CAIRO: Over 800 students graduated from the Information Technology Institute's (ITI) nine-month interactive training program on Sunday, 698 of which (85 percent) secured jobs in different IT companies. This year was the second year ITI formulates the nine-month program in collaboration with private IT companies, who tailor the program's curriculum based on the company's respective needs, providing students with the sufficient technical skills needed in a market of high-caliber professionals. This year over 100 ITI students were hired by two Indian IT companies operating in Egypt. Around 60 companies cooperated with ITI this year to set up a professional curriculum in the different IT domains. "It is with great responsibility and honor that we offer these students to the society, ITI Chairman Mohamed Salem announced at the start of the graduation ceremony. ITI's educational strategy is in line with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology s (MCIT) vision to link training with industry needs. This vision helps raise the trainees' standards through private institutions' monetary and practical contributions that link students with the job market.ITI was founded in 1993 by the Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC), dedicated to paving the way for the evolution of a knowledge-based society by developing a new generation of professionals. Due to its role in the IT field, in April 2005, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif transferred the affiliation of the ITI to the MCIT. Every year, 5,000 graduates of any discipline apply for ITI's training program, which offers 14 different specializations. After extensive written and oral tests, only a limited number is chosen. "Outsourcing and offshoring services, whether to companies working directly in ICT or in ICT enabled sources is one of the ministry's top priorities, MCIT Minister Tarek Kamel said at the ceremony. The ministry believes that Business Process Offshoring (BPO) and the Knowledge Process Offshoring (KPO) are to take Egypt's IT sector to a new level. Due to the high cost of trained IT employees in the US and Europe, these countries outsource to markets with cheaper labor. IT experts see that Egypt has the potential to be a top offshoring country, along with India and China, in light of the increasing average age in Europe that has pushed them to import expertise or outsource projects. Egypt's geographic location also gives it a comparative advantage over European countries, as well as India and China. "With its commitment to these initiatives, Egypt is to garner $1.1 billion in profits by 2010 through experienced calibers that are able to use the latest technology and compete in international markets, Kamel said. A major aspect that enhances the success of BPO and KPO are partnerships with universities abroad. Egypt's IT sector allocates much of its budget to boosting such cooperations, which benefits the students who are chosen to study abroad. ITI has signed international agreements with the University of Nottingham and the University of Sunderland in England, the University of Paderborn in Germany, the University of Bergen in Norway and the Oregon Health and Science University in USA. Egypt is experiencing a 20 percent boom in the IT industry in all domains including infrastructure, broadband, internet and mobiles. This is considered one of the highest increases in the world, augmented by the increase in the number of mobile subscribers by one million every month.
