The convening of the Egyptian-French The Egyptian-French Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research in Cairo the other day kicked off yesterday for two days and the launch of the second international conference for technological education yesterday imply renewed indication of the state’s keenness on energizing local potentials and external relations in the direction of empowering higher education to concomitantly meet the requirements of sustainable development and keep abreast with world standards.
It’s a profoundly significant approach indeed, given higher education’s growing role in backing up the achievement of societal goals and promoting observance of international standards in the content and mission of the entire system of higher education and scientific research. This combination of local developmental considerations and global trends acquires additional value as the world is witnessing increasing reliance on such rising technologies as artificial intelligence, online administrative and financial exchanges, and industrial modernisation.
The forum’s convening came also as Presidents Sisi and Macron co-signed a declaration upgrading relations between Egypt and France to strategic partnership and oversaw the concluding of memoranda of understanding for co-operation in the areas of priority, including higher education. would usher in a new stage of academic co-operation between Egypt and France with focus on such disciplines of contemporary interest as technological and environmental sciences within the framework of Egypt’s national strategy for higher education and scientific research as Higher Education Minister Ayman Ashour noted in published statements.
As a channel for the exchange of ideas and expertise, the Forum is also expected to explore ways of co-operation between Egyptian and French academic institutions especially through linking higher education to the development of industries and the growth of the national economy, and supporting innovation and creativity.
Also illustrative of the growing trend to optimise higher education’s capacity to back up comprehensive and sustainable development goals is the theme of the Egypt’s second edition of the international conference on technological education (SCTE:2025): “Today’s Education for Jobs of the Future”. In itself, the theme serves to highlight the expanding link between higher education’s content and its role in socio-economic development in a world where a demonstrable merger of science and high-tech is noticeably influencing almost all forms of human activity.
Inviting a large number of experts to this year’s SCTE reflects the state’s interest in asserting the higher education system’s capability to interact with world standards across the entire spectrum of higher education functions. And it was in encouragement of this attitude that the Higher Education Ministry has reportedly invited more than two thousand Egyptian participants representing the academia, industry and technology pioneers, various educational authorities, Cabinet ministries, experts and staff members of technological universities. As Minister Ayman Ashour indicated in published statements, the other day, ensuring such a wide national and foreign participation in the work of SCTE 2025 contributes to the realisation of a quality leap in the performance of the country’s technological education system—admittedly a highly instrumental asset in the drive to localise modern industries, spread the utilisation of advanced technology in the largest possible areas of economic activity and broaden the base of qualified human resources.
