The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy have witnessed, via videoconference, the signing of a cooperation protocol between the two ministries. The aim is to host the activities of Digital Egypt Builders Initiative (DEBI) at a number of premises affiliated to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and carry out a sports and health program for the initiative trainees.

DEBI was launched by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), targeting upskilling the top graduates at the faculties of engineering, and computers and information. This is in addition to granting them a professional Master’s degree in an in-depth ICT specialization, granted by a world-class university. Specializations are data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI); cybersecurity; robotics and automation; and digital arts. Participants also receive training certificates from major ICT companies, and certificates in leadership and administration skills, as well as in the English language.

The ICT Minister highlighted that the protocol is part of the productive cooperation between the two ministries. He underlined that DEBI aims to equip young people with integrated skills and capabilities, which reflects the significance of establishing cooperation between the two ministries, especially as the Ministry of Youth and Sports implements sports and educational activities for the participants of the initiative.

For his part, Sobhy commended the multilevel productive cooperation with MCIT as a partner in implementing a number of programs and projects. He stressed the importance of developing young people’s skills in science and other areas, through a set of specialized training programs implemented by the Ministry, in cooperation with different institutions and organizations.

The three year protocol aims to enhance the cooperation between MCIT and the Ministry of Youth and Sports to make Gezira Youth Center and the Civil Education Center of the Ministry of Youth and Sports a temporary headquarter for DEBI. This is in addition to enabling accommodation of non- Cairo residents, participants of the initiative, at the hotels in both Gezira Youth Center and the Civil Education Center.

Cooperation also involves availing the main halls, laboratories, and faculty and administrative staff rooms, as well as carrying out a sports, health and entertainment program, including different sports activities, such as fitness programs and others for nurturing talents in various sports.

The cooperation between the two ministries comes within the endeavor to create a participatory, interactive learning environment that spurs innovation and excellence, in which global knowledge and technologies are shared. This is in addition to upskilling graduates of the targeted universities in state-of-the-art ICT technologies, to keep pace with technological developments and meet the local and global labor market demand.

Cooperation also aims to develop and qualify a generation of young people in technology, to help them attain the strategic vision of the state.

The protocol was signed by the Deputy ICT Minister for Infrastructure Raafat Hindy and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Ashraf Saleh, in the presence of the Advisor to the ICT Minister for Technological Talents Hoda Baraka and a number of officials from the two ministries.

It is worth mentioning that within the framework of DEBI, MCIT and the University of Ottawa in Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide a professional Master’s program in electrical and computer engineering, in AI and data science; and Internet of Things (IoT) and robotics. MCIT also signed an MoU with The Ohio State University to provide a technical Master’s degree in cybersecurity.

The initial admission tests and interviews have been conducted for 450 students, in addition, two English tests, including Duolingo and TOEFL, are currently taking place, for applicants to fulfill the world-class universities admission requirements.