Faculty of Al-Alsun made a set of preparations to implement the hybrid education system imposed by the conditions of the Coronavirus, and was able to develop its performance in line with the rules and principles of quality, and in conjunction with that, the rest of the aspects in terms of preparing new classrooms and providing distinctive programs for students enrolled in the credit hour system were not neglected, in addition to the creation of new departments that distinguish the faculty from the rest of the faculties of Egyptian universities … All the details of all these achievements are revealed by the Dean of the Faculty of Al-Alsun, Prof. Dr. Salwa Rashad, in an interview with her.

What are the precautionary steps in light of the continuing Corona virus?

We have taken precautionary measures and set the rules of social distancing for fourth year students during their end-of-year exams, which are the same measures that will be applied during the next academic year, in terms of maintaining social distancing and wearing masks for all students and employees, and reducing the number of students inside the halls. In addition to preparing for the hybrid education process and raising the state of maximum alert in the faculty clinic and ensuring the full presence of medical teams to deal with any emergencies.

What about your plan for the students to attend the new academic year?

The students were divided into groups, in order to reduce the number of students in implementation of the rules of social distancing, as well as measures were taken to reduce direct education days on the faculty campus to three days and another three days through distance education, in accordance with the directives of the Ministries of Higher Education and Health, by rotating between student teams.

From your point of view ... is hybrid education better than the conventional direct education?

There is no doubt that there is nothing comparable to the importance of direct education in relation to language teaching, but due to the importance of applying the mechanisms of the hybrid education process during the coming period due to the conditions that we are going through due to the Coronavirus, the faculty will work to implement it in accordance with international quality standards. Indeed, the faculty administration has divided the educational process by 50% student attendance within the faculty and 50% online.

Do you have electronic courses?

Indeed, the faculty was able to raise academic year decisions through an electronic platform in accordance with quality standards, in addition to allowing a direct meeting between the student and the faculty member in their offices to respond through office hours and academic advising hours to respond to students' inquiries.

How were faculty members trained to apply the hybrid education system?

Faculty of Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University has taken a series of proactive steps in the preparations process for the next academic year 2020/2021, under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of the University, Prof. Dr. Abdel Fattah Saud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs.

Within the framework of the hybrid education plan applied in the faculty in light of the university directives, the e-learning unit in the faculty has completed the first phase of training courses for faculty members in the various departments on the production of e-courses on the Faculty of Al-Alsun platform, which focused during the organization of a series of courses and workshops on preparing trainers from the various departments of the faculty, numbering 60 trainers, during the period from August 21 to the first of September, after which there were trainings and workshops within the departments to train the faculty members to produce courses.

The training courses focused on the main tools used in building the e-course and its technology, such as adaptive learning activities, interactive activities, and group work activities within the various courses, and the workshops also included training on building question banks with standard standards within each course and identifying the different patterns and their techniques.

How can students be trained to use electronic platforms for remote learning?

For new students, they will be dealt with and trained during the lectures on the faculty campus, and students who do not have the Internet and computers will be dealt with to help them through the faculty.

What is the nature of graduation projects and how do you cooperate with the state to implement them physically?

We have a subject called (Research Hall) which is like the graduation project for the fourth year, as this subject is linked to important topics in the specialization or with the vision of the country in general, in order to help students, link their research with societal requirements, within the framework of a specific time plan to deliver the subjects required of students.

What is the role of Faculty of Al-Alsun in the literacy project?

The Community Service and Environmental Development Sector in the faculty has launched an invitation for students of the first, second and third years in the faculty, to participate in the activities of the national project for literacy, under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of the University.

Faculty of Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University was one of the first faculties in the university to declare since 2015 that it is free of illiteracy, and literacy is one of the most important presidential mandates in addition to the axes of development, health and education, and Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University has a great history since its establishment by the great scholar Rafaa Al-Tahtawi, in enlightening the Egyptian society, as it was the first faculty to activate a cooperation protocol with the Adult Education Authority through the training courses that it launched in cooperation with the Adult Education Center at the University and the General Authority for Adult Education of the Council of Ministers, and do not spare any effort in harnessing all its educational and research capabilities in addressing the issues of Egyptian society and contributing to its development, and community work outside the university walls is an essential pillar of the enlightenment mission entrusted to the universities.

Is student participation in literacy optional? What is the mechanism of its implementation?

The project is a national necessity and not optional for students, and one of the conditions for graduation, this project aims to eradicate illiteracy of at least four people for each student, and the student will also receive a financial reward for every successful mother, and the university will pay the tuition fees on behalf of the student in the following academic year in case of literacy more than four students.

Is the faculty interested in providing job opportunities for graduates?

Yes, we have a follow-up unit for graduates and a database of graduates. Indeed, companies periodically request student data for work or training, and this unit also includes data for blind students.

What about the latest departments in Faculty of Alsun?

We established the Korean and Japanese departments in cooperation with the Korean and Japanese embassies, and finally, in August 2019, the Portuguese Language Department was established under the patronage of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of the University, and Prof. Dr. Abdel Fattah Saud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, and indeed, the Portuguese side provided us with a number of teachers to help us, and when the opening of the department was announced, we found an over-expected number of students to join it, but we are committed to a certain number according to the capabilities of the department's infrastructure.

Are there any new projects that the Faculty of Al-Alsun is currently working on?

Indeed, we have internal projects, as the faculty is preparing to open a number of classrooms equipped with the latest educational technologies at the level of Egyptian universities, under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Metini, President of the University, and Prof. Dr. Abdel Fattah Saud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, to receive Credit Hour Student.

What about the details of the study programs offered to the faculty’s credit hour students?

The faculty has 4 credit-hour programs available in the new academic year 2020/2021, which are: the translation and interpretation program in English, the translation and interpretation program in French, the specialized translation program in the Russian language, the specialized translation program in the Chinese language, in addition to the translation and Arabic language program. For non-native speakers.

Faculty of Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University offers distinguished innovative programs that apply quality standards to meet the needs of the labor market and society, and it also strengthens research capabilities to qualify graduates. In order to become researchers specializing in the fields of language, literature and translation, the faculty aims to excel in studies of language, literature and translation at the local, regional and international levels by following a system that combines science and innovation.

How many credit hours are required to obtain a BA in specialized translation?

The number of credit hours required to obtain a bachelor’s degree in specialized translation is 144 hours divided into four years. The courses include university courses aimed at expanding the perceptions and culture of the student in various aspects of knowledge, and faculty courses aimed at developing the student’s knowledge in Arabic and the second foreign language, and courses Specialization determined in the different academic years according to the scientific and objective foundations.

In the end ... what advice would you give students before the new academic year?

Make every effort to excellence and distinction, and the student must realize that the conditions set for admission to the faculty’s departments come to serve the interest of the student in the first place, and the student must also accept the department to which he is directed by knowing the internal coordination mechanisms of the departments in the faculty, and strive to develop the first and second languages to achieve creativity through them, to be used in the labor market professionally after graduation.