International Forum for High Education and Scientific Research to be held in April

CAIRO - 18 March 2019: The International Forum for High Education and Scientific Research will be held under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi on April 4 - 6 where universities from 36 countries will take part.

Minister of High Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar announced on Monday that participating countries include France, Greece, Finland, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, Switzerland, Montenegro, United States, Canada, China, India, Kazakhstan, Australia, Nigeria, Chad, Somalia, Zambia, Mauritania, Togo, Tanzania, Morocco, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Sudan, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

The total number of universities and educational establishments' representatives attending is 1,500 including those of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt (BFCE), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the European Union (EU), the British Council, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Foundation, African Development Bank, UNESCO, Quacquarelli Symonds that publishes QS World University Rankings annually, the Association of Arab Universities, and the Association of African Universities.

The topics to be discussed include the return on investment (ROI) of high education, scientific research and innovation, the challenges facing the sector on the global scale in light of the accelerating development of IT and digital transformation, AI, job opportunities and qualifying students for labor market, ensuring quality in educational and scientific establishments, expanding in modern research fields, importance of international rankings, the different criteria used in rankings, modernization of curricula to meet development requirements, and capacity-building of students and faculty members in the realm of scientific research and education.