(((Quoted from the official page of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research)))

The Minister of Higher Education chairs the meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities at Sadat City University

In preparation for the new academic year...The Minister of Higher Education directs:

• Preparing early for the new academic year and announcing study schedules before the start of the academic year.
• Universities develop student activity plans and awareness and education seminars for students on various challenges.
• The Council discusses promoting Egyptian universities at home and abroad.
• The Council approves the rules and controls for promotions for teaching staff members in the new session.
• The Minister of Higher Education praises the inclusion of 6 Egyptian universities among the top 1,000 universities in the world in the Chinese Shanghai ranking for the year 2025.

Moreover, the Supreme Council of Universities held its regular meeting today, Saturday, headed by Dr. Ayman Ashour, the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research. It was attended by Dr. Mustafa Refaat, the Secretary of the Council, and the Council members at the headquarters of Sadat City University.

The Council thanked the Sadat City University community, headed by Dr. Shaden Muawiyah, President of the University, for hosting the meeting of the Supreme Council of Universities.

The Council thanked Dr. Shaden Muawiyah, the President of Sadat City University, whose term as president of its university expired in mid-September. The Council also appreciated the development achieved by Her Excellency in all paths of university work, which had the best impact in improving the education system and serving the local community.

Furthermore, the Council congratulated Dr. Ismail Ismail Ibrahim on assuming the position of Acting President of Kafr El-Sheikh University. The Council also congratulated Dr. Tarek Ali Mohamed on assuming the position of Acting President of Beni Suef University. As well, the Council congratulated Dr. Amr Ahmed El-Masry on assuming the position of Acting President of Matrouh University, wishing them success during the coming period.

The Council also congratulated Dr. Mustafa Refaat, the Secretary of the Supreme Council of Universities, and the Council's secretariat community, on the occasion of the Council obtaining 4 ISO certificates, as the Council obtained the ISO certificate in quality management, the ISO certificate in occupational safety and health management, the ISO certificate in knowledge management, and the ISO certificate in governance management.

The Minister thanked the "Be Prepared" initiative team, under the supervision of Dr. Ayman Farid, the Assistant Minister for Strategic Planning, Training, and Qualification for the Labor Market, and Acting Head of the Cultural Affairs and Missions Sector. The Minister also thanked the university presidents and directors of professional development centers for their great efforts in making the second edition of the "Be Prepared: One Million Innovative Qualifiers" initiative a success.

The Council also thanked the Coordination Office team, under the supervision of Dr Gouda Ghanem, the Head of the Education Sector and General Supervisor of the Coordination Office, for their outstanding efforts during the previous coordination stages.

Then, the Minister thanked the General Department of the Ministry's Media Office and Official Spokesperson, under Dr Adel Abdel Ghaffar, the Ministry's Media Advisor and Official Spokesperson, for its prominent role in educating students on how to coordinate.

He also thanked the department for its important role in promoting the presidential initiative "Be Prepared" in cooperation with the universities' media departments.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research stressed the need for universities to develop plans for various student activities (sports, arts, culture, and social), and to support talented students before the start of the new academic year. He also noted that student activities are one of the most important foundations of the educational system, which aims to strengthen and support team spirit, consolidate and strengthen human connections among students, and are one of the most important ways for students to integrate into society.

The Minister directed the development of plans to implement awareness and educational seminars for students on various challenges, enhance their sense of belonging, and intensify awareness campaigns for students to confront concepts and ideas that conflict with the tolerant religious beliefs and authentic cultural and societal legacies of the Egyptians, in preparation for the 2025/2026 academic year.

As part of the preparations for the start of the new academic year 2025/2026, Dr Ayman Ashour directed early preparation for the new academic year and for colleges to announce the study schedules early before the start of the academic year, so that students can familiarize themselves with them well before the start of the study.

Dr Ayman Ashour praised the achievements made in terms of international university rankings, including the inclusion of 6 Egyptian universities among the top 1000 universities in the world in the Chinese Shanghai Ranking 2025, which is one of the most prestigious global rankings. The minister also directed that universities should continue to provide support to researchers to increase scientific publications in prestigious scientific journals to raise the ranking of Egyptian universities in major international rankings.

Hence, the Council heard a report on the most prominent activities of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research during the month of August. As well, Ayman Ashour highlighted his visit to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he visited the headquarters of Elsevier to strengthen cooperation with the Egyptian Knowledge Bank and join the network of fourth-generation universities, and expand the scope of current cooperation in the fields of scientific publishing, access to international databases, and the integration of artificial intelligence tools in scientific research. The minister also visited the headquarters of the global company Incision and signed a series of strategic contracts between the Egyptian Knowledge Bank and the company.

Dr. Ayman Ashour participated in a meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister for Human Development and Minister of Health and Population, to strengthen the research partnership in the field of combating cancer diseases, developing innovative treatment solutions, and developing disease detection and accurate diagnosis systems, in cooperation between the Ministries of Higher Education, Health, and Population, and the British University of Oxford.

Dr. Ayman Ashour also participated in the meeting of the Palestinian Prime Minister and several ministers. The minister reviewed the executive plan and the program document for the reconstruction plan, where the minister supervised the working team that prepared the Gaza reconstruction plan, which was adopted at the emergency Arab summit hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt last March, and stressed the importance of ensuring the effectiveness and sustainability of the plan, including in terms of construction, infrastructure and services, and the continued coordination and joint work between the working team and representatives of the Palestinian side to finalize the executive plan in its final form.

