English Faculty News
President of Alexandria University Inaugurates Faculty of Tourism and Hotels International Conference on “Innovation in Tourism Industry in Light of Contemporary Global Changes”
Within the framework of the Egyptian state’s orientation towards clean energy and the green economy in Egypt’s Vision 2030, Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, inaugurated today, Wednesday 24 April 2024, the activities of the international scientific conference organized by the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels under the title “Innovation in the Tourism Industry in Light of Contemporary Global Changes,” which is being held for two-day in the city of Ne Alamein.
The opening ceremony was attended by Dr. Ghada Shalabi, Deputy Minister of Tourism, Dr. Mostafa El-Naggar, President of Matrouh University, Dr. Essam El-Kurdi, President of El Alamein University, Dr. Hisham Saeed, Vice President of Alexandria University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, Dr. Hisham Gaber, Vice President of El Alamein University for Academic Affairs, Dr. Hazem Atiyat-Allah, former president of Helwan University and former governor of Fayoum, Dr. Maged Negm, former president of Helwan University, Dr. Hossam El-Rifai, vice president of Helwan University for education and student affairs, Engineer Ahmed Ibrahim, head of the El Alamein City Authority, Major General Hisham Lotfy, former assistant minister of the interior and head of the authority. Regional conference to revitalize tourism in Alexandria, Dr. Abeer Attia, Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels and Chairman of the Conference, Dr. Nashwa Fouad, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Graduate Studies and Research and Conference Rapporteur, in addition to a large number of faculty members, researchers and specialists in the field of tourism, both Egyptians and foreigners.
In his speech, Dr. Abdulaziz Konsowa welcomed the attendees at this conference, including experts and professors specialized in the tourism and hospitality sector. He offered his congratulations to the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels for coming out with the conference in a distinguished manner, expressing his aspiration for the conference to come out with effective and applicable recommendations capable of advancing this important sector. He praised the level of achievement that the city of El Alamein is witnessing as a model for the new cities being built by the Egyptian state. Dr. Konsowa added that the Egyptian state’s vision for development is based on four basic axes: industry, agriculture, and tourism, in addition to the services and logistics industry. Therefore, tourism is considered an important element for achieving Egypt’s vision and reaching the required development rates. He added that Egypt is making great efforts to restore its health and be at the forefront of countries working to achieve sustainable development that serves current and future generations in light of major internal and external challenges.
Dr. Essam El-Kurdi stressed the importance of the conference, which discusses the future of the tourism industry in Egypt in light of the modern economic, social and technological transformations. Therefore, innovation and creativity have become an indispensable necessity for developing both tourist attractions and the human element, as well as adopting technologies, as the role of universities appears in developing promotion and marketing mechanisms and spreading awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism in development, which reflects on society by achieving a better future, therefore, research and innovation must be encouraged, researchers supported, and cooperation between academia and industry must be strengthened to transform ideas into tangible results that serve society.
Dr. Mostafa El-Naggar praised the leading role of Alexandria University in organizing scientific conferences that adopt modern concepts, pointing to the importance of the conference topic, which deals with modern issues in the tourism industry, stressing that innovation is a large umbrella under which many topics fall that aim to develop green tourism, attract the largest number of tourists, and improve the level of tourism services provided, to present the bright side of Egypt and enhance the role of tourism in economic development.
Dr. Ghada Shalaby pointed out the excellent choice of the new city of El Alamein as a venue for the conference, as the state made great efforts to present the city as a model for sustainable tourist cities that provide their services throughout the year, where there is an advanced infrastructure of an airport, hotels, resorts, and accommodations, in addition to universities and schools. She praised the role of Alexandria University in nourishing the tourism sector with experts and human resources capable of competing in local, regional, and international labour markets, confirming the country’s success in developing the tourism industry and reaching 14.9 million tourists this year, aiming to reach 30 million tourists in 2030 despite contemporary regional and international challenges.
Dr. Abeer Attia confirmed that choosing the conference topic came out of the belief in the necessity of the tourism sector keeping pace with all the changes at the regional and international levels that would affect the sector, in addition to the important emergence of the technological element in changing the form of the travel experience, as well as climate change and its impact on the environment, and how to adapt to it, adding that choosing New Alamein as a location to organize the conference came as the city is a model for fourth generation cities and the capabilities it possesses that makes it one of the most important tourist destinations in Egypt.
