Dr. Mohamed Othman Elkhosht, President of Cairo University, received a detailed report from Dr. Hossam Abdel Fattah, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, written by a group of senior professors about the most advanced American universities in the field of engineering studies, which apply the credit hours system with a system that gives the possibility of graduation within 4 academic years for the distinguished student. Especially with the optional additional study in the summer semester in 4 additional semesters, which opens the paths for advancement in front of outstanding students, while the average student, according to his abilities, graduates in a longer period of more than four years.
Dr. Mohamed Al-Khasht emphasized that Cairo University is continuing to implement its new strategy that it has followed in recent years in innovation and development in all fields of natural, human and social sciences, and which is compatible with the strategic plan announced by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. We must keep pace with the fourth and fifth industrial revolution.
He thanked Prof. Dr. Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and one of the greatest figures in the engineering profession and engineering education, for issuing the ministerial decision on the new regulations for the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, which was approved by the Supreme Council of Universities based on the report of the Engineering Studies Sector Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities, noting that Specialized technical report from the College of Engineering. Pay attention to the fact that renewal and development are a feature of life, and it is natural that development includes the field of education, which is the basis for progress and upgrading of life on earth.
Cairo Engineering ranked 134th in the world
Education in its systems cannot remain frozen for decades, especially if we are talking about engineering education, which is the basis for the development and progress of all life, especially in an era in which innovations and inventions are racing, in the era of informatics and unprecedented technological development.
The report indicated that for the first time in Egypt, this system is being applied, which allows students to graduate as an outstanding student or above average student within 4 academic years, which required great effort and careful study, especially under the initiative of Dr. Al-Khasht to bridge the knowledge gap that he announced years ago, in which he called on the university’s faculties to study specializations in American, European, Japanese, and Chinese universities, which resulted in Cairo’s engineering ranking 134th globally in 2022 out of 30,000 universities, and one of its majors entered the top 50 universities in the world. The world, in addition to the fact that the new regulation is compatible with the most common study systems in major international universities, as it increases the chances of the Egyptian graduate in general in the regional and international labor markets – not only engineering students – but in all fields of university education.
The report indicated that there are a large number of American universities with advanced rankings globally in general and in the engineering sector in particular, applying this system for credit hours and ranging from 120 to 134 academic hours, which allows the student the possibility of graduating within 4 academic years, adding that the most prominent universities are Universities: MIT 134 credit hours, UC Berkeley and Stanford 120 credit hours, Georgia Tech 122 credit hours, Michigan, Ann Arbor 128 credit hours, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) which applies 128 hours of study.
The report emphasized that the new regulations in the College of Engineering, among its advantages, are the establishment of specialized programs, the revision of academic courses, and the concentration of the number of credit hours required for graduation to range between 154 and 159 credit hours, depending on the difference between one program and another, in line with the state’s trends towards keeping pace with international universities and in a way that does not conflict with the quality of the educational process, stressing However, the new academic regulations take into account the specifications of the graduate, after studying the interest of the stakeholders represented in the industrial and service community and integrating them within the academic program. In addition to providing a full semester in the industry according to specific conditions and increasing the dose of practical application, with expanding the establishment of virtual labs and allowing entry to laboratories outside of scheduled class times.
The report stressed that the new regulations make the Faculty of Engineering a major role in providing graduates in specializations based on the requirements of the labor market, to be supportive of building Egypt the future and to provide qualified graduates to lead national projects in all fields, in addition to being in line with the study systems in international universities as it facilitates mobility. Students among universities in the countries of the world.
The report also added that the quality of education depends on the learning style: shifting from the old standardized classroom system to the flexible credit hour system or its analogues; Therefore, compatibility with global systems must be provided, and opportunities for how to equate the academic program with its equivalent to the American credit hour system or clearing with the European accredited point system, so that there is compatibility with global systems that allow students to transfer and help international recognition of the Egyptian engineering education system, which allows encouraging students to move between Universities, with the need to emphasize that college regulations allow students to transfer between universities inside and outside Egypt through the conclusion of framework agreements between the home university and the host university that allow credit transfer.
What is actually proposed in the development is to ensure that the curricula do not contain fillers and useless repetition in the content, as well as allowing the outstanding student to graduate without being bound by a certain number of years upon completion of the graduation requirements, which is an allowance given by the credit hours system, as this system allows the outstanding student to increase the load Studying in the semester, and similarly allowing the struggling student to enroll in lesser subjects to prevent repetition of failure. In addition, there are additional summer semesters. Accordingly, what has been done currently of studies to develop engineering education is in the public interest and the engineering profession according to the latest international systems in developed countries keeping pace with the fourth and fifth industrial revolution.