Community College and Technical Education Seminar
The Commission hosted four U.S. experts on community colleges and vocational education on Nov 2 and 3 during a two-day seminar, which was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Higher Education, the Ministry of Education and the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The delegation included Dr. Ed Bonahue, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe College, Gainesville, Florida; Dr. Loretta Costin, Dean of Occupational Education at Gulf Coast State College, Panama City, Florida; Dr. Vilma Fuentes, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Santa Fe College; and Dr. Jeffrey Ayala Milligan, Director of Florida State University’s Learning Systems Institute.
The U.S. speakers discussed the different models of Community Colleges and their offerings, as well as aspects of vocational and technical education in the U.S. The opening session included remarks by Dr. Essam Khamis, Deputy Minister of Higher Education for Scientific Research and BFCE Board member and Ms. Katharine Bartels, Fulbright Program Branch Chief, NEA Region Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
Dr. Ahmed El Geushey, Deputy Minister of Education for Technical & Vocational Education & Training (TVET) Egypt and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Dr. Gamal Nawara, Chair, Technological Education Board and Former Vice President, Zagazig University, presented on the status of technical and vocational education in Egypt. The event was attended by University Presidents, Vice Presidents, Deans and Department Heads from both higher education and K-12 institutions.
The event was attended by Ms. Jamie Sharp, Senior Program Officer, Near East Programs, Office of Academic Exchange Programs at the U.S. Department of State and hosted under the auspices of Dr. Ashraf Hatem, BFCE Chair of the Board and Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Egyptian Universities and Mr. Adnan Siddiqi, BFCE Treasurer and PAO, U.S. Embassy in Cairo which provided financial support for the U.S. delegation and the hosting of the event.
The Commission also organized site visits for 2 of the American guests to visit the two leading vocational schools in Cairo in Matariah and Amiriah and conduct a focus group with the department directors, on November 7th.
The seminar and site visits will be very useful in the designing of the new CCAP (Community College Administrator Program) which will take place in March 2017 and will bring 4 high level ministry officials and 16 other participants to Florida to attend a tailored program on vocational training and discuss best practices in the field of technical education.
