Announcement of the World Forum on Higher Education and Scientific Research for 2021

The Corona pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges for people in all sectors, especially education, in addition to dire consequences that have affected global health and social and economic shocks disproportionately.

In the matter of education, universities and educational institutions had to transform their infrastructure, educational system and educational environment to adapt distance education within a very short period.

Regarding scientific research, the scientific research community had to respond to such a pandemic quickly and focus on innovation to respond to the epidemic, restore the economy and save humanity.

It is worth noting that there is a close relationship between education and scientific research on the one hand and nine sustainable development goals, 19 sub-goals and 22 indicators to achieve a better life for humanity, empower women with education, and hone entrepreneurial skills for young people.

We appreciate and thank His Excellency President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of the Republic, for the forum and for his attendance and directives at the opening session, on the need to provide quality education to developing countries, especially the countries of the Organization of the Islamic World.

You may notice the impact of the Corona pandemic and its various changes on the perception of education, science, technology and employment.

The pressure on health and the economy has also affected the ways and methods of thinking about future opportunities and challenges.

● It has become necessary in similar epidemic conditions, the need for platforms for a stable education system with complete security and professionalism to provide knowledge, skills and certification.

It has also been known that countries with a unified vision and investing infrastructure will lead and attract regional candidates for education.

Hence, investment in science, technology and innovation has become necessary to adapt to the fourth and fifth industrial revolution, which will help create new job opportunities.

It was found that stimulating the multidisciplinary education system and scientific research is the main driver of community stability and economic growth, especially basic sciences such as physics and mathematics.

Emphasizing that quality assurance and standardization will play a role in regional and international cooperation in the fields of education, science, technology and innovation.

It should also be guided by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were adopted by the United Nations in 2030.

For future employment, we must recognize the importance and relevance of future jobs and emerging technology.

We also emphasize the role of the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolution and its direct and indirect impact on education, science, technology and innovation.

The need to mainstream Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for future jobs has also been demonstrated.

The importance of indigenous and technological knowledge for social and economic development must be reaffirmed.

We express our appreciation for the Egyptian enthusiasm represented by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, to implement the World Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research, in its second edition, with this great gathering during the epidemic crisis, and we thank the Egyptian Ministry of Health for all the support and measures it has taken; To ensure the safe health of attendees in the forum.

In light of the success and impact achieved by the Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research in its first session in 2019, and based on the ambitious strategy of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, which is in line with the sustainable development goals approved by the United Nations, and despite the pandemic of the emerging Corona virus, Egyptian universities were able to: It is digitally transforming the distance education system, and the ministry has built new private universities, updated the interdisciplinary courses for advanced and supportive of global competitiveness, and continued to conclude partnership agreements with advanced international universities, in joint degrees, which provides better opportunities for young graduates in the labor market with new jobs.

The Ministry also supported the establishment of the Fund for the Care of Innovators and Geniuses, to support innovators and innovators, which contributes to supporting the local economy, with innovations and advanced technological ideas. Technological incubator in electronics.

Hence, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research committed to organizing the forum annually, and in the second session of the Forum 2021, about 24,000 participants from 77 countries attended, representing educational and research institutions, civil society organizations and international bodies.

During the three-day event (December 8-10, 2021), 50 scientific and consultative sessions were held, with 102 speakers participating.

On the sidelines of the forum, 65 exhibitors from Egypt and the world participated in the exhibition. The attendees agreed that education must continue to promote creativity, excellence, and equity, and to enable all young people to become confident, creative individuals, successful learners and an active and enlightened society.

Accordingly, the participants made the following recommendations:

Enhancing innovative and creative education capabilities by providing an enabling environment with a dynamic platform that promotes creativity and innovation.

Ensuring an enabling environment for competitive education, innovation and creativity by strengthening institutions; collective management systems; increasing science and technology funding; and strengthening regional and international cooperation.

Promote the development and use of new business models for innovative and competitive education systems, which are likely to play a role as drivers and contributors to economic, social and cultural development.

Increase support for research and development by strengthening links between academia, industry, government and civil society organizations; With the aim of improving and commercializing research and development and increasing investments in science, technology and innovation.

Harnessing science, technology and innovation for sustainable development and opening the door to entrepreneurs.

Promote international and regional cooperation that ensures high-quality, highly skilled education and attracts a participating community of regional students.

Strengthening cooperation between higher education institutions and research centers to support overcoming national and international challenges through creativity, innovation and knowledge exchange.

Encouraging research centers to rank (rank) higher, and measure performance, which plays an important role for marketing and societal impact on the knowledge economy.

Supporting education in space science and technology and emphasizing that space is an opportunity open to all nations, which will affect the activities of our daily lives, through the contribution of the space economy to global economic growth.

Emphasizing that education is the way to achieve global economic growth, and that it is a right for all ages, for men and women alike, with an emphasis on universities and international institutions to work towards achieving this.

Integrating long-term learning from kindergarten to the end of secondary education through curricula that show students its value, as well as how to continue learning and benefit from it and ensure the development of teachers' abilities to play their desired role in the educational process.

Working to change the societal view of technical education and its needs, while highlighting the effective role of the media in this, to build a society that accepts technical education, and its effective role in all sectors such as industry, supply chains, agriculture and information technology.

Integrating man and machine to reach the best and most appropriate solutions to achieve a safer future, to produce human-made technological products, adopt the policies of technological revolutions and benefit from human behavior.

The attendees agreed that the date of the third edition of the Global Forum for Higher Education and Scientific Research GFHS 2022 will be held from 7-9 December 2022, God willing.