A look at gov’t efforts to raise tech awareness among students: The Madbouly government has launched a number of initiatives to teach IT skills at schools and universities as part of its efforts to ensure local education institutions end up graduating students that meet labor market needs and elevate students’ tech savviness.

The initiatives were launched in cooperation with local and international firms and the government is already planning to expand on them, onboarding more companies that can provide specialized content for Egyptian students — all with the aim of strengthening their abilities and helping them compete in the labor market.

EnterpriseAM spoke with Walid Al Engbawy, the executive director of the CIT Ministry’s Digital Egypt Cubs Initiative (DECI), to learn more about the government’s efforts in this regard.

How it started: The DECI was launched for the academic year 2022/23, Al Engbawy told us. It came about following the launch of the Digital Egypt Builders initiative which aims to help Egypt’s youth develop their technical capacities through partnerships with global firms and top universities. The program’s success pushed the CIT Ministry to shift its attention to school students as it looked to reach a younger demographic.

There was huge demand: The initiative initially targeted 3k students in grade levels between 7-11, but saw over 45k students across the grade levels from all over the country enroll. The applicants were interviewed and only 8k were selected to take part in the initiative. The ministry was surprised by the demand, Al Engbawy said, which led to the launch of a new cohort in February 2023 — one that included 4k students. The success rate was well above 90% for these two batches, with over 11k students passing their tests.

More than just education: The initiative aims to help students develop their personal skills alongside teaching them about all things technology.

Going younger: The success of the DECI led to the government launching a new initiative that targets younger students — starting from 4th grade and dubbed the Digital Egypt Marvels Initiative — in which students receive 16 virtual sessions and an applied session each semester. A number of companies have already been contracted to set up the curriculum, which was reviewed by an academic committee of university professors to ensure that it matches the targeted age group. The initiative has already brought in 14k applications, 10k of which have been accepted.

In harmony with school studies: The initiative’s study schedules and educational content were designed to be compatible with students’ school schedules, Al Engbawy said. The government also launched the initiative’s three-month summer program, which attracted some 35k applications upon its launch earlier this year. Some 20k students were accepted and completed the program last summer with a success rate of 75%.

Egyptian students are highly passionate about programming, Al Engbawy said, adding that since the summer program launched, another 100k students applied to the DEMI program, and half of them have been accepted to join the initiative.

The faces behind the programs: The companies helping bring the programs to life include edtech platforms Almentor and iSchool and online courses provider Udacity and the CIT Ministry is in negotiations with another three companies that have submitted offers to participate in the initiatives. The government is reviewing the firms’ education content, their technical support teams, trainers, and the number of centers they have, with the review set to be completed by June of next year, after which firms could begin providing their services starting in October 2025.

Currently underway: At the moment there are 40k students enrolled in the DEMI and another 46k enrolled in the DECI, he added.

The initiative is fully funded by the state with strong support from President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, Al Engbawy said, adding that students receive the educational content and their training without cost and that efforts are in progress to ensure that the services stay that way. The DECI initially received a budget of USD 25 mn over five years — however, as the FX crisis grew, all companies are now paid in EGP, including American firm Udacity.

The Digital Egypt initiative now covers all generations, Al Engbawy said, adding that the initiatives include the Buds, Cubs, Pioneers, and Builders initiatives. This enables Egypt to seize a fair share of the outsourcing and freelancing market, which is witnessing great competition from India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, he added. The Pioneers initiative targets graduates, providing them with training for employment and working with tech.

What’s next: Following the ongoing five-year training period for the initiatives across the age groups, there are currently talks with the Education Ministry over turning this training content into a structured and accessible curriculum, Al Engbawy said, adding that this would represent a breakthrough in digital and technological learning for students.

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