The German Ambassador to Cairo, Frank Hartmann, stated that the education file is of the utmost importance to the German government.
The German Ambassador to Cairo, Frank Hartmann, said that in the field of pre-university education, there is interest in qualifying teachers and building capacities in schools.
After the meeting with the Director of Education in Aswan Governorate, Abd al-Karim Lotfy expressed the governorate’s intense need to train German language teachers, as 19,000 students are studying German in the governorate, adding that Egypt is the second largest country in the world that has German schools after Spain.
The ambassador stressed that training to qualify teachers includes training on curricula, teaching methods, and school administration, not just language teaching.
As for the field of higher education, the ambassador added, there is already cooperation with the German Academic Exchange Service, which has offices in Cairo.
“A large number of Egyptians have been granted scholarships in Germany, and we are currently trying to expand these scholarships to Aswan. There are German universities represented at the “Germany Days” events, and there is already close cooperation between 30 German universities and Aswan University in the field of scientific publishing.” He added.
For his part, Ayman Othman, President of Aswan University, stated during the opening of the Germany Days activities that the relationship with Germany is very strong. This is especially true in the field of scientific cooperation. He added that this close cooperation allowed Aswan University to have an advanced ranking at the level of universities in the world.
The German ambassador inaugurated recently the “Germany Days”, which will last for two days, during the ambassador’s current visit to Aswan.
Through this special series of activities and events, Germany wants to bring German culture, language, and education closer to the people of Aswan and encourage exchange and dialogue, together with the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the Goethe-Institut, the German Archaeological Institute (DAI) in addition to many German universities. In close cooperation with Aswan University, a diverse program has been arranged that includes:
Sessions on studying and working in Germany.
Research opportunities in Aswan and Germany.
An individual counselling session with German universities.
Workshops on scientific research and intercultural communication.
Lectures by experts in archaeology.
A panel discussion on renewable energy and biodiversity.
Movies and shows.
All events and activities are free and open to the public.
Among the participating universities is the Free University of Berlin, the Technical University of Berlin, the University of Marburg, and the University of Cologne (online).