The German University in Cairo turns 20. During this time, the university has developed excellently: Today, the GUC is the largest German transnational educational institution worldwide. There are now more than 12,000 students enrolled in over 100 study programs. The relationship with partner universities in Baden-Württemberg, such as those in Ulm, Stuttgart and Tübingen, is close: Collaborations range from joint academic projects to the exchange of students and young researchers to joint online courses.
This 20-year success story has now been celebrated with a ceremony on the Berlin GUC Campus. “With the foundation of the German University in Cairo I realized a vision: An outstanding center of research and teaching was to be established in Cairo following the example of the German model. Fortunately, this daring idea found supporters – with the universities in Ulm and Stuttgart leading the way. The German-Egyptian partners put their heart and soul into building the GUC. After 20 years, it is now time to look proudly at what has been achieved and plan for the future,” said Professor Ashraf Mansour on the occasion of the anniversary. The founder and chairman of the GUC board of trustees completed his doctoral degree and his habilitation at Ulm University as a holder of a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). It was a special concern of Prof. Mansour to transfer the unity of research and teaching practiced in Ulm to the newly founded university in Cairo.
GUC as an impressive model project
Professor Wolfram Ressel, Rector of the University of Stuttgart, congratulated the German University in Cairo: "In its 20 years, the GUC has developed from a good idea into an impressive model project from which many young people benefit. The University of Stuttgart looks forward to working with the GUC in the future and continuing the exchange with Egyptian students and researchers."
Welcome addresses were also given by the DAAD Secretary General, Dr. Kai Sicks, and Vito Cecere from the Federal Foreign Office. “20 years of the German University in Cairo, 10 years of the GUC Campus in Berlin, and 70 years of German-Egyptian relations: Actually, we are celebrating three anniversaries today. By now, the GUC has become a driving force of the binational partnership: The transnational educational institution contributes significantly to the visibility of Germany as a research location in Egypt and beyond. For this, I thank Professor Ashraf Mansour and all those who helped write this success story,” said Dr. Jens Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), at the anniversary ceremony.
Earlier, the Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Hala El-Said, addressed the festive community with an online message. Other speakers included the Egyptian ambassador to Germany, Khaled Galal Abdelhamid, and Uwe Brockhausen, who is the mayor of Berlin-Reinickendorf. In this district, the GUC opened its campus 10 years ago: More than 7000 Egyptian students have already spent time abroad here. The program was complemented by several award ceremonies as well as a panel discussion (“Science as Diplomacy of Trust”).
About the German University in Cairo
The German University in Cairo was established in 2002. Today, more than 12600 young people are studying at 8 faculties – ranging from the engineering sciences to technically oriented management to pharmacy. So far, more than 22,600 graduates have successfully completed their studies – almost half of them are women. The industrial park on the GUC campus in Cairo, where German companies such as Trumpf, Zeiss, or FESTO are located, guarantees accessibility to industry and business. During the past 20 years, more than 12,300 Egyptian students had the opportunity to visit Germany – almost 4000 of them even wrote their Bachelor’s thesis at a German partner university. Besides the GUC campus in Berlin, there have been the GUC Office in Ulm as well as DAAD project coordinators in Ulm, Tübingen, and Stuttgart since 2007. The establishment of the German University in Cairo was funded, in particular, by the BMBF, the Ministry for Science, Research and Art in Baden-Württemberg (MWK), Ulm University and the University of Stuttgart as well as the Egyptian Ministry of Education. The German embassy in Cairo and the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce were also involved.