The Minister of Higher Education met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Immigration, and Egyptian Expatriates Affairs, where the two ministers discussed developments related to agreements, programs and memoranda of understanding between Egypt and various countries in the field of higher education. Dr. Ayman Ashour also met with heads of Egyptian missions transferred abroad, where the Minister reviewed the efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education in consolidating cooperation ties with educational universities abroad, and emphasizing the pivotal role played by cultural offices abroad.

The Minister held a meeting with the Minister of Labor to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and integration between the two ministries, which would benefit from enhancing the capabilities of students and graduates and qualifying them to meet the requirements of the labor market.

Dr. Ayman Ashour also held a meeting with the Minister of Public Business Sector to discuss mechanisms for enhancing joint cooperation between the two ministries in the fields of training and qualification in order to achieve the state's goals of linking education outcomes to the labor market, and to discuss mechanisms for maximizing the benefit from a number of assets owned by companies of the Ministry of Public Business Sector and entities affiliated with the Ministry of Higher Education; in a way that ensures achieving the highest economic and social return, and contributes to supporting the state's efforts towards the optimal use of resources.

In addition, the minister held a meeting with the Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and the President of the University of Sharjah and his accompanying delegation to discuss means of cooperation between the two sides in the academic, scientific and research fields, and ways to maximize the benefit of research outputs between Egyptian universities and their UAE counterparts, for the benefit of the two brotherly countries.

The Minister also met with the Chancellor of the Presidential Court in the United Arab Emirates to discuss ways of enhancing cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, especially in the fields of scientific research, linking with industry and the knowledge economy, and exchanging academic expertise, in addition to following up on the executive status of the Alexandria University branch in Abu Dhabi.

Under the auspices of Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly, Dr. Ayman Ashour inaugurated the 9th edition of the Akhbar Al-Youm Higher Education Exhibition, which was held under the title "Uni Egypt" and was organized by Akhbar Al-Youm Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education.

Dr Ayman Ashour inaugurated the medical complex of the Taaleem Foundation in Beni Suef governorate, which reflects the fruitful cooperation between state institutions and the private sector in serving citizens, and represents a qualitative leap for healthcare services in Beni Suef governorate and contributes to improving the level of health services provided.

The minister witnessed the Central Bank of Egypt, in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Supreme Council of Universities, and the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI), launch a bachelor's degree program in banking sciences in the faculties of commerce in several Egyptian universities starting from the academic year 2025/2026. The minister also witnessed the signing of two partnership agreements between the Banking Institute and Cairo and Sohag Universities to implement the new educational program, starting from the academic year 2025/2026.

Dr Ayman Ashour chaired several meetings, including the Private Universities Council meeting, the Private Higher Institutes Affairs Council meeting, the Zewail City for Science, Technology and Innovation Board of Trustees meeting, and the Petroleum Research Institute Board of Directors meeting.

Dr Ayman Ashour also received new resident representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Egypt to discuss ways to enhance cooperation in the field of innovation and scientific research during the coming period, as well as discuss aspects of cooperation between the ministry and the program in the project "Transforming Egypt into a sustainable innovative knowledge society".

The minister met with delegations from Edinburgh Napier University and Queen Margaret University in the UK to discuss aspects of cooperation in areas of common interest with Egyptian universities, support efforts in the field of cross-border education, enhance Egypt's position as a regional center for higher education, exchange academic expertise with universities in Egypt, and discuss mechanisms to complete the procedures to establish two branches of the two universities to be hosted by the University Capital Foundation (Capital).

At the invitation of the Minister of Higher Education, the procedural session was held to elect the boards of trustees of three private universities (Alamein International University, Galala University, and New Mansoura University), and the chairmen and vice chairmen of the boards of trustees were elected.

Several meetings were held with ministers, ambassadors, foreign officials, and delegations of foreign universities to discuss mechanisms to promote joint scientific and research cooperation.

Dr Adel Abdel Ghaffar, the Media Advisor and Official Spokesperson of the Ministry, said that the Council followed up on the efforts of the committee formed under the chairmanship of Dr Abdelaziz Konsowa, the President of Alexandria University, to promote Egyptian universities through various platforms by producing diverse digital content that addresses the target groups at home and abroad. The Council reviewed the efforts of the General Administration of the Media Office and the Official Spokesperson of the Ministry in cooperation with the media departments at universities and the Central Administration for International Student Affairs. He also reviewed the features of the executive plan to promote Egyptian universities at home and abroad during the next few years.

The official spokesperson added that the council approved the rules and regulations of the scientific committees to examine the scientific production of applicants for the positions of professor and assistant professor in the fifteenth session (2025/2028), which will be announced on the website of the Supreme Council of Universities (SCU).

The Council approved the visual identity guide for the University of Hurghada, which includes guidelines for the use of the logo and official colours, templates for publications and promotional materials, design standards for digital platforms and social media, and settings for events and institutional gifts.

The Council reviewed the annual report of the Egyptian Student Engagement Survey for the year 2024/2025.

It also reviewed two reports on the achievements of Cairo and Banha Universities for the academic year 2024/2025.

The Council also reviewed two reports on the achievements of South Valley and Sohag Universities for the academic years 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.