Masa Khaldoun Haikal

Masa Haikal is studying the Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences here at IE University. She has always been intrigued by human behavior and its implications, especially in uncovering human insight. The Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences focuses on understanding, analyzing and positively impacting people in the real world, and this is what she aspires to do.

Masa was born and raised in Amman, Jordan, and went to high school there. As she was approaching the end of her high-school education, she was sure that she wanted to study something related to human behavior, but didn’t know exactly what. Masa chose IE University because she believes that it offers a multi-dimensional approach to learning and that the courses aren’t limited to certain areas. Discovering that the four years consisted of a wide range of different subjects also helped make up her mind.

Throughout her university years she has taken an active role in her class community, and has been chosen as class representative multiple times. Moreover, taking into account that the Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences is a new course, it seemed important to her to guide new students. So she and other students started the Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences mentorship program. The purpose of this program is to improve the first-year student experience, build a bridge between the Madrid and Segovia campuses and foster a sense of community between the students on the course.

In her free time, Masa designs hats. She is the founder of Hattitude, a fashion-industry startup, where she hand-paints and customizes hats. The idea started when she collaborated with the King Hussein Cancer Foundation in Jordan, selling hats and donating the money to patients who could not afford cancer treatment. After the collaboration ended, she decided to re-brand, and started a fashion industry business. The courses that she is taking in the Bachelor in Behavior and Social Sciences have helped her a lot with her startup, as she learns theoretical aspects in class and then takes her learning a step further by applying it to Hattitude. Part of her course is the study of human behavior, and she uses this knowledge to understand consumers and analyze their activities. This not only increases customer satisfaction, but also helps in driving strategic decisions.