The first edition of the international magazine CLOUD issued by UNESCO, which came under the title (Communicating the leaders of digital transformation in universities), praised the pioneering experience of Ain Shams University in hybrid education and its prominent role in dealing with higher education variables due to the global COVID 19 pandemic.

The first issue of the magazine highlighted the leading role of Ain Shams University, headed by Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini in the establishment of the International Institute of On-line Education (IIOE), an international institute that was established in 2019 under the auspices of UNESCO and affiliated with the International Institute for Innovation in Higher Education UNESCO - ICHEI.

The first edition of the magazine praised the achievements made in this initiative under the presidency of Ain Shams University for the first session of the institute, and the magazine published an important article edited by Prof. Dr. Abdel Fattah Saud (Vice President for Education and Student Affairs) and Prof. Dr. Mona Abdel Aal (Executive Director of the Education Development Department) on the experience of the education sector and students in the transition to the hybrid education system and the ideal handling of higher education variables resulting from the pandemic, and this article issues all the research published in the magazine.

It is worth noting that the International Institute for Innovation in Higher Education, under the auspices of UNESCO, has awarded Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini (University President) and Prof. Dr. Abdel-Fattah Saoud (Vice President for Education and Student Affairs) awarded the Superior Leadership Award in recognition of the university’s role in advancing innovation initiatives in higher education. The institute also awarded a certificate of superior appreciation to Prof. Dr. Mona Abdel-Al (Executive Director of the Education Development Department for her great efforts in supporting initiatives for the transformation of distance learning and hybrid education and efforts to support the International Institute of Distance Education.