Dr. opened. Ayman Ashour, Minister of higher education and scientific research, workshop “achievements and launch of the second phase of the program “pioneers and scientists of Egypt”, within the framework of the launch of the second batch of the program of pioneers and scientists of Egypt provided by the USAID, and implemented by the Ministry of higher education and scientific research in cooperation with the American University in Cairo, in the presence of Mrs. evenia sidrias, deputy head of mission at the American embassy, and Dr. Ahmed Dalal, president of the American University in Cairo, and Dr. Sean Jones, director of the USAID Mission in Egypt, and Dr. Ehab Abdel Rahman, academic president of the American University in Cairo, and Dr. Jonah Lai is the acting deputy director of the Office of education and partnerships, and Dr. Dina Wafa, acting director of the program of pioneers and scientists of Egypt, with the participation of a number of governors and heads of public universities, private universities, research centers and government sector entities, a number of ministry leaders, higher education and scientific research experts.
In his speech, the minister pointed out that the workshop comes within several steps taken by the ministry in order to achieve educational and development goals consistent with the national strategies of the state and Egypt’s Vision 2030, and as an extension of the implementation of the national strategy for higher education and scientific research, and the ministry’s efforts to strengthen fruitful partnerships with international institutions.
The minister praised the role of the “pioneers and scientists of Egypt” program, which is based on developing the skills of cadres working in the governmental and non-governmental sectors, and its impact on raising the efficiency of the performance of various sectors, and its reflection on the Sustainable Development Goals of Egypt, thanking the USAID and the American University in Cairo for cooperation in the implementation of this program, praising the achievements achieved by the first batch of the program.
Dr. confirmed.Ayman Ashour stressed the ministry’s keenness to align the goals of higher education with the requirements of the labor market, focusing on the training and academic needs of governmental and non-governmental institutions that will strengthen the Egyptian economy, as well as linking the program with the “alliance and Development” Initiative and making sure that the seven regions benefit from the grants provided, pointing out the need to diversify the topics presented in the program according to the developments of the development process needs at the moment, and ensure integration in work, and follow-up beneficiaries later to get training to apply their results in practice.
For her part, Ms. evenia sidrias, deputy chief of mission of the American embassy in Cairo, explained her country’s interest in education, which she sees as the key to achieving dreams, as well as its support for promoting innovation, building permanent partnerships with friendly countries that contribute to achieving sustainable prosperity, pointing to her happiness to celebrate today the first batch of the program of pioneers and scientists of Egypt, and the achievements he achieved, explaining her country’s keenness to support ties with Egypt in the field of education and training, and investing in raising the efficiency of human resources; to impact on investment and accelerate the development process.
Ms. evenia thanked the minister for his support for this program, and the American University in Cairo for its role in managing this program in the best possible way.
Dr. Ahmed Dalal, president of the American University in Cairo, stressed the University’s pride in implementing the “pioneers and scientists of Egypt” program, in cooperation with the Egyptian government under the auspices of the Ministry of higher education and scientific research, and with the support of the U.S. Agency for international development, pointing out that the program aims to enhance the capabilities of government employees and professionals in the middle of their career paths to work effectively with the private and public sector, in order to serve the state’s vision for national development, and it is consistent in its vision with the priorities of the American University in Cairo, as an educational institution always working to achieve academic and research excellence, community service, and exerting effort in building the capabilities of the workforce to keep pace with the requirements of the He also appreciated the constructive cooperation between the ministry and the American University in this program.
And the presentation of Dr. Ayman Farid, Assistant Minister for strategic planning, training and qualification for the labor market, stressed the importance of the workshop within the framework of the clear vision of the national strategy for higher education and scientific research in supporting training and qualification, and providing grants, pointing out that the importance of this program is due to the fact that it is provided to more than one sector, and the program plan is developed every year to meet the development requirements in the country and its needs, and the challenges it faces, thanking the USAID and the American University in Cairo, noting the role of these programs in confirming the country’s orientation towards international cooperation, communication and other principles of the strategy.
The workshop dealt with the introduction of the program, the stages of application, admission criteria, and the application form for joining the second batch, as well as encouraging those interested in benefiting their employees from the opportunities available from the program to complete the application form, and included a review of the most important results of the first batch, and sharing lessons learned from them.
The events included several dialogue sessions between the program candidates and communication officials, and the team of the “pioneers and scientists of Egypt” program, and participants presented their experience in the first batch, future success strategies, sharing the innovative visions they came up with, and ways to employ them to contribute to making a change in government institutions to ensure sustainable success, in addition to a presentation to introduce the method of filling out the form and the stages of applying for the program.
It is noteworthy that the “pioneers and scholars of Egypt” program, provided by the US Agency for international development with a funding of 86 million dollars, aims to build the capabilities of Egyptian cadres working in the governmental and non-governmental sectors in the middle of their career path, by providing scholarships for Masters, post-doctoral studies, and a set of short-term trainings in Egypt and the United States of America, in areas that: (Tourism, Culture and heritage, industry, trade and logistics, supply chains, public health with a focus on hospital management), in addition to two possible sectors (climate change and technology).
