Draft:Mais Taha

A Jordanian-Jerusalemite architectural engineer and international pioneer who has contributed to nature conservation and eco-design in the EMEA region.

Mais was born in Saudi Arabia in 1983 to parents from the education sector. Her father, Mohammed Taha, was a student counselor, while her mother, Jamileh Khourshid Holozada, worked as a school administrator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and Jordan. Her mother was also an artist who participated in several art exhibitions in Amman and Jerusalem.

Mais is the youngest among her siblings, and her family is well known for being highly intelligent, educated, and well-mannered. Her relative, Qudesieh Khourshid, was a Palestinian novelist, and her uncle, Jawad Khourshid, was a telecommunications expert who changed the infrastructure of the telecommunication system in Jordan in 1996. Meanwhile, her brother, Abed Taha, has contributed to several patents in Switzerland and Germany during his career.

Mais went through the typical 14-year education system in Jordan, starting with kindergarten in a private school, attending primary school at The Military Housing School and Fatima Al-Zahra School, and finishing high school at the Al-Bayan Private School, where her siblings also studied and worked.

After high school, Mais joined Mutah University for one year to study civil engineering, and these three semesters had a great influence on her character and career. She earned an honors degree in her second and third semesters and later transferred to the University of Jordan, where she graduated from the Architectural Engineering faculty.

Her graduation project was a sign of advanced innovation and futuristic thinking; she designed a kinetic architecture project in 2005–2006, featuring spaces that could adapt to user and spatial environment needs.

In 2006, right after graduation, she had two interviews on the same day: one with the Great Arab Minds winner Sahel Al-Hiyari, and the other with the Consolidated Consultants (CC) Group's Jafar Tukan team, where she worked for seven years before moving to Switzerland for her master's degree.

During her time at Consolidated Consultants, she mainly served as a technical architect and deputy project manager for international projects. Notable projects include:

• 2011–2012: Jabal Omar Project (Saudi Arabia) – Construction Drawings – Team Leader.
• 2010: 2000 Residential Units & Public Buildings (Libya) – Kindergarten Deputy Project Manager.
• 2009: Yasser Arafat Memorial Museum – Deputy Project Manager and Technical Drawings Development.
• 2009: Shams Al-Riyadh Sales Center (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia) – Preliminary Design Development.
• 2009: CC 4th Building (Amman, Jordan) – Working Drawings Development.
• 2008: Ma'an Development Area (Ma'an, Jordan) – Coordinator with Departments and Working Drawings.
• 2008: The Visitor Center (Amman, Jordan) – Coordinator with Departments and Technical Drawing Development.
• 2008: Diar Damascus (Damascus, Syria) – Concept Design Unit (Report and Presentation).
• 2007: Medium and Small Courts, Zayed City Site (Abu Dhabi, UAE) – Concept Preliminary Design Development.
• 2007: Al-Jiza Residential City (Amman, Jordan) – Technical Drawings Development Support.
• 2007: Baccalaureate School Kindergarten (Amman, Jordan) – Final Presentation.
• 2007: Cinmar Buildings (Dubai, UAE) – Final Presentation.
• 2007: RAK Ceramic (UAE) – Technical Drawings Development.
• 2007: Damac Business Development (Amman, Jordan) – Technical Drawings Development.
• 2007: Jordan Gate (Amman, Jordan) – Technical Drawings Development.
• 2006–2007: Damac Residential Development (Amman, Jordan) – Concept Design and Technical Drawings.
• 2006: Damac Business Bay (Dubai, UAE) – Concept Design.
• 2006: H.R.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan Tower (Abu Dhabi, UAE) – Concept Design.
• 2006: Qatar Chancery – Concept Design and Presentation.

In 2012, Mais moved to Switzerland, where she completed her master's degree in Strategic Facilities Management at ZHAW, specializing in sustainable workplace efficiency and effectiveness [1].

• 2011: Founded Hackberry Tree eco-brands, focusing on co-branding and luxury eco-products design (Celtis).
• 2014: Represented ZHAW at the EuroFM Conference 2014 Students Poster Competition.
• 2015: Finalist in the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Award for FM through BIM Digital Design.
• 2016: Designer at Amman Design Week (Pouring Installation).
• 2017: Designer at Dubai Design Week (Redefining the Cube Water Fountain).
• 2017–2019: Investors' representative for a renovation project.
• 2019–2021: Led digital transformation in two Maltese companies.
• 2019: Shortlisted for the Women in Construction Award for Best Architectural Technologist.
• 2021: Founded her first startup, Mais Taha InovaXion PlatformZ Ltd [2].
• 2021: Won the Malta American Embassy Award for the Women Entrepreneurs project iPX-XEROWASTE.
• 2021: Finalist in the Queen Rania National Entrepreneurship Award for the Medical Internet of Things Management System for Pandemics and Active Ageing.
• 2021: Joined Founder Institute Switzerland.
• 2022: Recognized as Energy Innovator of Western Europe by the Energy Engineering Association.
• 2022: Founded XROWASTE in the USA (exited in 2025).
• 2022: Funded by Malta Enterprise for the first time for wages.
• 2022: Finalist in EIT Jumpstarter under EIT RawMaterials.
• 2022: Participated in EIT Manufacturing with the REMEmed project and developed the first prototype.
• 2022: Won the TYOP Award by JCI Malta for Sustainable Innovation.
• 2022: Won the Malta Intellectual Property Award for the iPX project [3].
• 2023–2024: Funded for the second time by Malta Enterprise for taxes.
• 2023: Funded by Xjenza Malta for the Horizon Europe networking event EIT RawMaterials Summit.
• 2024: Won the ITU Digital Changemaker Award [4].
• 2025: Participated in GEW2025 Jordan with Queen Rania Centre of Entrepreneurship partners.
• 2025: Participated in Malta TECEXPO.
• 2025: Guest Speaker at MCAST: Bridging the Digital Literacy Gap for Third Generation Classes.
• 2025: Received GTI Recognition for the XUKRA project.
• 2025: Won the EuroFM Award for Best Industry Initiative for the project XUKRA.

[1] ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences): Academic records corresponding to professional profiles for Mais Taha’s graduate studies in Facility Management.

[2] Corporate Registry, Malta: Corporate registration data for Mais Taha Inovaxion Platformz Ltd. (Registration C 99612), headquartered in Għargħur, Malta.

[3] Government of Malta, Commerce Department (2022): Malta Intellectual Property Awards 2022. Official announcement naming Mais Taha the winner of the Emergent Innovator Award for Technological Initiative for the MtiPX iPX framework for Digital Twins.

[4] International Telecommunication Union (ITU) (2024): Global Innovation Forum 2024 Pitch Competition. Official results listing Mais Taha (MTiPX, Malta) as the winner of the Digital Changemaker Category for the XEROWASTE digital certification system.