Dr. Nashwa Fouad stated that the conference discusses several main topics, the most important of which is artificial intelligence in the tourism and hospitality sector, entrepreneurship and innovation in the tourism and hospitality industry, modern trends in tourism and hospitality resource management, modern issues in tourism and hotel marketing strategies, innovation in heritage studies and museums, the city of New Alamein as a promising cultural destination between the past and the present.
Launch of Second International Conference of the Department of Educational Administration and Education Policies
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, the activities of the second international conference of the Department of Educational Administration and Education Policies at the Faculty of Education were concluded. The conference took place two days ago at the faculty’s headquarters under the title: “Leadership of Educational Institutions: Contemporary Visions and Directions”, with the participation of faculty members in Egyptian universities, and several education leaders in Alexandria.
Dr. Mohamed Anwar Farrag, Dean of the Faculty of Education, indicated that the conference provided an opportunity for dialogue and the presentation of scientific papers and research that contributed to the addition of many ideas, and urged researchers to think and explore new topics in educational leadership. He explained that the recommendations of the conference included themes related to the development of scientific research in the field of educational leadership, and another related to the qualification of educational leaders in the light of some contemporary leadership trends.
Dr. Mohamed Khamis Harb, Head of the Department of Educational Administration and Education Policies at the Faculty and Chairman of the Conference, indicated that the concluding recommendations of the conference included the need to pay attention to inter-studies in the field of educational leadership and to focus on generating new fields of knowledge, such as leadership psychology, digital leadership, school curriculum leadership, leadership of learning communities, green leadership, and leadership education. This requires reshaping the research maps of the educational administration departments at the faculties of education in Egyptian and Arab universities to include those studies in them, directing postgraduate students to adhere to these maps and research them.
He added that the recommendations included directing researchers to work on the transfer of educational policies, focusing on the fact that the main goal of transfer is to reform educational institutions, setting a strategy for qualifying educational leaders before and during service in light of the quality standards of educational leadership, provided that this strategy is announced through the official media of the Ministry of Education, in which all concerned parties, stakeholders and leaders at all administrative levels participate. In addition, activating the advisory role of the faculties of education as houses of expertise for educational leaders, and for future managers to acquire new skills to develop themselves professionally, work with others, use effective dialogue, successful negotiation, and decision-making skills, and dealing with individuals and groups. Finally, the formation of a committee chaired by the Head of the Department of Educational Administration and Education Policies, which includes representatives of academic leaders in the faculties of education, as well as representatives of senior leaders in the Ministry of Education’s general office, middle leaders in educational departments and executive leaders in schools, to publish recommendations in all education institutions and departments and follow up on what has been achieved, to be presented at the third conference next year.
Two students from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at win scholarships at the University of Chicago
Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, congratulated students Habiba Hassan Zahdi and Shahd Mohamed Abdel Moneim Kashti from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science on winning a one-year scholarship at the University of Chicago, wishing them success.
Dr. Ahmed Wahban, Dean of the Faculty, indicated that the faculty's continued success in winning these scholarships is a result of Alexandria University's efforts and commitment to academic and research cooperation with international universities. It is a strong testament to the high academic standard and dedicated efforts of the faculty and its faculty members to graduate highly qualified graduates capable of competing globally, and evidence of the quality of education and the stimulating environment the faculty provides for students. He also thanked Dr. Noha Nagi, Lecturer of Economics and Head of International Cooperation at the Faculty, for her efforts in preparing and qualifying students applying for the scholarship, which is fully funded by the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development and is a competition for students from many Egyptian universities.
Inauguration of “Interdisciplinary and Cross-Disciplinary Studies in Higher Education” Seminar at Institute of Graduate Studies and Research
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, the university hosted the Egyptian National Interdisciplinary Network (ENIN), to hold a symposium on “Interdisciplinary Studies in Higher Education,” in the conference hall of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research. The event was attended by Dr. Hesham Saeed, Vice President of Alexandria University for Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Ahmed Abdelrehim, Acting Dean of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, Dr. Boshra Salem, Network Coordinator, Assistant President of the University for International University Ranking, and a group of researchers in various disciplines and those interested in interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary sciences from various Egyptian universities.
