Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and Ministry of Youth and Sports signed a cooperation protocol on Monday, upon which the latter will host the activities that will take place under the Digital Egypt Builders Initiative.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, and Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy witnessed the signing ceremony via videoconference.
The protocol, which will run for a period of three years, aims to implement a sports and health programme for those joining the initiative, launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. This will ensure the development of the capabilities of outstanding graduates from the Faculties of Engineering, Computers and Information Technology.
These graduates will also be granted a professional Master’s degree from major international universities in an in-depth specialisation relating to the communications and information technology (CIT) field. These specialisations cover: data science; artificial intelligence (AI); cybersecurity; robotics and automation; and digital arts.
In addition to being able to access postgraduate study opportunities, the graduates will be able to access training certificates approved by international technology companies.
Talaat said that the protocol completes the fruitful cooperation between the two Ministries.
He added that the “Digital Egypt Builders” initiative aims to ensure that young people graduate with integrated skills and capabilities.
This comes particularly in light of the Ministry of Youth and Sports having implemented sports and educational activities for young people joining the initiative.
For his part, Sobhy praised the fruitful cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology at various levels as a partner in implementing a group of different programmes and projects.
He pointed to the importance of participating in raising the scientific competence of young people and developing their skills in various fields. This is set to take place through a package of specialised training programmes implemented by the ministry, in cooperation with various institutions and stakeholders.
The protocol aims to boost cooperation between the two Ministries in making the Gezira Youth Center and the Civil Education Center the temporary headquarters for the Digital Egypt Builders Initiative.
This will also see accommodation services provided at the Gezira Youth Center Hotel and the Civil Education Center Hotel, to accommodate expatriate male and female students taking part in the initiative.
Classrooms, laboratories, and halls of faculty and administrators will also be provided, as well as the preparation and implementation of a sports, health, and recreational programme. The latter programme has been designed to contain many different sports activities, including programmes for building fitness and developing sports talents in various games.
The cooperation between the two ministries comes as part of the endeavour to provide an interactive learning environment that stimulates creativity and excellence, and in which global knowledge and technologies are transferred.
It also aims to ensure that the skills of the target university graduates in the field of modern technologies, as well as in CIT, are developed to keep pace with technological developments, to meet the requirements of the local and global labour market. At the same time, it will prepare a generation of young people and enable them to achieve the state’s strategic vision.
As part of the Digital Egypt Builders initiative, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology signed, earlier this month, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the University of Ottawa to offer a professional Master’s degree programme.
Students will be able to access postgraduate courses in electrical and computer engineering in the fields of AI, data science, the Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. A further MoU was signed with the Ohio State University, to offer a technical Master’s programme in the field of cybersecurity.
Elementary entrance examinations and personal interviews were completed for 450 students. A pass in the TOEFL English language exam is required for attendance at international universities.
