By Mohamed el-Sayem
I found myself proud of being Egyptian when regional and international scientific and academic circles talk about Dr Ashraf Mansour, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the German University in Egypt (GUE).
Over the course of 22 years, during which I have become close to Dr Ashraf Mansour, I knew him as “a wonderful and unique man. From the academic point of view, he is proficient and creative, and has strong desire to think, create and achieve more successes.
I will remain an eyewitness to his ambitions for developing education, and his obvious achievements in the field.
In the midst of many successes, Dr Mansour adores Egypt and puts it above his priorities. He is eager to contribute to any development process serving the country and Egyptian people out of his sincere citizenship.
Dr Mansour has an exceptional personality and a unique experience in life and science, which made his name a prominent mark in the field of science and education.
He has undergone a long journey, which was not strewn with roses, but rather witnessed challenges and difficulties until he achieved his ambitions.
Had Dr Mansour chosen the easy path and continued his career in Germany after graduating from Ulm University, he would have become its president and obtained the most prestigious awards and highest positions in Berlin.
But he decided to return to his homeland to sustain his scientific career and benefit his country.
Over 22 years of giving, without expecting anything in return, since the founding of the German University in 2002, he has instilled the foundations of science based on building the human resources‘culturally and scientifically’since he believes in the genius of Egyptians, their ability to challenge, and the potential hidden in their minds.
Dr Mansour, who does not know impossible, has transformed the German University in Cairo into an educational fortress and one of the best international universities currently.
The GUE is now competing with its strong counterpart, namely the German International University in the New Administrative Capital, which has written a new history for higher education systems in the whole world.
This “unique” entity has become part of Mansour’s scientific career. He holds a professorship in polymer physics from the German University of Ulm in 1997. He also obtained the German Order of Merit, First Class in 2006, the title of senator from Germany, and the first Egyptian to be chosen as an “honorary member” of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS).
During Al-Gomhuria newspaper trip for high school toppers, Dr Mansour revealed a surprise at the university’s branch in Berlin. He announced full and partial scholarships for outstanding students from public, private, and civil universities in Egypt, who spent a year or a semester at their universities, to complete their studies at the German International University in Berlin (GIU Berlin) for all Egyptian university students, for November 2023 or February 2024 semester.
I hope that we have more than one model of Dr Ashraf Mansour in governmental and private universities, as building human resources has become the foremost priority to achieve comprehensive development launched during the era of President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and is still continuing.
This trend requires university cadres whose goal is to advance scientific research for the future generation.