In his speech, Dr. Hesham Saeed confirmed that the symposium aims at defining a vision, strategies, and future outlook for interdisciplinary, cross-disciplinary and transient sciences, noting that this symposium is the second, as the first meeting was in May 2023 in Cairo under the patronage of Professor Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in cooperation With the Egyptian Knowledge Bank, during which the Egyptian National Interdisciplinary Network was announced.
Dr. Saeed added that the need for multidisciplinary curricula has become more urgent than ever before, as collective efforts and interdisciplinary, diverse, and overlapping disciplines can shape the path of knowledge and create significant, meaningful changes and impacts. He pointed out that interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary sciences are considered an important field that brings together many different disciplines and scientific fields that interact with each other, and cooperate to solve problems and explore complex topics that transcend the boundaries of traditional disciplines.
He added that through this type of science, methods and concepts from different disciplines such as chemistry, physics, biology, mathematics, and biostatistics are employed to understand the natural phenomena in a deeper and broader way, as well as concepts and approaches in various fields such as medicine, engineering and computers to produce innovative solutions to scientific problems, and to enhance cooperation between researchers and specialists in multiple fields in order to face current global challenges and achieve progress and prosperity in various scientific fields and human technology.
Dr. Saeed stressed that biochemistry, nanoscience, and biology neuroscience are some of the interdisciplinary fields that have grown into their own specializations. He added that trans-science is one through which non-academic stakeholders can be involved in the knowledge production process and is considered a promising idea for addressing the world's most pressing issues, knowledge production and decision-making.
While Dr. Boshra Salem gave a presentation on the Egyptian National Interdisciplinary Network (ENIN), and its scope and objectives. Salem indicated that interdisciplinary sciences have an important and vital role in confronting many of the phenomena occurring in the world, such as the phenomenon of climate change, which requires cooperation between different disciplines to reach innovative solutions involving relevant experts. She pointed out that the network aspires to achieve cooperation between Egyptian universities in the interdisciplinary sciences to deal with complex challenges that individual disciplines are unable to deal with. She also added that Alexandria University seeks to activate this idea by hosting the Egyptian National Interdisciplinary Network in Universities is in its first activity since its launch in May 2023, with the aim of disseminating the idea of interdisciplinary programs in higher education, especially since it is one of the pillars of the 2030 Strategy of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
Institute of Graduate Studies and Research at Alexandria University Organizes Educational Seminar Celebrating Golden Jubilee of October War Victory
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research organized an educational seminar on Monday the 9th of October on the Glorious October War under the title “October Victory... Pride and Dignity,” as part of a series of activities and events organized by the university in celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the victories of the Glorious October War.
The seminar was delivered by Dr. Yousry El-Gamal, former Minister of Education and one of the heroes of the War of Attrition and the October War, Dr. chemist Mohamed Nour El-Din, one of the heroes of the military battle of Kabrit, and Dr. Sherif Qandil, a full-time professor in the Materials Sciences Department at the Institute and one of the heroes of the War of Attrition, in the presence of Dr. Hisham Saeed, Dean of the Institute of Graduate Studies and Research, and a large number of faculty members and students of the institute.
In his speech, Dr. Yousry El-Gamal affirmed his pride in participating in the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the glorious October victories, which is an opportunity to commemorate the martyrs who sacrificed their blood for our homeland. He added that it is also an opportunity to restore memories of the 1967 war, then the war of attrition, and the rebuilding of the armed forces until reaching the victory of October 1973, pointing out that his role was in building the Air Defense Force and the missile wall, which had a profound impact on the Egyptian forces’ crossing of the Suez Canal.
Dr. Mohamed Nour El-Din pointed out the importance of the decision to rely on recruiting highly qualified graduates into the armed forces and expanding the use of technology and modern techniques in armament, stressing the role of the war of attrition as a necessary step to achieve the glorious October victory.
Dr. Sherif Qandil pointed out that the main reasons for the October victory were faith, will, education, and intensive training, praising the role of the Air Defense Force in protecting Egypt’s skies during the wars of attrition and the October wars.
Dr. Hisham Saeed expressed his pleasure at celebrating the anniversary of the glorious October War, which shattered the myth of the invincible army, as the Egyptian forces were able to cross the blockade of the Suez Canal and the impregnable Bar Lev Line, which proves that Egypt has a conscious people capable of doing the impossible and an army capable of confronting anyone who dares to harm our dear homeland.
The celebration included honoring the heroes of the armed forces who participated in the War of Attrition and the October Victory, and they were presented with memorial shields of the event.