The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the President of Alexandria University Essam El Kordy have witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), represented by the Applied Innovation Center (AIC); and Alexandria University, represented by Smart Critical Infrastructure Research Center (SmartCI).
The aim is to implement applied research projects that aim to use the latest ICTs in developing innovative solutions to critical issues in vital areas, such as health and agriculture.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Deputy ICT Minister for Infrastructure Raafat Hindy, the Director of the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) Iman Ashour, the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technology Innovation, Electronics Industry and Training Hossam Osman and the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Research and Development Noha Adly.
The agreement was signed by the AIC Head Ahmed Tantawy, and SmartCI Director Mohamed Rizk.
Pursuant to the agreement, the AIC team will cooperate technically with a team of faculty members at Alexandria University. Each team will implement the agreed work items in an environment of full coordination and facilitation of the exchange of information and experiences.
The ICT Minister underlined that signing the agreement is a new milestone in the journey of cooperation between MCIT and Alexandria University, which reflects MCIT interest in research cooperation with academic and research institutions. The aim is to synergize efforts to exchange knowledge experiences and carry out digital projects that serve development and contribute to building Digital Egypt, he added.
Talaat stated that the agreement is the first work of AIC, which will have practical results with a positive impact on citizens’ lives in the field of health.
For his part, El Kordy highlighted that the agreement focuses on the collaboration between the two sides in upskilling new generations of specialists in modern technical fields, with ensuring that these skills and outputs resulting from applied research projects, including new technological products, contribute to boosting the national economy.
The cooperation is in line with the belief that the role of universities is no longer limited to delivering knowledge to students, but also includes playing an effective role in promoting innovation and applied research to achieve further progress, especially in modern technological fields, El Kordy added.
MCIT established AIC with the aim of promoting creativity and innovation in the application of modern ICTs, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), big data analysis, robotics, 5G networks and more.
This is in addition to using these technologies to come up with solutions to societal challenges, as well developing human capital through carrying out projects to apply these solutions and create an enabling environment for the growth of innovative startups.
SmartCI vision is to be a pioneering research institution, supporting research excellence and continuous development and raising efficiency and creativity in smart infrastructure, at the local and global level, becoming a global leading center. This is achieved through developing innovative ways to integrate computer and ICT systems with the infrastructure systems.
SmartCI launched several programs to encourage researchers write research proposals and link the infrastructure industry with university. It also offers a number of training courses for faculty members and junior researchers.
