The Office of Welfare of International Students at the Faculty of Al-Alsun, Ain Shams University, organized the Arrivals Day to welcome the 148 new arrivals students, with a total number of 280 students from about 20 nationalities in the Faculty, under the auspices of Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Meteini, President of the University, Prof. Dr. Abdel Fattah Saoud, Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, Prof. Dr. Salwa Rashad, Dean of the Faculty, and the supervision of Prof. Dr. Nasser Abdel Aal, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, in the presence of Prof. Dr. Sherawat Al-Ahmadi, Director of the Expatriate Office at the University, Dr. Hajar Medhat Saif Al-Nasr, Head of the Central Administration for International Student Affairs in the Cultural Affairs and Scholarships Sector of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

During her speech, Prof. Dr. Salwa Rashad, Dean of the Faculty, said that the Faculty of Al-Alsun is the gateway to the Faculty of International Relations, noting that the Faculty has concluded partnerships with various universities in the world, and has students from abroad. In this context, the Faculty administration has activated an agreement with the United Nations Interpretation Department based in New York City with the aim of maximizing the benefit of the Faculty students from simultaneous translation skills.

And She began her speech by explaining that interest in foreign students comes at the top of the priorities of Egyptian universities within the directions of the Egypt 2030 strategy and falls under the umbrella of the "Study in Egypt" initiative launched by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressing that the general trend in Egyptian universities today is in the direction of developing Seeing future universities and striving to keep pace with the global community in the field of upgrading higher education systems, with the aim of strengthening the position of Egyptian universities in international rankings and upgrading them.

And she continued her speech, pointing out that the Faculty of Al-Alsun is one of the pioneering Faculties and has a great history of receiving students from all over the world, as a unit for non-Arabic speakers was established in 1994, and witnessed the graduation of a large number of students who have now obtained a doctorate degree, and the Faculty is unique in it’s at the world level, it has an international program for the Arabic language for non-native speakers, and it works to provide wide services to all departments of the Faculty, as it depends on translation from and into the Arabic language.

And she stressed that the Faculty administration works according to a strategy to provide all means of support for our non-Egyptian students, and works to help and care for them and provide them with all aspects of care, and we still maintain our regional and international reputation in receiving students.

She explained that Ain Shams University is witnessing a quantum leap by providing full support to all university faculties to develop the infrastructure and introduce a large number of educational programs. In cooperation with major international universities at the bachelor’s/master’s and postgraduate levels, with the aim of keeping abreast of global developments in the field of university education, referring to two international postgraduate programs in partnership with the German University of Leipzig, five batches of which graduated, and the joint master’s degree with the Spanish University of Salamanca, which witnesses the graduation of the sixth batch.

Prof. Dr. Nasser Abdel-Aal, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, indicated that the establishment of a central unit for the care of expatriates in the university and a branch in the Faculty of Al-Alsun began a long time ago. The aim of its establishment was to reach foreign students entering all language departments in the Faculty. The unit also works to create an atmosphere of participation between Egyptian and foreign students in various activities, to break the psychological barrier and integrate the foreign student with the Egyptians within the Faculty of Al-Alsun, and to achieve the maximum scientific and social benefit for foreign students.

While Prof. Dr. Sherawat Al-Ahmadi, Director of the Office of Expatriates and Visiting Professors at the University, announced the university's organization of the Festival of Cultures in early March, which will witness the presentation of cultures and folklore of different nationalities of students in Ain Shams University, through a large ceremony that will witness the presentation of lyrical and cultural paragraphs and the most famous dishes of the countries participating in the festival. She thanked the Faculty administration for its efforts to improve the educational process and attract foreign students to study there through its various programs and their care for the arrivals, stressing that Ain Shams University, headed by Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-Meteini, took the lead at the level of Egyptian universities in establishing the international relations and academic cooperation sector, headed by a prof. Dr. Shahira Samir, Executive Director of the sector, and the sector developed an effective strategy in coordination with the university faculties, to raise the level of international students at the university, and announced that Ain Shams University today includes students from 84 nationalities from all over the world, and indicated that the Faculty of Al-Alsun played a pivotal role in achieving the goals of the sector One of the most important innovations was allocating days to teach non-Arabic speaking students the grammar of the language to integrate them into studies at Ain Shams University in its various faculties.

And she continued her speech, stressing that the sector represents the link between students and the central administration for foreign students at the Ministry of Higher Education, as well as providing recreational activities, trips, festivals and cultural seminars for foreign students, and involving them in activities at the level of Egypt and abroad.

As confirmed by Dr. Hajar Medhat Saif Al-Nasr, Head of the Central Administration for Foreign Student Affairs in the Cultural Affairs and Missions Sector of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, stressing the importance of the presence of foreign students in various faculties and universities in Egypt, especially that the Faculty of Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University is the castle that produces cadres specialized in languages, and many of them go under the umbrella of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to represent The Egyptian state in various parts of the world, pointing to the launch of a number of specialized programs for the Faculty of Al-Alsun in early December on the Ministry's website for foreign students, and it is expected that the number of foreign students in the Faculty will increase during the next short period.

And she continued her speech, pointing out that Ain Shams University is one of the first Egyptian universities to establish a sector for international relations, and aims to cultural exchange and receive arrivals from abroad. Its soft power is to establish its well-deserved position among the leading countries in various fields, especially higher education.

She emphasized that the Faculty of Al-Alsun is a global body and a leading destination for international students from all over the world, as the promotion of various programs and exceptional study opportunities in the Faculty of Al-Alsun contributes to increasing the number of foreign students and allowing them to integrate into Egyptian society and culture.

Dr. Elham Badr, Director of the Expatriate Office at the Faculty confirmed that the incoming students are part of the Faculty and are integrated into the various cultural and artistic activities and the Student Union. The unit is working on counting the national holidays of the countries of the foreign students to share their occasions and congratulate them on all occasions.

The activities also witnessed the speech of the student Bakhitan from Kazakhstan in the fourth year, an Arabic section for non-native speakers, who welcomed the new students. It also included artistic shows from the Sudanese students in the Faculty, including a Chinese song, information about the Chinese language, an overview of Sudan, a Sudanese song choir, and the Jertaq show.