's extreme happiness for me that caught my attention, and it was truly indescribable happiness.
I know he loves me a lot because he gets the credit for this honorable achievement and any other achievement in my life after Allah, but at this moment I was certain he loved me more than himself.
I'm not a big admirer of photography and don't have a lot of personal photos, so I like to focus on my kids' achievements, which are unquestionably mine, and this is Judy's shot from the KG3 graduation party.
What does it mean for you to be an MVP?
Mohamed: Short answer: My second family.
First and foremost, I am enthusiastic about sharing knowledge with the community, and being a part of such an incredible MVP family allows me to connect with awesome MVP network connections as well as technical geeks with a thirst for knowledge and technology.
Therefore, I am able to gain from and exchange knowledge with them, which positively has a great impact on the community.
Being an MVP also allows me to gain early access to the latest Microsoft technologies, allowing me to learn new skills and take on new challenges that I am passionate about. As a result, my technological abilities are evolving in order for me to actively participate in the community.
Furthermore, the provided license, tools, and benefits enable me to be up to date and enrich my knowledge and expertise in order to better and more professionally serve the community.
Last but not least, becoming an MVP for the past four years has been a tremendous honor, and to be honest, it's not just an award; it's a wonderful expression of gratitude from the community to the community, and I'd be honored to continue in the MVP program.
At the MVP Summit 2019 in Seattle, USA, I had a great time taking some remembrance photos with my MVP colleagues and CPMs. It was also a fantastic opportunity to create a relationship network and meet experts with similar interests.
Heba: For me, receiving the MVP award is a great honor and a dream come true. And being named MVP meant a lot to me. Without a doubt, the MVP family is my second family, with the added responsibility of sharing high-quality technical content to have an impact in the community.
Judi and Hamza are enjoying their time in Riyadh Boulevard
Mohamed, What advice and tips do you have for people asking questions on Technical Forums, as the first Arab Stack Overflow moderator?
As community contributor and Stack overflow for more than 5 years as well as Microsoft QnA moderator I have many tips and advices To improve your chances of getting specific and relevant answer, you have to follow the below guidance:
- Search then ask: before asking your question, try to find an answer by searching the Web and the related forum.
- Be on-topic: don’t ask unrelated questions.
- Be specific: describe what you’ve tried carefully and clearly and imagine you’re asking a question to another person.
- Avoid asking duplicate questions.
- Avoid asking multiple questions in the same thread.
- Avoid promoting a product or service (SPAM)
- Avoid asking very low quality questions.
Be open mind and appreciate the provided answers.
Heba, What challenges have you experienced as a woman in tech, and as the first Egyptian to receive the MVP award in the business application in MVP journey?
Actually, I am extremely fortunate to have a wonderful mentor in the form of my beloved husband Mohamed El-Qassas, who has greatly aided and guided me in achieving this great honor. So when I gave up, he encouraged me and told me, "Never give up, you can do it," and "I believe in you," and these words re-energized and motivated me! But, in my opinion, the most difficult challenge I've ever faced is the lack of time and coordination between my family and the community.
However, being an MVP and community contributor has taught me a lot about how to balance my time between my first and second families, and I'm now attempting to work smarter rather than harder!
Spending the majority of my time with my family helps me feel at ease and provides me with a great energy boost. We're having lunch at Wild Fire Restaurant, and I'm dressed in an Islamic formal attire that is commonly worn outside the home in the Middle East. As usual, it was a fantastic time.
What advice do you have for people who want to be MVP?
Mohamed and Heba say,
The key Point to be an MVP is helping others by sharing your valuable knowledge in a high quality and unique style to make impact on the community!Also, we believe that every diligent person has a share, and there is nothing easy and nothing is impossible, so we advise those who want to obtain this award from the reality of our humble experience to do the following:
- Believe in yourself and just be you.
- Don’t stop to help others.
- Share your valuable knowledge with the community!
- Love what you do to be able to continue.
- Forget about working toward becoming an MVP.
- Make a balance between your contributions, family and business work.
- Don’t be panic, and NEVER give up.
