Egypt signs 4 new partnerships to enhance student technology skills

Partnership agreements aim to enhance skills of young people enrolled in Digital Egypt Builders initiative

Egypt's Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and four major global technology developers operating in Egypt have signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU).
The signings, which were witnessed by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat, come as part of the Egyptian Digital Builders initiative. The companies with which the new partnerships have been signed are Dell Technologies, Vodafone Egypt, Kaspersky, and Huawei Technologies.
The partnership agreements aim to enhance the skills of young people enrolled in the Digital Egypt Builders initiative.
The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology launched the initiative to develop the capabilities of outstanding graduates of Faculties of Engineering, and Computer and Information Science, at Egyptian universities.
This would ensure that these graduates obtain a professional Master's degree in one of the in-depth specialisations in the field of communications and information technology (CIT).
Talaat said that capacity building is one of the most important aspects of his ministry's strategy. It works to create a broad base of in-depth and trained professionals in all CIT areas to build a digital Egypt and strengthen the country's position on this industry's map.
He added that the initiative aims to prepare a distinguished elite of specialists in communication sciences and information technology through an integrated educational programme that is based on four axes.
In the initiative, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology will cooperate with major international universities, major international companies, and institutions working in the fields of administrative skills development, to develop personal skills.
The ministry will also be cooperating with major specialised companies to develop linguistic capabilities, so that young people can communicate with colleagues from around the world.
The fourth aspect of the initiative is to provide practical training, which requires establishing partnerships with leading international companies in the CIT sector.
According to Talaat, this cooperation will mutually benefit all those involved, whether youth who receive high-quality training, or the government sector which benefits from the initiative's outputs.
The initiative also involves creating new and distinguished generations with extensive knowledge in various CIT specialisations. Local and large companies, as well as startups operating in Egypt will additionally benefit from this cooperation through trained and fully-skilled individuals.
Tarek Haiba, General Manager of Dell Technologies in Egypt, said that the company aims to create technologies that contribute to human progress. Moreover, it is committed to achieving the state's vision to diversify the economy through advanced technology infrastructure, skills development, and innovation.
The MoU signed with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology aims to help students develop basic skills in emerging fields such as data science, data analytics and artificial intelligence.
Mohamed Abdallah, CEO and Managing Director of Vodafone Egypt, said that the company's role in the initiative contributes directly to building the capabilities of young people participating in the initiative.
In this initiative, Vodafone Egypt provides practical training programmes for participants in many modern technology areas.
In addition, it develops business incubators that support startups and provides technical advice, sponsorship, and financing for graduation projects, as well as knowledge sharing through various Vodafone platforms.
The partnership with Kaspersky aims to provide Egyptian youth with the digital security skills and training they need to become specialists in this vital field within the IT sector. It is particularly important in light of the increasing digital threats that come with technological development.
The cooperation with Huawei Technologies aims to provide educational technology courses for students of the initiative, in addition to training in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, and network security.
Academic content and practical training in virtual laboratories are provided, in addition to activating communication between companies and graduates of the initiative.