ECG Vice President Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek explained that the Excellence in Engineering Forum in its seventh edition was organized by UTW Program in collaboration with Next Design Magazine, Tea for Engineering Services (Teaserv), and the Egyptian Businessmen Association (EBA), and empowered by ECG. The renowned Architect Dr. Dalia Saadany chaired it.

The seventh Excellence in Engineering Forum stressed that engineering companies in Egypt should cope with the digital transformation and the huge development in the use of technology, when preparing sustainable engineering designs and performing Facility Management and Construction Supervision in a way that improves the quality of the engineering product in the fastest time and at the lowest cost. The forum witnessed a scientific debate between the old school of architectural design, which depends on manual work, and the modern school that depends on the use of the latest technology in architectural design. It also witnessed prominent speakers from Egypt, Italy, and America; Eng. Bassam Khairy of ACUD spoke about Egypt’s “New Administrative Capital” as a model of sustainable, smart, and green cities, while Eng. Mustafa Rashad of Al-Marakby Steel Company spoke about the role of technology in steel manufacturing. Additionally, both of architect Moaz Abu Zaid and architect Islam Al-Mashtooly spoke about technology in engineering design, and highlighted examples of engineering designs for buildings and roads in the UAE. Mr. Mahmoud Farrag, the CEO of the “Smart Parking Co.”, reported on the “Roxy Garage” experience, while Egyptian inventor Eng. Gamil Hassan presented his invention “Gamil CSP”, made for generating cheaper electricity from clean solar power. A preliminary Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Eng. Gamil Hassan and the Italian “Big Investment Co.” This was to finance launching the invention in Egypt and the Middle East. Eng. Mohamed Delaware and Engineer Hossam Harfoush spoke about the role of facility management technology while all of “Teaserv” CEO Eng. Kamal Shawky, “Teaserv” Engineering Director Eng. Ahmed Esawi, “Redcon” BIM Manager Eng. Reham Shahin, Eng. Jared Breidinger of the American “Victaulic”, and Eng. Mouaz Abozaid spoke about the BIM technology used in advanced engineering designs.

Numerous major companies participated in the conference, including “GLC Paints”, “Schneider Electric”, “P-Zone”, “Flowtech”, “Victaulic”, “Redcon Construction”, “El-Marakby Steel”, “Alcobond”, “Swiss Chem”, as well as “Teaserv”.

It is worth mentioning that the seventh Excellence in Engineering Forum is an activity of the University to Work (UTW) Program, which is one of the most important sustainable development programs implemented by ECG, which supports Egypt’s Vision for 2030, and goes in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

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(Tribute to Eng. Amr Allouba)

On Tuesday, September 10^th, 2019, ECG celebrated the graduation of the 11^th Group of UTW Program (the group named after late ECG Chairman Eng. Amr Allouba as a farewell tribute), which included 600 young engineers from different Egyptian Universities and Institutes, as announced by ECG Vice President and UTW Program Founder Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek.

The graduation ceremony held at Intercontinental Citystars under the patronage of H.E. Minister of Housing Dr. Eng. Assem El-Gazzar, H.E. Minister of Social Solidarity Dr. Ghada Waly, H.E. Minister of planning Dr. Hala El-Said and H.E. Minister of Youth & Sports Dr. Ashraf Sobhy. The ceremony was attended by Deputy Minister of Youth & Sports General Mohamed Nour, ECG Chairman Eng. Ahmed El-Sayed, ECG Vice and Chairman’s Mr. Ali Allouba and Mr. Hesham Abdelkawy, as well as partners of success from the private sector like Schneider Electric, Siraj Lighting, Sigma Properties, Scib Paints, Ideal standard, CCC, CES, Leica, 3 Brothers, TEA Computers, Handover and Gamma Invest. In addition to NGOS like Rotary District 2451/Egypt, besides other media coverage representatives, including Next Design, Globalstars, and Al-Qarar El-Masry.

Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek added that the top achiever students and best engineering teams were celebrated in the event, including their families to the celebration. Chairman of Siraj Lighting also announced their plans to employ 60 graduates of the electrical department, and send two UTW Graduates to Germany for training on advanced lighting systems. Moreover, and in the presence of representatives of Napoli’s University Dr. Castiglione Carlo and Prof. Dr. Charalambos Charalambos, Dr. Nevine also announced 33 scholarships for UTW graduates, granted by Napoli’s University of Pafos.

In his talk to the graduates, ECG Chairman Eng. Ahmed El-Sayed highlighted the role of Late ECG Chairman Amr Allouba in supporting the UTW Program, as one of ECG’s main efforts for sustainable development, implemented based on ECG’s corporate value system, established by ECG Co-Founders Eng. Mahmoud Samy Abdelkawy and Eng. Ashraf Hassan Allouba. Eng. Ahmed El-Sayed promised to continue supporting the UTW Program in the exact same manner of Eng. Amr Allouba.

