Layal Hakim is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Exeter. Layal grew up in a large family of 8 children from a low-income, ethnic minority background. During her teens, Layal was educated for short periods in Lebanon. This changed the course of her direction academically.

Layal graduated from Brunel University in 2010 with a BSc in Mathematics. In October 2010, she started a PhD, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. Her thesis titled 'Numerical Analysis of a Cohesive Zone Model Approach for Time and History Dependent Materials’ won the Dean's Prize for Innovation and Impact in Doctoral Research at Brunel University London in February 2015, and a Merit Prize for best student paper at the International Conference of Applied and Engineering Mathematics, part of the World Congress of Engineering in July 2013. Layal worked as an early career researcher at Imperial College London and joined the Mathematics Department at the University of Exeter in April 2018.

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