Knowledge Hub Boss: Counterparts at the New Capital Don’t Compete But Cooperate

By: Mai Shaheen

CAIRO, Dec. 15 (SEE)- The Knowledge Hub’s new branch in the heart of the New Capital in Egypt targets the return of 18 thousands Egyptian students from British universities to their homeland, through 3 new faculties accredited from 3 of the top ranked European universities. In line with Egypt’s 2030 strategic vision, it is supposed that this campus of Coventry University will operate inside the Knowledge Hub in the New Capital as of September 2019.

In this regard, SEE conducted an interview with Dr. Mohamed Loutfi, President of the Knowledge Hub, about the current and future plans of the university, the mechanism of dealing with its counterparts and the education system.

Here is the interview SEE conducted with Dr. Loutfi.

• Why was the New Capital selected as premises to launch the Knowledge Hub?

Firstly, the New Capital was chosen because of its nature as a national project set to embrace ministries, governmental institutions and all embassies. Actually, it is the state’s policy that it is working on launching educational complexes to serve the Egyptian society as a whole.

• What is the university's future plan for deployment in Africa and the Middle East?

Our future plans aim to bring Egypt back to its customary leadership in attracting students from abroad. In the past, Egypt was welcoming students from Africa and the Middle East to study.

We are building our presence in Africa with Swedish education that has 40 branches in Africa, so we will be expanding to attract students from Africa, as well as from the Middle East, to study in Egypt.

In fact, we plan to comply with the current state policy to boost education in Egypt through attracting overseas students while diminishing the migration of Egyptians through implementing international education in Egypt.

• How many students have enrolled in all British universities?

We have 18 thousand students enrolled in British education systems both in Egypt and Britain, according to the British statistical studies by Coventry University.

• What is your targeted goal in terms of students?

We aim to end the phenomenon of Egyptians studying overseas and this will diminish migration rates as well as positively impacting capital and foreign currency.

• What about competitiveness with your counterparts in the New Capital?

We are not competing but cooperating together to achieve the national goal of the country, particularly in reducing the number of students traveling abroad, and to provide first-rated education in Egypt.

• What faculties do you plan to launch?

We have 3 major departments in collaboration with Coventry University; Engineering, Computer Science and Media Science, that is selected to fill a new gap in media studies.

• How many branches will be established in the Knowledge Hub?

There is not a specific number yet. In the meantime, we started with Coventry University and will work on several other branches.

• Will the education system be based on stand-alone programs or ordinary colleges?

This branch is a college accredited from a university, for example the College of Engineering with Coventry University. Other colleges can be initiated in collaboration with other universities.

• What are the criteria for student selection?

We do not choose students or set standards, but the foreign partner is the one who sets criteria for student selection as the law for the establishment of foreign branches in Egypt stipulates that the partner is responsible for the selection of students and the educational process.

• Is there a plan to grant students scholarships or any other schemes to study abroad at Coventry University?

Part of our plan is to allow students to attend a semester or a specific program there. The strategy exists but still under plan.