It is worth mentioning that so far, more than 6,500 engineering students have graduated the UTW Program since its launch in 2010, all of which were employed at ECG and successfully started their own engineering businesses.

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The UTW 11’s opening ceremony was also attended by Dr. Sotiris Varelas, representative of Neapolis University Pafos of Cyprus, and Ms. Aliki Botouno, Chairperson of Gamma Invest Co. of Greece, which represents the NUP in Egypt. Dr. Abdelkhalek paid tribute to the UTW program’s major sponsors, including Tea Computers, Schneider Electric, Sigma, Ideal Standard, Siraj Lighting and Scib Paints.

As for the new activities due to be incorporated into this year’s UTW round, she pointed out that ECG plans to cooperate with NUP in this respect. UTW students will perform voluntary working hours to promote eliminating anemia aboard the floating hospital organized by the Rotary District, alongside cooperation with Ahl-Misr Foundation, which will deliver technical sessions on the design of the Burn Care Hospital. Dr. Abdelkhalek added that there would be cooperation with Handover, which will provide sessions on building using environmentally friendly building materials. Furthermore, discussed the progress made hitherto in the ‘Impact’ project with Nile University, and how NU students can register for long life learning courses.

In her brief speech, Dr. Sotiris Varelas mentioned offering scholarships to UTW students to study at NUP, and sending professors from NUP to teach at the UTW program. For her part, Dr. Dalia Al-Saadany, President of the Association of Design Architects in Italy, stressed that ASDA is ready to enable UTW students to participate in an International Design Award competition.

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The graduation ceremony was attended by H.E. Minister of Public Business Sector Eng. Hesham Tawfeek, Mr. Ashraf Hamdy, representing H.E. Minister of Social Solidarity Dr. Ghada Waly, Eng. Ahmed Taha, representing H.E. Minister of Trade & Industry Eng. Amr Nassar, and the Governor of Rotary District 2451, Eng. Abdel Hamid El-Awa, as well as parents of the celebrated UTW alumni.

ECG Vice President & UTW Founder Dr. Nevine AbdelKhalek honored the best teams of graduates and top-ranking students from each department. She also applauded the program’s main sponsors, including Schneider Electric, Ideal Standard, Siraj Lighting, Sigma Properties, Scib Paints, Tea Computers, and Excellent-Way.

During the graduation ceremony, Dr. AbdelKhalek announced the cooperation of the UTW program with the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation, by which 20 UTW graduates will be selected to participate in Islamic geometry workshops. Siraj Lighting also announced awarding four scholarships for UTW graduates to pursue their master’s degrees in lighting systems abroad.

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The 20 UTW alumni will join a training program that focuses on Islamic geometry and its relationship with architecture and design, and the conservation and rescue of Cairene Mamluk minibars (stepped pulpits). Photos from UTW archive show the launch of Rescuing the Mamlouk Minbars of Cairo project held at Beit el-Razzaz, El-Darb el-Ahmar, in Cairo on April 4, 2018, in the presence of representatives from the British Council, project leader Dr. Omneya Abdel Bar, as well as the Egyptian Heritage Rescue Foundation.

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The opening ceremony highlight was an interactive feature interview with Dr. Salama, which focused on his success story and called upon young engineers to invest their time in lifelong learning and promote their entrepreneurship skills. The interview was led by EBA member Mr. Mohamed Montasir, and followed by a Q&A session with the trainees.

During the opening ceremony, Dr. Abdelkhalek and the UTW team acknowledged the main sponsors (companies and associations) supporting the initiative, including Schneider Electric, Sigma, Ideal Standard, Siraj Lighting, Scib Paints, Rotary Club of El Tahrir, and District 2451. She also shed light on the role of the UTW team with Nile University with respect to introducing the Architectural Department through the IMPAQT project funded by ERASMUS.

Dr. Abdelkhalek announced the 4^th round of the Engineering Employment Fair—which will focus on engineering jobs as well as construction and building jobs—is due to take place next October, adding that registration has also opened for workshops addressing Islamic architecture and the restoration of Mamlouk pulpits (minbars). The main corporate sponsors, Franklin Covey Egypt, delivered the first professional skills session on the topic of ‘Self-Directed Leadership.

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During the opening ceremony, the details of this year’s program were laid out and two new initiatives were announced. The first is the Aswan-based International Winter School, which aims at training a total of 60 engineering students in the fields of architecture, interior design, civil engineering, and project management. The second initiative—titled “Dolls of Egypt”—is implemented by Terous Misr Foundation for Development (Terous); it aims at the production of dolls with distinctive features characteristic of the Egyptian culture.

