Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University, opened the session “The Role of Partnerships in Promoting Education, Innovation, and Technological Integration,” which was organized by the Egyptian National Center for the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE Egypt Center), based at Ain Shams University, in the presence of Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of the University for Community Service Affairs and Environmental Development and Acting Vice President of the University for Graduate Studies and Research. This is within the activities of the university’s twelfth scientific conference under the title “Alliance and Partnerships”.

This is within the framework of the university’s interest in achieving the country’s strategy in the field of digital transformation and developing and building international partnerships with concerned parties, the most important of which is UNESCO, with the aim of improving the education system and following the latest international strategies in the field of e-learning. The session discussed the power of partnerships and their role in promoting the effective use of innovation tools in education.

The session was chaired by Prof. Mustafa Refaat, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Universities and Prof. Lu Chunsheng, Advisor to the Minister of Education at the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, and Prof. Sanaa Rady, Vice President of the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation (NAQAEE) for Higher Education Affairs.

Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, President of the University, stressed the importance of partnerships in promoting the effective use of innovation tools in education and the importance of building effective and sustainable partnerships between the Egyptian National Center for the International Institute of Online Education and Egyptian higher education institutions, in order to enhance education, improve its quality, and enhance innovation and technological integration in the field of Higher Education.

In this context, Professor JIN Li, Director of the International Center for Higher Education Innovation UNESCO-ICHEI, stressed the importance of the role of partnership with the Egyptian National Center for the International Institute of Online Education, and with all partners from educational bodies, information technology companies, or Research and development institutions in developing programs to qualify faculty staff for digital education, and displaying advanced technologies and digital tools that can be effectively integrated into teaching and learning environments.

Prof. Mona Abdel- Aal-Zahri, Director of the Educational Strategies and Research Center at Ain Shams University and Director of the Egyptian National Center for the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE Egypt), announced the launch of the IIOE Micro-certification program launch for faculty staff, as one of the latest projects of the International Center for Higher Education Innovation affiliated with UNESCO-ICHEI.

The session included a presentation by Prof. LIM Cher Ping, expert at the International Institute for Online Education (IIOE) - International Center for Higher Education Innovation (UNECO-ICHEI) on the concept of artificial intelligence for teaching and learning in higher education.

Prof. SIT Fung, Director of the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE), the International Center for Higher Education Innovation of UNECO (UNECO-ICHEI), introduced the IIOE learning platform and how to integrate it with artificial intelligence tools.

Prof. Ibrahim Moawad, Dean of the Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences - New Mansoura University, referred to the definition of the smart university as a set of smart capabilities. Prof. Ghada Al-Khayyat, Head of the Innovation In Pedagogy and Aiding Distance Learning Center “ADIP” - Alexandria University, addressed the topic of open and innovative learning for the sustainable development goals.

The session was followed by a discussion on empowering the educational process through technological tools and innovation, and some case studies, challenges and lessons learned from the experiences of Egyptian higher education institutions were reviewed. The session was moderated by Dr. Dalia Youssef, Director of the Central Unit for E-Learning at Ain Shams University and Deputy Director of the Egyptian National Center for the International Institute of Online Education (IIOE Egypt), also Prof. Hani Al-Nashar - Director of Digital Transformation at Beni Suef University and Prof. Walaa Sarhan, Director of the E-Learning Unit, Director of the Examination Center, and Member of the Classification Committee at Zagazig University, Dr. Khadija Al-Badawihi, founder of Praxilabs - PhD in Human-Computer Interaction, University of Sheffield and Dr. Mahmoud Fayez, lecturer in the Computer Systems Department, at the Faculty of Computer and Information Sciences, and advisor to the ASU2Learn e-learning platforms project – at Ain Shams University, participated.

The event concluded with a session entitled Information and Communications Technology for Students, headed by Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, at Ain Shams University, and Prof. Rania Salah, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Education and Student Affairs, at Ain Shams University.

The session discussed the presentation of Dr. Mohamed Yousry, assistant lecturer at the Faculty of Engineering, at Ain Shams University and head of the technical and media support team at the Egyptian National Center for Online Education (IIOE Egypt), introducing the “Information and Communications Technology” course to students, which was produced through the Egyptian Center’s projects and made available to all partner universities. Finally, the students of Ain Shams University, represented by the student Omar Osama in the fifth year of the Faculty of Medicine and the student Salma Hatem in the fifth year of the Faculty of Pharmacy, participated in a presentation entitled The Voice of Students - E-learning between reality, challenges and aspirations.