British Council selects 55 Egyptian scholars to receive Newton Mosharafa PhD scholarships

 

Cairo, 18 April  2021- The British Council, in partnership with the Central department of Missions, jointly selected 55 PhD scholars to be funded by the Newton Mosharafa programme to pursue part or all of their PhD studies in the UK Higher Education Inistitutes.

 

In light of Covid19 restrictions and as part of the digitization process which is part of the Egypt 20-30 strategy, the Egyptian Higher Education system delivered the entire PhD call electronically, including the application phase, the technical review, and the virtual interviews for candidates. The call generated 94 applications, with almost a 60% acceptance rate

 

This year saw a high participation by women, where 60% of applications were submitted by female scholars, and 70% of scholarships were awarded to women.

 

Applications received through the online process came from across Egypt spanning Delta to Aswan and covering different scientific fields such as: Medicine, Engineering, Dental, Pharma, Agriculture and Environmental sciences.

 

Elizabeth White, Country Director at the British Council in Egypt, said: “Cross-cultural collaboration in the science field is vital for tackling global challenges and addressing issues such as poverty, climate change, and peace and security in developing countries. Our work in Egypt over the past 7 years has strengthened innovation and scientific research in both Egypt and the UK, and is a result of our continuous effort to foster this collaboration between UK and Egyptian scientists, institutions and universities.”

 

 The focus of the programme is to advance the capacity of the Egyptian science sector; increase the amount of quality scientific research and innovation being carried out in Egypt; and help mitigate the negative effects of the social and economic challenges faced by Egypt, through research and innovation. 

 

This brings the total number of recipients of scholarships from the Newton-Mosharafa Fund - the largest bilateral science programme in Egypt with a £55 million GBP investment in science and innovation in Egypt – to 307.

 

This program is cofinanced between the UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The Newton-Mosharafa PhD scholarship programme is delivered by the British Council in partnership with the Central Department of Mission

 

Ashraf Al Azizi, Director of the Egyptian Cultural Affairs and Missions Sector said “We are proud to continuously participate in the Newton Mohsarafa fund programme that strengthen the scientific relationship between Egypt and the UK. The programme has shown an evident impact on growing the pool of the talented scientists and researchers in Egypt."

 

All scholars and researchers selected are affiliated to a diverse number of universities and institutions from different governorates across Egypt including Cairo, Delta, Port Said, Suez Canal and Upper Egypt.

 

Those awarded joint supervision PhD scholars will spend a year carrying out research at a UK Higher Education institution as part of a PhD at an Egyptian university whilst General Mission PhD scholars will spend a full three year PhD with degree awarded by a UK Higher Education institution.