During the event several industry leaders were keen to share their insights with UTW students. Housing & Urban Communities Deputy Minister Dr. Ahmed Adel Darwish updated the students on the current status of informal settlements. He also outlined the potential role of UTW students
in the development of such settlements. Engineer Hussein Sabbour, founder of Sabbour Consulting Company and other engineering firms, shared his inspiring success story as a consulting engineer and real estate developer.

On his part, Terous Executive Director Hatem Khater emphasized the expected role of UTW students in the “Dolls of Egypt” initiative as doll designers and future entrepreneurs. Dr. Abdul Wahab Ghoneim, Vice President of the Arab Union for E-Commerce, highlighted the importance of e-commerce applications and pointed out how young engineers can benefit from such applications in their future business ventures.

Ahmed Barrani and Ahmed Kamel of the Ministry of Housing & Urban Communities discussed the challenges and opportunities encountered in the process of urban renewal. They highlighted the potential role of UTW students in the urban renewal of Al-Mawardi slum of Cairo.

The opening ceremony was concluded by an interactive workshop on leadership skills. The workshop was conducted by Dr. Nour El-Zeiny of the American University in Cairo.

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On the following day, Dr. AbdelKhalek had an important preparatory meeting with Alexandria University Vice President Dr. Essam Al-Kordy. They discussed the potential of expanding the UTW initiative to include Alexandria University’s engineering graduates, in collaboration with ECG Alexandria. In this respect, both parties agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding soon.

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UTW 6^th round targets 300 engineering students from governmental as well as private universities and institutes. Students are scheduled to attend 230 training hours of technical and professional skills, along with providing hands-on experience through construction site visits. Furthermore, UTW students usually fulfill 20 hours of voluntary work. This time, the UTW voluntary activities will entail helping the ministry, in its endeavor to solve the problem of informal settlements, to develop the crafts of 10,000 young people in slum areas, especially in the fields of building, construction and maintenance.

It is worth mentioning that through the previous five iterations of UTW, more than 1,500 young engineers became qualified adequately to find unique opportunities in the labor market.

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In her capacity as ECG’s Vice President and UTW Project Manager, Dr. Nevine Abdel Khalek has planned to seize the ceremony opportunity and sign the Cooperation Protocol between ECG and the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate. The protocol targets to launch a joint initiative to provide 10,000 engineering students with professional skills required for the labor market both at home and abroad.

The total number of graduates from the UTW 5^th group is 175 engineering students from Egyptian universities of Cairo, Helwan, Ain Shams, Benha, Mattaryia, as well as the 10^th of Ramadan Higher Institute of Technology, and Al-Shorouk Academy. It is worth mentioning that through the five iterations of UTW, over 1,500 young engineers became adequately qualified to find employment opportunities in the labor market.

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Focusing on sustainability, graduation projects addressed the “Mixed-use Buildings”, presented under themes of “Intelligent Green Building, Sustainable Design, Eco-friendly and Healthier Building”. The evaluation criterion of student projects was based on enhancing “Creative Thinking and Sustainable Design”. UTW architectural coordinators from ECG attending the discussion of student projects were: main UTW Coordinator & Senior Architect, Mostafa Mahdy; LEED GA and members of the Architectural Department Green Building Committee, Karim Ramadan and Somia Ragheb; and Energy Modeling Consultant, Mohamed Badr.

The Assessment Commission responsible for the evaluation of students’ projects included a team of Green Building experts and professionals; namely, Architectural Professor at the American University in Cairo (AUC), Dr. Sherif Mourad; Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Helwan University, Dr. Eman Osama; Teaching Assistant at Ain shams University, Mr. Hisham Bahaa El-din; Teaching Assistant at 10th of Ramadan High Technology Institute, Mr. Ahmed Abou-Hendia; and Low-Energy Building Expert at the European Union Project, Dr. Florentine Visser. Following the discussion of students’ projects, the Commission summarized their comments with the aim of developing the students’ knowledge in a scientific and objective meaningful way.

At the end of the day, the Assessment Commission praised UTW students and the parties concerned with the program. In acknowledgement of the level of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes (KSA) acquired by UTW students, the Commission members also expressed their happiness and appreciation for efforts exerted in the UTW program.

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UTW 6^th round targeted 300 engineering students from various governmental and private universities & institutes.

Due to the importance of the event, one of ECG’s two founders, Eng. Sami AbdelKawi; and Chairman of both ECG & TEA Computers, Eng. Amr Allouba attended the ceremony, with the presence of Schneider Electric’s Country President, Mr. Albert Fuchet; as well as the Egyptian comedian star Mohamed Sobhy.

