The letter of intent was signed by Dr. Obada Sarhan, president of the future University, and Professor Stephen McGuire, vice-chancellor of the University of East Anglia for international affairs.
The minister stressed the importance of strengthening international partnerships between local universities and their counterparts from prestigious international institutions, and benefiting from distinguished international experiences to benefit the educational and research system in Egypt, in line with achieving the goals and principles of the national strategy for higher education and scientific research, and the principle of international reference, pointing out that the internationalization of Egyptian higher education contributes to the state plan to make Egypt a distinguished educational destination in the Arab region and the Middle East and investing its long history in the field of higher education and scientific research.
The minister praised the distinguished relations between Egypt and Britain in the fields of higher education and scientific research, and the opening of more channels of joint cooperation, expressing his hope that the new agreement will represent a fruitful addition to many previous cooperation agreements between Egyptian universities and their British counterparts.
Dr. Ayman Ashour pointed to the ministry’s efforts to expand the availability of higher education and increase the number of students enrolled in university education, where the number of students for this academic year reached 3.8 million students, pointing to the role of expansions conducted by the state in accommodating the continuous increase in student numbers.
The minister praised the level achieved by Egyptian universities in the development of study programs, scientific publishing and improving their ranking in international rankings, praising future university, which is one of the distinguished universities within the Egyptian higher education system, and achieving many positive results within international rankings.
Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed the need for cooperation between the two universities to focus on interdisciplinary and interdisciplinary programs, especially vital topics that affect development needs, noting the “alliance and Development” Initiative, which aims to link the plan of study programs at universities with the needs of the region in terms of development goals, as well as achieving the principle of “integration” with other educational and industrial institutions within the region to achieve the maximum possible benefit.
For his part, Dr. Obada Sarhan thanked the minister for supporting this cooperation, pointing out the University’s interest in deepening its international partnerships and keeping up with the latest developments in the fields and scientific disciplines offered by the University.
The British side expressed its appreciation for Egypt’s significant development in the infrastructure of the higher education sector, stressing that the British side welcomes cooperation in the academic and research field with Egyptian universities.
Professor McGuire explained that the letter of intent allows cooperation in a number of disciplines that are characteristic of the University of East Anglia, such as (economics, accounting, computer science, as well as the medical field).
The meeting was attended by Professor Stephen Laycock, dean of the Faculty of computing at the University of East Anglia, Ms. Karen Blakeney, assistant director of the International Bureau, and Mr. Ghaith qatarnah, regional director of the University