Forum for High Education and Scientific Research to kick off April 4

CAIRO – 1 April 2019: Under the auspices of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research will launch the International Forum for High Education and Scientific Research on April 4-6 at Almasa Hotel in the New Administrative Capital.

This announcement came during Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghafar’s speech at the opening ceremony of the regional headquarters of the Union of African Universities at Al-Azhar University.

The minister added that the forum is titled “Between the Present and the Future” and universities from 36 countries will take part in the forum, pointing out that the forum will discuss several issues related to education.

Abdel Ghafar added that the inauguration of the African Universities Federation in Egypt aims to achieve the development goals in the African continent.

Abdel Ghaffar announced on March 18 that the 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 the forum 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.