Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Ayman Ashour held a meeting on Sunday to discuss strengthening cooperation between the two ministries in a number of areas of common interest. During the meeting, Talaat stressed the already close cooperation between the two ministries in a number of areas that aim to take advantage of the opportunities offered by digital technologies to develop the university education system, raise the efficiency of the educational process, and implement digital transformation and mechanisation projects at the Ministry of Higher Education in light of the implementation of Egypt's Digital Strategy. He also referred to the cooperation between the two ministries in graduating generations of professionals and specialists in all communications and IT sciences, as well as in the implementation of the university hospital automation project, which aims to create a medical file for every citizen. Furthermore, Talaat pointed to the importance of the meeting to follow up on the executive position of a number of projects between the two ministries, commending the efforts exerted by the heads of public universities for the success of the first phase of the electronic examination system in universities, which was applied to the medical sector, stressing the importance of continuing cooperation during the implementation of the second phase of the project, which includes the rest of the faculties in all scientific disciplines. For his part, Ashour valued the fruitful cooperation between the two ministries, which is represented in many areas and ongoing executive projects, including the project of digitising and developing the information infrastructure in university hospitals, the remote diagnosis initiative, and the completion of the second phase of the electronic examination system in universities, as well as the interest in establishing technological universities. Ashour stressed the importance of establishing technological universities in light of the great interest that the political leadership attaches to developing digital education and linking it to the needs of the future labour market by providing modern study programmes that keep pace with the requirements of future jobs, pointing to the commencement of operations in three technological universities in 2019 and another seven in the current 2022/23 academic year. He explained that there is a dream that aims to establish technological universities throughout the republic to link education and study with industry and qualify skilled manpower, pointing to the interest in increasing study programmes related to the field of communications and IT. The meeting also followed up on the project of automating and developing the information infrastructure in university hospitals with the aim of placing Egypt on the map of the global health system according to HIMSS measurements during the first phase of the project, which includes university hospitals in 12 public universities — Cairo, Ain Shams, Alexandria, Assiut, Mansoura, Tanta, Beni Suef, Aswan, Menoufiya, South Valley, Suez, and Al-Azhar. Furthermore, the meeting emphasised the continuation of cooperation and coordination between the two ministries and the various stakeholders in projects to develop the information infrastructure in universities and digitise them within the framework of the state's strategy for digital transformation. Additionally, the meeting reviewed the efforts to develop technological education through several main axes, including providing study programmes that are compatible with the needs of the future labour market to qualify graduates to be able to build a digital Egypt, develop laboratories and pay attention to practical training for students in universities and communications and IT companies to deepen their practical training and refine their skills and their experiences, as well as develop integrated plans for the establishment of IT universities that offer modern study programmes that keep pace with the requirements of the contemporary and future labour market. The two ministers also stressed the importance of continuing to work in implementing the presidential initiative for remote diagnosis, which contributes to improving the quality of health care services, using technological solutions in treatment, and increasing opportunities for remote and border areas to obtain health services. Finally, the meeting tackled mechanisms of cooperation and integration between the two ministries and various stakeholders regarding interest in databases of Egyptians abroad, including university professors, envoys, experts, and students to exchange experiences, ideas, and visions on various topics and to enhance cooperation and integration with Egyptian scholars abroad for the benefit of the country.
