From Mansoura to Manchester

Egypt’s national universities added six foreign academic partnerships, the latest in a push to internationalize a university system now facing its first labor-market test. The National Universities Council approved one cooperation agreement and five MoUs between Egyptian and foreign institutions, according to a cabinet statement. The agreements aim to expand research partnerships, attract international students, and enable joint and dual-degree programs.

The breakdown:

• King Salman International University with Germany's Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (cooperation agreement);
• Mansoura National University with the UK's University of Manchester;
• Nile University with Romania's University of Oradea;
• Galala University with the Dubai arm of diagnostics firm Beckman Coulter, and separately with the University of Jordan;
• Egypt University of Informatics with France's CESI Graduate School of Engineering.

IN CONTEXT- The new MoUs add to a broader push across Egypt’s national universities that we’ve been tracking. Our recent Blackboard deep-dive found that nine months after the first graduating class from Egypt's post-2018 national universities, hiring traction is still building — with specialized, industry-partnered faculties like New Mansoura's tourism and hotels program (95% employment rate, per the faculty dean) showing the clearest early results. International ranking gains are moving in parallel: Egypt now counts 51 universities in the Times Higher Education rankings, up from three in 2016.