02/01/2023

Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research presides over the meeting of the Council of Research Centers, Institutes and Organizations

- The Council honors Prof. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population

Prof. Ayman Ashour: The necessity of linking scientific research with industry and directing it to serve the community

Prof. Ayman Ashour emphasizes linking the research plans of research centers and institutes with the needs of development sectors

The Council of Research Centers, Institutes and Organizations held a meeting chaired by Prof. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, in the presence of  Prof. Yasser Refaat, Deputy Minister for Scientific Research Affairs, Prof. Walid Al-Zawawi, Secretary General of the Council,  Prof. Mahmoud Saqr, President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Prof. Walaa Sheta, CEO of the Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Authority, and members of the Council, at the Ministry's headquarters.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Council honored  Prof. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, Minister of Health and Population, in appreciation of his tangible contributions and efforts in all files of higher education and scientific research during his tenure as the portfolio of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Prof . Khaled Abdel Ghaffar congratulated the Council on the occasion of the new Gregorian year, thanking all members of the Council Research centers, institutes and bodies for their efforts during his tenure in the ministry, stressing that the successes achieved in the ministry during the past period, whether in higher education or scientific research, were the result of teamwork in all files, thanking  Prof. Ayman Ashour and wishing him more success in all work files in the ministry Pointing to the keenness of the Ministries of Health, Higher Education and Scientific Research to continue fruitful cooperation and coordination between them to serve the community.

Prof. Ayman Ashour praised the number of achievements that have been executed in all files of higher education and scientific research during the tenure of Prof. Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, thanking him and wishing him all success in the Ministry of Health and Population; to achieve more progress in the health sector in Egypt.

The council honored Prof. Mohamed Hashem, former head of the National Research Center, and Prof. Emad Owais, the former head of the Metals Research and Development Center, for their efforts during their tenure as head of these centers, extending his congratulations to Prof. Hussein Darwish for assuming the duties of the head of the National Research Center, and to Prof. Mahmoud Ramzy for assuming the duties of the director of the Petroleum Research Institute, and to Prof. Ibrahim Ghayyad for assuming the duties of the head of the research center and development of minerals.

Prof. Ayman Ashour confirmed during the meeting, the importance of regularity in holding the regular meeting of the Council; to discuss important issues related to the visions and future research plans of research centers and institutes within the framework of the future vision of the state.

Prof. Ayman Ashour stressed the importance of integration and cooperation between Egyptian universities and the centers, institutes and research bodies affiliated with the Ministry, in light of the future plan of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, whose axes are based on interdisciplines, integration between scientific disciplines, active participation, international reference, sustainability, and innovation; to serve the geographical regions to which research centers and universities belong, and the importance of each side benefiting from the other; to achieve the vision of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, to serve Egypt's vision for sustainable development 2030.

The minister stressed the importance of linking the research product to industry, directing scientific research to serve the community, and facing the challenges related to economic growth, in order to achieve the sustainable development goals of the state (Egypt's Vision 2030), stressing the importance of the societal and service role of these centers and institutes, especially in the fields of industry, agriculture, health and technology localization, and other priority areas to serve the goals of sustainable development, and its role in supporting industry and transforming research ideas into products with an economic return on society, explaining that applied scientific research is the basis of industry.

The minister pointed out the importance of focusing on manufacturing industries, and moving from the stage of exporting raw materials to the stage of exporting manufactured materials abroad, stressing the importance of continuing applied research to localize the industry, increase the local component, and maximize the benefit from the expertise of Egyptian scientists.

Prof. Ayman Ashour said that each research center or institute include a vice-president of the center or institute for innovation and industry linkage; to be responsible for marketing plans and research production and linking it to industry and other economic activities.

During the council meeting, Prof. Mahmoud Saqr, President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, highlighted the ministry's proposed plan to enrich the Wikipedia platform with Egyptian scientific symbols; to publish scientific articles on a larger scale from the distinguished sons of Egypt, as role models, through which Egypt is known locally, regionally and internationally.

For its part, the council approved the formation of the committee concerned with nominating applicants for the position of Head of the Surgical Clinical Research Division at Theodore Bilharz Research Institute, and Head of the Clinical Sciences Department at the Eye Diseases Research Institute.