- It doesn’t matter how many activities you should share! It’s mainly depends on the quality of activities that you are sharing!
- Your contributions should be unique, add value and make impact to the community.
- Your contributions should be distributed in more than one type of activities.
- Many contributions with high quality and impact would accelerate the acceptance process.
- Even you are not become MVP, or you became MVP but not renewed. Nobody can take your contributions off from you. Just be proud with what you have sharing to the community.
Building the community is the responsibility of all of us, and I always look forward to continuing to add value to the technical communities and work to develop it.
What are your big projects right now?
In fact, we have a number of projects and ideas that we are considering putting into action.
But we're currently working on is launching the first Arab educational platform for teaching power platforms, data, artificial intelligence, and cloud in Arabic.
Our educational platform's mission is to empower everyone who has an idea to turn it into a smart app/solution that will help them achieve more.
Our Arabic platform to learn Microsoft technologies will be launched soon
We've also begun preparing for the Arab Power Platform Bootcamp. It will be presented in Arabic language and it’s a free one-day event organized across Arab countries by local communities passionate about Microsoft Power Platform and the cloud.
In this Bootcamp, we will dive into Microsoft's Power Platform stack through hands-on sessions brought to you by Microsoft Regional Directors, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, and community leaders in Arabic.
What motivates you every day?
Mohamed and Heba say, The Prophet Muhammad said, “The best of people are those who are most beneficial to people.”
As a result, we see this talk as the most beneficial thing for us to stay motivated and continue to help people as much as we can while also leaving a positive impact on those around us.
How would you describe yourself in one word?
Mohamed: We shouldn’t judge people based on one word they choose. however, we can derive the answer to this question from those who deal directly with us on daily basis!
For example: My manager usually tells me that you are a trustworthy, and Dependable person!
My CPM is Deepak is a superb leader who always encourages us to do more for the community.
Heba: I love it when my kids call me Super Mom, but I think I can sum up myself in one word: lucky to be a part of my family.
My entire life revolves around my family.
What was your dream job as a child?
Mohamed: Because Arab society, particularly Egyptian society, restricts dream jobs to three categories: officer, engineer, and doctor, I have aspired to be an engineer since childhood, and I have succeeded.
It was wonderful recollections of my Dad, Mom, and older brother at a birthday celebration.
Heba: we had a small computer at home when I was a kid, and I was always curious about how it worked, so I've always wanted to work in the field of computer manufacturing and development.
Judy, like me and his father, dreams of becoming a software engineer in the future.
In a nutshell, what professional guidance would you give to others?
Mohamed:
- Be a positive, say yes to the things that scare you.
- Get a mentor.
- Build a network.
- Keep learning.
Take care about your health and family.
there's no success without loving what you do
Heba: Follow your effort, never give up and keep doing little things every day!
What plans do you have for your future?
Mohamed: I've never had a plan. I just grabbed chances and opportunities and that requires staying to date with new technology and usually explore the new updates!However, my daily plan, on the other hand, is to complete a responsive daily checklist with all pending and new tasks categorized by priority.Heba: I often say that maintaining success is more difficult than achieving it, so my long-term strategy is to build on what I've accomplished so far, set new goals and challenges, and work hard to achieve them.
Judy at a graduation celebration
Who has been the single biggest influence on your life?
Mohamed: The most influential people in my life have always been the people closest to me. So my beloved Mom, wife, family, and the closest friends are the biggest influence on my life.
Heba: Of course, my beloved husband, Mom, Dad, all my family, and all friends closest to me.
Hamza is one of the influential people in my life, especially his talk at lunch time, he is a mature and healthy talk
What’s your favorite quote?
Mohamed: my favorite quote is: It is never too late to be what you might have been. And remember the opportunities don't happen, you create them! Heba: Don’t be afraid to make mistakes and see them as an opportunity to learn.
Thank you, Mohamed and Heba, for your contributions to the community! It was great interview and I loved to meet you and to hear from you directly. It's always nice to know more about the person behind the name.
Please join me all in thanking Mohamed and Heba, our first MVP family in Middle East and Africa
Community, the final frontier
– Ronen Ariely,
