Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of Ain Shams University, inaugurated the activities of the 11th annual Ain Shams University international conference entitled "Knowledge Economy ... For Better Life" in the presence of Prof. Mohamed Awad Tag El-Din, Advisor to the President for Health and Preventive Affairs, Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin international economist and executive director of the International Monetary Fund and climate pioneer for the Egyptian presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP27), Prof. Abdel Fattah Saoud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Ayman Saleh, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research and CEO of the conference, Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President for Community Service and Environmental Development, a group of former ministers, current and former university presidents, members of the Ain Shams University Council, in addition to participants from a number of educational institutions from around the world.

In his speech, Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of the University, welcomed all the guests of the conference, which witnesses participation from several countries, including (United Kingdom - Germany - France - Austria - Bahrain - UAE - Saudi Arabia).

The university president explained that the conference includes scientific sessions and intellectual seminars in various fields, stressing that we are facing unprecedented challenges that include climate change and epidemics such as Covid, in addition to the challenges of poverty and others. Developing and presenting unconventional and innovative ideas to confront them.

He added, the university's vision was for the title of the conference to be "Knowledge Economy... for a Better Life." Knowledge, science, innovation, and creativity are the only way to find effective solutions to these unprecedented challenges, stressing that Ain Shams University's strategy has adopted innovative approaches that are in line with Egypt's strategy for sustainable development for the year 2030.

Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini also spoke about the university's efforts to transform into a green university, which comes within the university's plan to mitigate the effects of climate change, such as the Shams Bay Green project and the establishment of a center for sustainable development.

He concluded his speech by emphasizing that the contributions of Ain Shams University extend to various fields, to maintain the high status of our ancient university, and to achieve real added value to knowledge and the local economy, so that the university becomes truly a house of expertise for society and an active partner in its development and facing current challenges.

In his speech, Prof. Ayman Salih, Vice President of the University for Postgraduate Studies and Research, emphasized that the knowledge economy is concerned with transforming teaching, learning and knowledge into producing works that are issued and return profits to individuals, companies and the economy as a whole. It is a system that relies on intellectual wealth and creating double value for applied scientific research and scientific discoveries Intangibles such as the value of knowledge workers and their intellectual property rights in terms of patents and works are a major part of the knowledge economy.

He explained that the World Bank identified four pillars of the knowledge economy, which are institutions that provide incentives for entrepreneurship, the availability of skilled labor and quality education, the availability of a basic information environment and a good communication network, and finally the strong and permanent participation of universities, the private sector and civil society.

Prof. Ayman Saleh indicated that as evidence of the importance of the knowledge economy, the United States allocates $6.6 trillion for intellectual property rights, and the industries used for these patents represent a third of the national product, while the biotechnology sector represents 10% of the American national product, and the higher education sector’s share of participation represents $568 billion. According to estimates from the American Chamber of Commerce.

He added that, based on the concepts mentioned and in line with the strategy of Ain Shams University, and to confirm its worthiness to be a fourth-generation university and to achieve the sustainable development goals of the Egyptian state, the eleventh conference of the university has been arranged, which includes a rich agenda that will be discussed through a number of sessions and workshops on Over the course of two days.

The opening activities also included an honorary doctorate awarding ceremony, during which Prof. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, and Climate Leader for the Egyptian Presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (COP27) was awarded the honorary doctorate.

Prof. Abdel-Fattah Saoud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, presented the University Shield to Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of the University, and Prof. Ayman Saleh, Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research, in appreciation of their efforts to raise the name of Ain Shams University.

On the sidelines of the opening session, a discussion session entitled "Towards sustainable health care for better life" was held with the participation of Prof. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of the University, Mr. Mohamed Abdallah, CEO of Vodafone Egypt, Dr. Ahmed Hegazy, Director of Sanofi Egypt for Specialized Health Care. The session was moderated by: Prof. Ehab Shalaby, President of De Carbon Egypt, Mr. Ahmed Emam, Head of the Healthcare Sector at Vodafone, during which the partnership between Vodafone and Ain Shams University in the field of digital transformation of university hospitals was discussed. The study, which was carried out in cooperation between Ain Shams University, Sanofi and T Carbon, was also discussed and presented at the COP27 conference.

It is worth noting that experts from inside and outside Egypt will participate in the conference, which will be held on May 10 and 11, 2023, and speakers from (Jenner Institute - University of Oxford), (TU Berlin) (United Arab Emirates University), (International Energy Agency) Atomic) Hertie School), the (Solve for happy) initiative, in addition to a dialogue with Eng. Mohamed Jawdat, former director of Google X and founder of the Happy Billion Association.

The conference also includes two sessions with the Union for the Mediterranean, with the participation of speakers from the European Bank.

The conference deals with several topics through a number of activities:

- Vaccination (two-day intensive course), jointly with the Jenner Institute (University of Oxford).

- Measurement and evaluation in the era of digital transformation

- Small and Medium Enterprises, a joint session with the Union for the Mediterranean.

- Artificial intelligence in the medical sector.

- Remote Sensing.

- The use of artificial intelligence in the development of university education and postgraduate studies.

- Sustainable solutions and results. COP27

- Critical national requirements in nuclear and radiological sciences.

- A joint session with the Technical University of Berlin.

- Legal aspects of organ transplantation and clinical trials.

- Employment session, joint session with the Union for the Mediterranean.

- Biotechnology session.

- Medical education.

- Archeology session.

- The impact of climate change on livestock.

- The fourth industrial revolution in food processing.

- Faculty of Archeology session.

- Literary sciences sector session.

- The role of state institutions in supporting women's rights.

- Women's issues between reality and hope, a comparison between Egyptian law and international laws.

- Soft power (art and literature) in confronting crimes of violence against women.

- The population issue: Women are influential and affected.

The 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Environmental Research at Ain Shams University is also celebrated.