Making Graduates in Egypt, Libya and Palestine Ready for the Job Market

Workshop & Practical Training

Many Arab countries have to deal with discrepancies between the educational output and the actual needs of their labour markets. Introducing capacity-building trainings for newly graduates is an optimal approach to bridge this gap, improve their skills and increase their marketability for industry or academia. 

This is the aim of the project by the AGYA Working Group Arab and German Education: After the great success in 2021 with three local training hubs in Egypt and Palestine, AGYA members Dr. Lobna Said, Prof. Dr. Shadi Albarqouni, Dr. Ali Elgayar and Dr. Mohammad Adm were delighted to continue this fruitful format inviting fresh graduates from Egypt, Palestine – and this year also Libya – to participate in this practical training. 

The training had a hybrid character: an online workshop to maximize the number of participants was combined with intensive onsite training courses in four local hubs in Cairo, Gaza, Hebron, and Benghazi for selected outstanding trainees. High-ranking speakers and international experts from various backgrounds shaped the online workshop by sharing their knowledge and first-hand experiences serving as inspiring role models. In impulse lectures and panel discussions, they tackled the enhancement of marketability, the transition from academia to industry and international work opportunities. 

Hearing all these examples of successful people inspired me to re-design a much clearer picture of my career pathway.

Participant of the online training

In local hubs in Cairo, Gaza, Hebron, and Benghazi, professional career consultants executed the onsite trainings covering topics such as interview, leadership, and entrepreneurship skills. Through applied hand-on methods, participants could practise interview situations and got the chance to exchange experiences with their peers. 

Connecting local hubs in Cairo, Hebron, Gaza and Benghazi 

This year, not only more graduates got the chance to participate in the trainings but also the geographical scope has been expanded, now also covering Libya. Empowering graduates and equipping them with essential job market skills is of high importance in a conflict-prone country like Libya, whose higher education system suffers from insufficient support and brain drain.

The on-site training courses in Egypt, Libya and Palestine are therefore tailored to the specific needs of each countries labour market to match the graduates’ skills with the local demands.

Though living in neighboring Arab countries, there are hardly any chances for graduates to meet their peers. By overcoming travel restrictions, the online workshop provided a great opportunity to connect graduates from various Arab countries and offered a platform for interregional exchange and for developing sustainable networks. 

I like about how we interact with each other without any previous meeting.

Participant of the training

This is a follow-up project of 'Improving Job Market Skills of Graduates'. 

Watch the Streamed Input-Talks of the Online-Training here:

Saturday, 24 September 2022
01:00 – 01:45 pm CET+1   

"Building Bridges Between Industry and Academia" by Dr. Mahmoud Rabie, Egypt Scholars Inc., Egypt

Chair: Dr. Ikram Hili, AGYA member, University of Sousse, Tunisia

02:00 – 02:30 pm CET+1   

"Human-Centered Design and Design Thinking" by Dr. Ibtihal Elshami, College of Electrical and Electronics Technology Benghazi, Libya

Chair: Dr. Nour Attia, EYAS member, National Institute of Standard, Egypt

02:30 – 03:15 pm CET+1   

"Acing Scholarship Applications: Lessons Learned From 10 Years at Egypt Scholars" by Dr. Ahmed Mady, Egypt Scholars Inc., Egypt

Chair: Dr. Nadia Bahra, AGYA member, University of Constantine 2, Algeria
 

Sunday, 25 September 2022
10:00 – 10:45 am CET+1   

"The Ten Commandments for a Successful Career" by Prof. Hesham Omran, Ain Shams University and Master Micro LLC. Egypt

Chair: Dr. Mohamed Elshabrawy, Nile University, Egypt

11:00 am – 12:30 pm CET+1   

Panel Discussion: "Crafting Your Career Path into the Industry"

Eng. Mohamed Essawi, GM asgatech, Egypt

Dr. Neveen Abdelkader, University Relations and Digital Factory, Valeo, Egypt

Dr. Mohamed Kholief, ASRT Council for Communications and Information Technology, Egypt

Moderator: Prof. Ahmed Median, Director of Nano-Electronics Integrated System Research Center (NISC) Nile University, Egypt

01:00 – 01:20 pm CET+1   

"Digital Transformation - Explore the Future of Work" by Dr. Mohamed Kholief, ASRT Council for Communications and Information Technology, Egypt

Chair: Prof. Ahmed Median, Director of Nano-Electronics Integrated System Research Center (NISC) Nile University, Egypt

01:20 – 01:40 pm CET+1   

"Entrepreneurial Competencies Through Internships: Case Studies from the PPU" by Amjad Al-Natsheh, Palestine Polytechnic University, Palestine

Chair: Dr. Irene Samy Fahim, EYAS member, Nile University, Egypt

02:00 – 02:30 pm CET+1   

"Pave your Way: SI Scholarship and Working in Sweden" by Eng. Mahmoud Hanafy, Software Engineer Volvo Cars, Sweden

Chair: Dr. Ahmed Abdelmonem, EYAS member, Minia University, Egypt

Monday, 26 September 2022
10:00 – 10:30 am CET+1   

"Study and Work in Japan: Opportunities and Challenges" by Dr. Abdelrahman, Zkria Kyushu University, Japan

Chair: Dr. Nadia Bahra, AGYA member, University of Constantine 2, Algeria

10:30 – 11:00 am CET+1   

"Staying Ahead of the Curve in Academia: Key Tips" by Prof. Moataz M. Attallah, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

Chair: Prof. Dr. Ahmed El-Guindy, AGYA alumnus, Cairo University, Egypt

11:00 – 11:30 am CET+1   

"Entrepreneurship from Idea to Launch" by Eng. Ahmed Dahe, TICO Office, Nile University, Egypt

Chair: Dr. Mohamed Elshabrawy, Nile University, Egypt

11:45 am – 12:45 pm CET+1   

"10 Types of Innovation" by Eng. Mohamed Elkatatny, TIEC Innovation, Egypt

Chair: Dr. Ahmed Abdelmonem, EYAS member, Minia University, Egypt

12:45 – 01:15 pm CET+1   

"Prepare for the Industry" by Dr. Mohamed Shaheen, Lenovo Deutschland GmbH, Germany

Chair: Dr. Mai Sallam, Nile University, Egypt

01:30 – 02:30 pm CET+1   

"Beyond Academia: Design your Career" by Dr. Eng. Ramzy Abdelaziz, Nanomicroscopy Center, Aalto University, Finland

Chair: Dr. Mohamed Adm, AGYA member, Palestine Polytechnic University, Palestine