The Arab Academy for Science, Technology & Maritime Transport is a regional university operated by the Arab League which runs programs in marine transportation, business, engineering and is quickly growing its curriculum to ensure recent graduates meet labor market requirements. Established in 1972, the multi-purpose & multi-task institution specialized on offering its services to Arab and African students.
What benefits do non-profit universities bring to Egypt’s educational sector?
The non-profit educational model is very important and should be made more widespread in Egypt. The Arab Academy is a perfect example. We can say the government’s decision to build our campus in New Al Alamein is a decisive step highlighting the achievements of the model.
The non-profit model has allowed management to enact positive changes that will benefit the university and its students.
Although being self-financed is a challenge. Not having a profit-seeking owner has the university to invest in human capital. Universities should invest in the quality of their staff. The Arab Academy has been able to finance reputable PhD programs for 250 faculty members around the world. This has positively impacted the quality in our classrooms. We are therefore continuously improving the caliber of our staff and students.
In addition to human capital, we have been able to reinvest profits into rolling out new technologies and develop university labs. These labs in combination with private sector collaborations allow us to increase the practical elements for students.
In a private sector partnership agreement, we are developing an IOT lab which is helping students and staff learn and prove new concepts.
Another example is our collaboration with HPC Hamburg Port Consulting, an internationally renowned consulting firm with long-standing experience in the global port, transport, and logistics sector. We have developed the master plan for seaports within Egypt’s vision 2030 allowing us to transfer this knowledge to our faculty and staff. This experience will enable us to help other Arab countries to do the same things. Partnerships are a crucial part of developing the capabilities of the university.
How are you working to boost accreditation?
Our strategy to achieve excellence in education has international accreditations as the central pillar for its development. AASMT has been awarded the ISO 9001:2008 certificate for its educational processes.
Our undergraduate programs offered by the College of Engineering and Technology are accredited by the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities (SCU). The Colleges of engineering and technology, Management and Technology, International Transport and Logistics obtained the accreditation of National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education (NAQAA). Our architectural programs are validated by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). The maritime academy graduates can work on EU vessels thanks to European Commission accreditation. We teach air transport under the certification of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). In addition, professional diplomas for progress cargo and logistics are supported by the International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations (FIATA).
We are actively seeking international collaborations and partnering with international accreditations to deliver quality education that is globally recognized. These give our graduates a new dimension.
How is AASMT’s flagship in New Alamein City campus developing?
AASMT is working on two challenging new campuses. New Alamein and Sharja in the UAE.
The New Alamein campus is currently under construction. It will hold 34 buildings and can accommodate 10 000 students. It will be a smart campus with heavy technological features including a data center.
The inauguration should be in September 2019 when construction is 80% done, and the campus should be completed in June 2020. The new campus will start from kindergarten. It will hold an innovation and entrepreneurship center so we can encourage self-employment. It features dorms, a community center, cultural center, and sports facilities amongst many other amenities to serve the entire community.
We have put much thought into what educational programs will meet the job needs of the future within the region. Therefore we will have exciting new educational opportunities available.
The city is meant to become the capital for tourism in the southern Mediterranean opening the door for the medical tourism sector so we will teach dentistry amongst other studies. The area surrounding the new city will soon have a new nuclear power station and several logistic zones. Many educational programs will be rolled out to meet the needs of these new sectors with new partnerships from the US and Europe.