H.E. Dr. Laila Eskander stated that the ministry is now collaborating with UTW initiative for the elimination of slums, and stressed on the ministry’s intent to work on a project for these areas.

Moreover, she expressed her wishes to build Egypt through the youth, emphasizing that UTW initiative will support youth with the best training based on their prospective career needs.

H.E. Dr. Nahed Al-Ashry emphasized the importance of pre and post-graduation training and its role in sharpening the skills required for the labor market. She sees that the initiative’s title combining the two important elements ”University” and “Work” clearly expresses the significance of training.

Moreover, the famous actor Mohamed Sobhy expressed his appreciation towards UTW initiative which helps the youth to evenly link the academic education with professional career.

At the end of the ceremony, ECG Vice President and UTW Project Manager, Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek stated that through the previous five iterations of UTW, more than 1,500 young engineers have graduated and became adequately qualified to find unique opportunities in the labor market.

Following the University To Work (UTW) 6^th graduation ceremony, the 5^th Excellence in Engineering forum was held on 22nd December, 2014 under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Laila Eskander. The event entitled “The Role of UTW Youth in the Urban Renewal of Informal Settlements” took place in the Ministry of Urban Renewal and Informal Settlements (MURIS) and was organized by ECG in collaboration with the Egyptian European Organization for Training and Development (EEOTD) and Barclays Egypt.

Eng. Ahmed Essawy, one of the organizers and UTW Technical Deputy Manager stated that the 5th forum was organized in the framework of mutual cooperation between UTW and MURIS to present new innovative ideas for urban revitalization in the informal areas.

UTW students presented their projects for urban renewal of slums focusing on a variety of energysaving technologies as well as projects related to promising alternative energy sources.

Dr. Nevine Abdelkhalek confirmed that other projects will be presented to the minister addressing waste recycling, green buildings as well as projects applying LEED standards and BIM technology. At the end of the forum, H.E. Dr. Laila Eskander expressed her appreciation towards the ideas of UTW graduates, and promised to allocate one of the informal areas to implement their projects.

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In her speech, Dr. Iskandar shed light on the National Project for the Urban Development of Slums, and explained the role that young engineers can play in the sustainable urban development of slums. Dr. Iskandar also discussed the concepts of “Popular Engineering” and “Untraditional Urban Planning,” which address the real-world needs of the inhabitants of slums. In this respect, she also emphasized the importance of social dialogue.

Later on, in a Q&A with Dr. Iskandar, she answered questions from students on the ministry’s strategic plan for urban development in slums.

During the opening session of UTW Round 7, top-ranking students from various universities and the distinguished team of the Modern Academy for Engineering & Technology were honored. Following the opening session, Mohab Mohie and Ahmed Adel Khafagi of ECG’s Healthcare Facilities Department delivered technical training to the UTW Healthcare Facilities Group.

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UTW-7 has hosted a total of 500 engineering graduates from public and private Egyptian universities, as part of the UTW initiative sponsored by ECG, in collaboration with the Egyptian European Organization for Training & Development (EEOTD), TEA Computers, Schneider Electric, Ideal Standard, and Rotary District 2451. As part of the UTW-7 Graduation Ceremony, top-ranking students and distinguished teams from different engineering specializations were honored amid the applause of their fellow graduates and their parents.

During the ceremony, Architect Dalia Al-Saadany, President of the International Association of Designers (IAD), announced that ECG has been selected as the “Capital of Engineering Design” worldwide. Al-Saadany also praised the efforts made by ECG in setting excellence in design as a norm in the minds of young engineers. She urged other Egyptian private-sector firms to follow in the footsteps of ECG in relation to their Corporate Social Responsibility.

In her speech, ECG Vice-President & UTW Project Manager Dr. Nevine AbdelKhalek stated that UTW is considered a key training program for employment in Egypt, and that the initiative had been acknowledged by the United Nations in 2012 as one of the best CSR models brought forward by the private sector worldwide. In the same context, Dr. Sorour congratulated the graduates on their achievement and recognized the effort exerted by ECG to qualify Egyptian youth for the national and international labor markets.

He urged the youth to make good use of all the available training opportunities to gain more technical and professional skills. He added that the Ministry of Manpower is ready to cooperate with all partners and stakeholders in qualifying Egyptian youth for the labor market and creating more employment opportunities.

On behalf of Minister of Environment Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Dr. Reda expressed his appreciation for the UTW initiative and stated that there is a great potential for cooperation between UTW and the Ministry of Environment.

In his speech, Dr. Khattab stated that it was not the first time for him to attend a UTW Graduation Ceremony, and that both he and Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers President Tarek Al-Nabarawy appreciate the great effort made by ECG through the UTW initiative.

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