Five years ago, he was transferred from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) office in Thailand to Egypt's office for a 'totally different' experience. He is the director of DAAD Cairo office, Christian Hulshorster, whose term in Egypt is coming to an end as his organisation celebrates 50 years of work here in the most populous Arab country. Of higher education in Egypt, DAAD's work and his personal experiences in the city that never sleeps, he spoke openly to the Egyptian Mail in this interview. "When I first came here, everything was quite problematic," Christian explained. "Life in Egypt is very different from that in Germany or even in Thailand. Also, Cairo itself is a very hard city, especially for a person who is used to the quietness in Germany." For this PhD holder, who studied German literature, philosophy and art with the intention of becoming a teacher, his five years working in Egypt has been pretty much like doing another PhD! Although he had spent six years working in various other countries before coming to Egypt in 2005, Christian said that working in Egypt had been full of new things, in terms of higher education, in which DAAD works, as well as the social and cultural life here. "I've been watching everything I do very carefully and I've got rid of many stereotypes that were in my head. It's definitely changed the perceptions I had about the Arab world and Muslims," he divulged. Operating in many Arab countries, DAAD works in partnership with local governments in developing higher education systems, mainly through the academic exchange of students, researchers and academics. To describe the status of higher education in Egypt and most of the Arab world, Christian uses only two words: ‘Serious challenge'. He has much experience of higher education in many countries and regions, and believes that this field is still lagging behind in the Arab world. Although Christian admits that progress has been made, he believes that more attention and effort is needed. "Egypt is slowly moving in the right direction," he said. "For instance, under-financing is a serious issue facing higher education in Egypt. The number of students is increasing, but the funding isn't moving up proportionally." In this country with a population of 80 million, more than 50 per cent of whom are under 30 years old, there are around 2.4 million students in higher education, according to UNESCO's 2009 Global Report for Education. This huge number of students is mainly distributed among Egypt's 18 public and 15 private universities, in addition to another 12 vocational institutes and 115 private institutions that specialise in fields like computer science and accounting. For years now, people have been talking about the 'low standard of higher education graduates'; it looked at one point as if it were turning into a dogma. However, Christian got over this idea five years ago. "I had this idea when I first came here, but I soon changed my mind. There are certain fields where Egypt is really up to the grade, such as medicine and engineering," he said enthusiastically. On the other hand, according to Christian, there are other fields like social sciences and humanities in which Egypt is still not up to the international standards. This could be ascribed to the Egyptian Thanawya Amma (General Secondary School Certificate) system, according to which faculties like medicine, pharmacology or engineering accept students with the highest scores, leaving students with lower scores no alternative but to study the social sciences and humanities. That's why DAAD is trying a new technique here. Although their core business is providing scholarships for students and academics to study or conduct research in a German university, they are also trying to collaborate with the Egyptian side to develop the research environment in the country. "We have noticed that the Egyptian researchers coming back to Egypt with their Masters' or doctorates don't make the expected impact," he said. "It's the environment that discourages them; that's why we're working closely with the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research on this." There are several agreements between the Egyptian Government and DAAD that offer a number of jointly funded programmes. Several of these are being renewed now, as part of DAAD's golden jubilee celebrations. Another reason why Christian believes that the educational standards in Egypt should be developed is to create a suitable environment for constructive ‘exchange'. "There must be a comparable level of education for influential exchange to take place. This is a major issue when German students are considering coming here. They must be sure that they'll eventually learn something." DAAD provides around 450 to 500 scholarships for Egyptians per annum with a fund of about 8 million euros, in bilateral programmes between Egypt and Germany. Also, it's offering a number of new regional programmes gathering students from all over the Arab world. What is even more impressing about these scholarships is that the organisation provides its scholars with German language courses along with 'inter-cultural' modules. "In order to avoid problems, scholars should be introduced to the new culture they'll live and study within. We want to be sure that they are capable and well qualified for the experience. That's why we also support them with courses in soft skills, time management and team work," Christian added. Leaving Egypt after spending five of his 41 years here, Christian has several dreams, especially for higher education in the country and DAAD's future after half a century. His first dream is for the common programmes between the Egyptian Government and DAAD; he hopes that they continue and grow with time. "I'm leaving Egypt and the Cairo office with hope for the future. I want to see these people coming back from Germany making a difference in Egypt and see Egypt more appreciative of their talents," Christian explained. "Let's move ahead confidently in the next 50 years of working together."
