Ain Shams University organizes a dialogue of Egyptian-German experts to confront climate change and extreme water and climatic conditions

On Tuesday, Ain Shams University, in cooperation with the representative offices of German universities "Free University of Berlin, Technical University of Berlin and University of Marburg", organized an Egyptian-German expert dialogue entitled "Challenges and Actions to Confront Climate Change and Extreme Water and Climate Conditions in Egypt", as part of the Egyptian state's preparations for a conference "COP 27" and a celebration of the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Egypt and Germany.

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of Ain Shams University, Dr. Jans Brandenburg, German Deputy Minister of Education and Scientific Research, and a delegation from the German Embassy headed by Prof. Tilmann Hochmüller, Deputy German Ambassador, Dr. Kai Zicks, Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Prof. Fatima Suleiman, Deputy Director of the Cairo Office, German Academic Exchange Service, and Dr. Verena Lieber in charge of the Arab-German Academy for Young Researchers (AGYA), Prof. Abdel Fattah Saud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Ayman Saleh, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research, Prof. Dr. Ghada Farouk, Acting Vice President for Community Service and Environmental Development, and Prof. Ayman Farid Abu Hadid, former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abdel Qawi Khalifa, Governor of Cairo, and former Minister of Irrigation, Prof. Mamdouh El-Damaty, former Minister of Antiquities and former Dean of the Faculty of Archeology, Prof. Shahira Samir, Executive Director of the International Relations and Academic Cooperation Sector, and a group of German professors in addition to Prof. Huda Mahjoub, Mrs. Angie Nafie, Mrs. Irene Kharrazi; Representatives of German universities in Egypt, a number of deans and agents of faculties and faculty members, and the visit was coordinated by Dr. Noha El-Rafei, Deputy Director of Grants and Projects Department at Ain Shams University participated in the events of the dialogue.

High-level delegations from the German Ministry of Education and Research, German and Egyptian bodies and a group of scientific experts and researchers from both countries in different fields such as climate change, agriculture, environment, weather, remote sensing, environmental engineering, environmental monitoring and startup companies also participated in the event to present and discuss Shared experiences as well as best practices.

A.D. explained. Mahmoud El-Matini, President of the University, said that there have been many events held at the university during the past years related to the factors of climate change and their effects on all aspects of life, pointing out that today’s meeting, in cooperation with three German universities, deals with the impact of climate on water and renewable energy and its importance on agriculture, especially smart agriculture. Discusses the issue of water scarcity in the region in particular and the world in general.

He added that Egypt has many dry desert areas, as is the case in many surrounding areas, as is the case in Germany and many European countries, where the temperature increases and the water decreases, and all these effects must be addressed by the whole world because a country alone will not be able to cope with that. It was necessary to exchange experiences and scientific research between countries of the world.

In this sense, the university cooperates with the German side, and after a week there will be cooperation with another country to exchange experiences with many countries of the world in cooperation with the faculties of Ain Shams University, including the faculties of (engineering - environmental studies - agriculture - science and faculties of the medical sector), all of these sectors Collaborate and share with each other to come up with new research because we, as a scientific community, are concerned with this important matter to come up with the information that decision makers need to meet these global challenges.

Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Meteini pointed out that Ain Shams University has many relations with several German universities, and there is joint scientific research, and we have many Egyptian envoys in Germany, besides visits to the German professor at Ain Shams University, and we also receive many German students and we continue to cooperate is not Only with Germany but with many universities at the international level.

A.D. explained. Ayman Saleh, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research Affairs, said that diplomatic relations between Egypt and Germany were accompanied by scientific relations, and the German partners are the second largest partner of Ain Shams University in research projects after France. There are more than 8 agreements between the university and German universities, in addition to cooperation with 10 universities Other German companies in various fields such as training and scientific visits, in addition to the existence of cooperation with some German companies.

Prof. Dr. Ayman Saleh indicated that a number of representatives of government universities and some private and private Egyptian universities participated in the meeting. The scientific day included five lectures with the participation of experts from Egypt and Germany, followed by a roundtable discussion, followed by three specialized workshops in three tracks, a workshop on climate change and another on water changes. and the third workshop on extreme weather changes.

The event also included a set of presentations and a seminar discussion for deeper scientific conversations and to promote long-term cooperation by examining possible channels of scientific exchange to initiate and promote successful cooperation between participating institutions and scientists.

It is worth noting that today's activities began with the visit of Dr. Jans Brandenburg, German Deputy Minister of Education and Scientific Research, and a delegation from the German Embassy headed by Prof. Tillmann Hochmüller, Deputy German Ambassador, d. Kai Zicks, Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), Prof. Fatima Suleiman, Deputy Director of the Cairo Office, German Academic Exchange Service, and Dr. Verena Lieber, who is responsible for the Arab-German Academy for Young Researchers (AGYA), a number of members of the Academy and a high-level delegation from the German Ministry of Higher Education and the German Embassy of the Faculty of Pharmacy to follow up on research projects and equipment in the faculty, where they were received by Prof. Amany Osama, Dean of the Faculty, and Deans, and Prof. Maha Nasr, the professor in the Department of Pharmaceutics at the Faculty and a member of the AGYA organization, made a research lecture on the treatment of Covid-19 using nanotechnology.

The delegation expressed its happiness with the cooperation between the Faculty, the AGYA Academy and German universities in the research and societal fields. It also praised the advanced equipment in the Faculty's laboratories, and the delegation praised the joint research projects.

After that, the delegation headed to the Saffron Palace, where they were received by Prof. Abdel Fattah Saud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Ayman Saleh, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research, Prof. Ghada Farouk, the acting vice president for community service and environmental development affairs, and a meeting was held with professors and students in joint programs with Ain Shams University and German universities, and they listened to their views and the difficulties they face and ways to solve them. There was also a conversation with German professors specializing in the field of climate change. And extreme water and weather phenomena (flood - drought - frost weather - very hot weather), to discuss how this can be faced through joint cooperation between German and Egyptian universities.

After the reception ceremony at the Saffron Palace, the delegation headed to participate in the activities of the scientific day at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Building ihub, where he spoke at the opening session. Ayman Saleh, Vice President of Ain Shams University for Graduate Studies and Research Affairs, and the German Deputy Minister of Education. After the opening session, there were presentations from German and Egyptian professors, followed by a discussion session between the two sides with the participation of Dr. Abdel Kawy Khalifa and Prof. Dr. Ayman Farid Abu Hadid and Prof. Dr. Noha Donia, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Environmental Research at the university, and Prof. Ali El Bahrawy, Professor of Irrigation and Hydraulics at the Faculty of Engineering, along with three professors from German universities. The session was followed by three workshops in specialized fields to enhance cooperation between the two sides. Recommendations were made on the basis of which a conception of cooperation protocols between the two sides would be developed.