On March 16th, 2023, the Egypt Digital Leadership Symposium was successfully held at Ain Shams University in Cairo. The symposium was jointly organised by the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Egypt National Centre. This symposium was the culmination of the "Empowering Higher Education Institutions for Digital Teaching and Learning in Egypt" pilot project initiated by UNESCO-ICHEI and IIOE Egypt National Centre in September 2022. The aim was to discuss the role of digital leadership in HEIs transformation and the role of HEIs leaders in promoting digital transformation from a policy perspective.
Representatives from the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the UNESCO-ICHEI, as well as 35 representatives including presidents, vice-presidents, and deans from seven Egypt HEIs namely, Ain Shams University, Zagazig University, Port Said University, Sohag University, Suiz University, Arish University and New Mansoura University, and 70 representatives from more than 10 other Egypt HEIs participated in the conference both on-site and online. Participants discussed how HEIs leaders, governmental agencies, and enterprises can work together to shape digital leadership and chart the future course of digital transformation in Egypt higher education. All parties agreed that the IIOE is an important platform for promoting the professional development of Egypt HEIs teachers. Enhancing the digital teaching capacities of teachers and the digital leadership of HEIs leaders will promote the transformation of Egypt higher education towards competency-based teaching and learning, better link HEIs curricula with job market demands, and cultivate much needed talents for Egypt's development.
Group Photos of the Guests
President of Ain Shams University Prof. Mahmoud El Meteini, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI Prof. Li Ming, and Assistant to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Digital Transformation Prof. Sherif Kishk delivered opening speeches.
Prof. Mahmoud El Meteini reviewed the history of collaboration between Ain Shams University and IIOE, and highly appreciated the significant contributions that IIOE has made to Ain Shams University over the past three years. The COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed traditional teaching and learning, while the active collaboration between IIOE and Ain Shams University came at the right time. He emphasised that multi-stakeholder cooperation is essential to achieving Egypt's Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, while the "Co-construction and shared benefits" philosophy advocated by IIOE perfectly aligns with this need. The IIOE Egypt National Centre, jointly established by UNESCO-ICHEI and Ain Shams University, has built a local partner network including 23 Egypt HEIs, providing an ideal platform for cooperation at national and international levels.
Prof. Mahmoud El Meteini, President of Ain Shams University
Prof. Li Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI, fully recognised Ain Shams University's outstanding leadership role as the first rotating presidency unit of IIOE and in establishing the IIOE Egypt National Centre to build the national network of HEIs. He pointed out that the pilot projects of IIOE Egypt National Centre have achieved remarkable results in teacher professional development (TPD) and the national dialogue among higher education management staff. Digital teaching is a key entry point for the digital transformation of higher education. Starting from this year, IIOE will systematically promote the digital capacity building of higher education workforce, conduct certified professional development in the form of micro-certifications, and jointly discuss the implementation mechanism of micro-certification projects with IIOE National Centre, partner HEIs and governmental agencies. The IIOE micro-certifications programme plan will be released in June of this year. Prof. Li Ming invited all participants to attend the IIOE Global Partner Summit to be held in Shenzhen and Hong Kong in December 2023 to explore feasible paths for digital transformation of higher education and share successful experiences.
Prof. LI Ming, Director of UNESCO-ICHEI
Prof. Sherif Kishk emphasised the importance of IIOE Egypt National Centre for higher education in Egypt. He underlined that automation has brought profound changes to the job market and consequently, leading to profound changes in the the skills that people need. Online education provides diverse and flexible ways to support a large number of people to acquire necessary skills. It will change the way we learn, work, and live, not just an alternative for traditional education. The key to comprehensive digital transformation goes beyond digital technologies and lies in shaping the digital mindset and addressing various developmental issues. He called for all parties to work together to achieve equitable and inclusive education through digital transformation.
Prof. Sherif Kishk, Assistant to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research for Digital Transformation
Prof. Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry, Executive Director of Education Strategy Administration, Ain Shams University and the Director of IIOE Egypt Centre, Prof. Grace Oakley, Deputy Dean and Coordinator of the Master of education at the Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia and Prof. Lim Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, Chair Professor and Associate Dean (International Engagement), Faculty of Education and Human Development, Education University of Hong Kong, presented the results of the IIOE Egypt National Centre pilot project, the experience and follow-up actions of IIOE pilot project TPD, and future plans for the certified TPD programme.
Professor Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry shared the experience of the IIOE Egypt National Centre's pilot project. Under the leadership of Ain Shams University, the IIOE Egypt National Centre has established a network covering 23 HEIs across the country and trained a group of teachers in digital teaching capabilities. At the policy level, the IIOE Egypt National Centre has conducted policy dialogues with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, the Supreme Council of Universities, the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accrediration of Education, and partner Egypt HEIs to create a more conducive policy environment for digital teaching and learning in Egypt higher education and has issued policy briefs. In the future, based on the achievements of the pilot project, the IIOE Egypt National Centre will deepen its cooperation with international experts, expand its HEIs network, and maintain continuous dialogue with HEIs leaders to endorse strategies for digital teaching and learning. Meanwhile, the IIOE Egypt National Centre will strengthen cooperation between HEIs and enterprises, and use innovative technologies to empower teaching and learning.
