While the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and the Bavarian Minister President Dr. Markus Söder were addressing the invited guests at the Munich Residence on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Technical University of Munich (TUM), another anniversary celebration was taking place simultaneously on the African continent and precisely in the Egyptian capital of Cairo. 80 honourable guests, partners, alumni and friends gathered on April 12 at the DAAD Regional Office where the celebrations took place, warmly welcomed by Heba Afifi, the TUM Cairo Liaison Officer.
Following the greeting words of Dr. Roman Luckscheiter, Director of the DAAD Cairo Office, and Mr. Simon Brombeiss, Head of the Cultural and Educational Section at the German Embassy in Cairo, Mr. Hany Elkateb, former Senior Scientist at TUM & Member of the Presidential Advisory Council of Scientists and Experts in Egypt, held his keynote speech about the potentials and perspectives for sustainable forestry and wood-based industry in Egypt. Mr. El Kateb co-initiated the Afforestation Project between TUM and its collaboration partners Ain Shams University and Alexandria University. The pioneering project funded by the DAAD, aimed at using sewage water as a resource for the production of wood, woody biomass and biofuel crops.
Egyptian-German Cooperation is bearing fruits
In the ensuing panel discussion on “TUM in Egypt – avenues for successful cooperation” moderated by Dr. Iman Gomaa, TUM Alumna and Associate Professor of Biotechnology at Nile University, joint cooperation projects between TUM and Egyptian partners were highlighted and best practices exchanged.
The project “NeXus of Water, Food and Energy” focuses on the interaction and mutual influence of the limited resources of water, food and energy as explained by Dr. Sherif El-Didy, Professor of Hydraulics at Cairo University. Seven countries from the three continents Africa, Europe and North America are involved in the project. The aim is to promote mobility for academic staff and students in order to build a thematic NeXus-oriented network enhancing cooperation in education and research between TUM and the collaboration partners with Cairo University and Helwan University in Egypt.
One of the master students who benefited from the mobilty program is Ms. Heba Shawky who works as a teaching assistant in the Irrigation and Hydraulics Department at Cairo University. She informed the audience about her experience in the NeXus summer school she attended last year in Munich.
Prof. Philipp Benz, head of the Professorship for Wood Bioprocesses at TUM, visited Egypt for the first time. Within the framework of the TUM Global Incentive Fund he initiated a collaboration with Cairo University and also attended the panel discussion. “During my visit to Cairo I experienced that German science and engineering still have a very high reputation in the Arab region. The many collaborative projects between Egyptian scientists and TUM presented during the ceremony are therefore a lively example both of the internationality of TUM and the fact that our university is recognized as a strong ambassador of the German science culture in the world”, stated Prof. Benz.
Dr. Mohamed Salama, Associate Professor of Neurotoxicology of Mansoura University, has been collaborating with TUM for eight years now in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. After completing a Parkinson project in 2015, he continued collaboration in 2016 with the GeneFINDER project aiming at identifying responsible genes for familial forms of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Salama emphasized that forming a multidisciplinary team with a variety of research backgrounds is one of the key factors to turn a longstanding bidirectional collaboration into a success story.
The festivities concluded with the cutting ceremony of the custom-made anniversary cake, allowing the guests to enjoy the end of the evening in the DAAD garden.