Malak Abdelghaffar

When I was a little kid, I’d write and illustrate short stories, and my 3rd-grade teacher told me “One day, you’ll become a writer!” This dream never left my mind, and I’ve dedicated all my energy towards achieving that goal since that day.

I lived in Cairo growing up then moved to Abu Dhabi to attend NYU, where I majored in Literature and Creative Writing. During my time there, I co-authored a children’s book and realized I wanted to focus on children’s education and literature. I then got an Erasmus Mundus scholarship and moved to Europe for my MA in Children’s Literature and Media, where I studied in Glasgow, Aarhus, and Barcelona and worked in multiple children’s education start-ups and companies with a focus on content strategy.

For my MA thesis, I conducted a research study on how parents can use generative AI, particularly ChatGPT, to co-create personalized stories for their children because I am very interested in the benefits of personalized learning for young children 0-11 years. On another continent, Nookly was being born and I think we were destined to find each other. Soul mates? I think yes.