Architect, conservationist and director of Old City of Jerusalem Revitalisation Programme, Shadia Touqan graduated with a Baccalaureate degree in Architecture in 1969 from Cairo University. She obtained a Masters in Urban Design from Manchester University in 1981, and attained a PhD in Urban Development and Planning from Development  Planning Unit/ Bartlett School of Architecture from the University of London in 1995. She worked as an architect on a number of projects in the UK, Jordan, UAE, other Arab countries and is an expert on urban development of Palestinian towns.