Prof. Mona Abdel-Aal Elzahry, Executive Director of Education Strategy Administration and the Director of IIOE Egypt Centre at Ain Shams University
Prof. Grace Oakley discussed the content and practical experience of the digital teaching training series in the IIOE Egypt National Centre pilot project. The IIOE Egypt National Centre played a crucial role in adapting the training series to the local context, ensuring its smooth implementation. To transform the existing training series into the IIOE micro-certifications and scale up the training, there is a need to improve the training content, adopt diverse and smart assessment methods and organisational methods.
Prof. Grace Oakley, Deputy Dean and Coordinator of the Master of Education at the Graduate School of Education, University of Western Australia
Professor Lim Cher Ping emphasised that certification in TPD is a key element in motivating teachers to continue self-directed improvement, appraisal, assessment and career development of teachers. Micro-certifications, known for their diversity, flexibility, and focus on competencies, represent an important way to promote certification-based TPD. The micro-certifications project proposed by IIOE will be based on the IIOE platform, and will be designed and developed in collaboration with the IIOE National Centre and partner HEIs to develop teacher competency frameworks and micro-certifications frameworks in line with local needs. Based on this, UNESCO-ICHEI will work with the IIOE National Centre and partner HEIs to jointly develop content, offer micro-certifications for different stages of professional development catered to HEIs leaders, teachers, and support staff. To achieve this vision, it is essential for HEIs leaders to develop policies for TPD, promote the localisation of the IIOE competency framework and micro-certifications framework, and motivate faculty and staff to participate in professional development.
Prof. LIM Cher Ping, Chief Expert of IIOE, Chair Professor and Associate Dean (International Engagement), Faculty of Education and Human Development, Education University of Hong Kong (China)
Moderated by Professor LU Chun, the Vice President of Southern University of Science and Technology, representatives from Sohag University, Ain Shams University, and New Mansoura University shared their views under the theme "Professional Development Certification for Digital Transformation: Defining the Role of University Leaders" and discussed the future of certified TPD in Egypt.
Prof. LU Chun, Deputy Director of UNESCO-ICHEI Vice President of SuStech University
Panel Discussion
Prof. Mustafa Abdel-Khalek, President of Sohag University, emphasised the importance of "training for employment". In order to better reflect the needs of the job market, several Egypt HEIs, including Sohag University, have established their own professional development centres. He hopes that IIOE and IIOE Egypt National Centre will integrate the professional development Centres of Sohag University and the other 15 HEIs in the network to support training of students better suited to the needs of social and economic development.
Prof. Mustafa Abdel-Khalek, the president of Sohag University
Prof. Ibrahim Fathy Moawad, Dean of the School of Computer Science and Engineering at New Mansoura University, shared the main initiatives of the university to support digital transformation. In terms of supporting students, the university has developed a "Digital Transformation Foundation" course to improve students' digital literacy, integrated online learning platforms to provide a better learning experience, and partnered with Huawei to incorporate industry certified courses into the university's curriculum. In terms of supporting faculty, New Mansoura University has joined the IIOE Egypt National Centre network and collaborated with Ain Shams University on TPD and online courses. Additionally, the university is actively exploring online testing, motivating teachers to use digital tools, developing digital learning content, and evaluating the impact of digital teaching on learning outcomes.
Prof. Ibrahim Fathy Moawad, Dean of the School of Computer Science and Engineering at New Mansoura University
Prof. Abdelfattah Saoud, Vice President of Ain Shams University, pointed out that online education can help address the challenge of the low faculty-to-student ratio at Ain Shams University. IIOE not only offers online courses, but more importantly, advocates for digital mindset. IIOE is also a tool to achieve educational management goals. The IIOE Egypt National Centre pilot project has empowered a master teachers with digital teaching skills who can transform existing courses into competency-based courses. This will help students acquire the skills needed in modern society to enter the job market. IIOE also provides a multilingual platform and courses that support the personalised needs of learners using different languages. He looks forward to deepening cooperation with IIOE to promote the implementation of IIOE micro-certifications for TPD.
Prof. Abdelfattah Saoud, Vice-President of Ain Shams University
The panelists unanimously agreed on the importance of digital transformation in higher education and recognised the crucial role of education leaders in driving and supporting digital transformation. To fulfil the mission of cultivating talents and serving Egypt's national development, certified TPD through micro-certifications is a key lever to empower teachers, so that they can develop competency-based courses to better cultivate students' competencies.
UNESCO-ICHEI will collaborate with the IIOE Egypt National Centre to issue a policy brief based on the symposium's discussion, providing recommendations for Egyptian HEIs to develop, revise, and improve strategies and policies for digital transformation of teaching and learning. The conference also laid a solid foundation for UNESCO-ICHEI, governmental agencies in Egypt, the IIOE Egypt National Centre, and HEIs to collaborate on the development and implementation of the IIOE micro-certifications mechanism, thus further promoting the digital transformation in the country.
On March 16th, 2023, the Egypt Digital Leadership Symposium was successfully held at Ain Shams University in Cairo. The symposium was jointly organised by the International Centre for Higher Education Innovation under the auspices of UNESCO (UNESCO-ICHEI) and the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE) Egypt National Centre. This symposium was the culmination of the "Empowering Higher E
