Under the patronage of Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Abdel Fattah Saoud, Vice President of the University for Education and Student Affairs, today Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, inaugurated the new academic year 2023-2024, under the supervision and presence of Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Education and Student Affairs, and coordinated by Mrs. Suha Al-Sabaa, Director of the Youth Welfare Department.

Prof. Hanan Kamel welcomed the new and old students, and in her speech, she stressed the faculty’s distinction in that it includes 14 departments that meet the ambitions and inclinations of the students, whether scientific or linguistic, such as the departments of Arabic, Hebrew, and English languages, oriental languages, and European civilization, or literary, or field and practical, such as: departments of psychology, sociology, and geography, as well as departments that serve the labor market, such as philosophy and history.

She called on students to plan and keep their goal in mind from the first day of study at the faculty, to work on developing their abilities in the field of specialization of the department they chose by joining workshops and training courses, as the college provides these services for free, and they can also view the Knowledge Bank websites, and all the bodies that offer these online courses in addition to academic studies, and all students should also be armed with the development of language skills and computer proficiency in order to be able to keep up with the labor market, as a university degree alone is not enough, and she advised new and old students on the necessity of building relationships and social ties and urged students to participate in Activities of the Student Union and the Youth Welfare Department, and openness to the university community and involvement in all its activities, which contributes to developing the student’s personality significantly, in addition to proficiency in academic study and specialization. It also called on students to work hard until they finish their studies to obtain a bachelor’s degree, then enroll in postgraduate study, for those who wish to increase their knowledge and advance their academic degrees.

Also, Prof. Hanan Kamel praised the support given by Prof. Ghada Farouk, Acting President of the University, the University Administration and the Engineering Department in replacing and renovating the Mehdi Allam auditorium in the faculty, which can accommodate more than 1,000 students, to create an educational environment suitable for the student and the university professor, and to complete its development plan by granting the university a number of 800 computers to the faculty so that it is ready to conduct electronic exams. In addition to holding celebrations and holding lectures, in addition to a plan to develop and renovate Gharbal auditorium and a large number of faculty halls.

For his part, Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim stressed the importance of being armed with science and knowledge in order to excel and advance at all levels, as knowledge is power. He called on students to support intellectual capital. He also stressed his pride in belonging to the prestigious Faculty of Arts that keeps pace with all modern developments, and stressed that the student is an active element among the elements of success. He pointed out that Ain Shams University is strong and distinguished at the level of universities in the world, as it ranked among the top 700 universities in the Spanish classification out of 50,000 universities and educational institutions, so the student must keep up with this distinction, it is ranked first at the republic level, as Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim advises students to adhere to proper university behavior, not to pay attention to rumors, and to obtain information from its official sources and channels, the website and the official page, which are updated in real time with schedules, exam results, notices and alerts, in addition to the university email and electronic communication groups. We also have a rational administration led by Prof. Hanan Kamel and all faculty officials embrace creative ideas and constructive proposals.

Prof. Muhammad Ibrahim expressed to the students the necessity of preserving the faculty’s capabilities, its acquisitions, and its infrastructure, which a lot of effort and money have been spent on maintaining and making the most appropriate use of.

The ceremony also included an introduction session between department heads and students, in which each department head greeted, congratulated, and provided advice to the new students. In her speech, Prof. Sumaya Sabry, Head of the English Language Department, praised the department, as it is one of the oldest departments in the faculty. Its importance lies in the fact that it serves all departments. The department’s professors teach the English language subject to all departments, and we have an admission exam as part of the conditions for joining the department, because the student must have a high level of proficiency in the English language, because he studies English literature and some advanced language topics, and a number of ambassadors, writers, and writers have graduated from the department. Therefore, studying in the department allows progress in other fields thanks to proficiency in using the English language and specializing in it.

As for Prof. Samia Jumaa, Head of the Hebrew Language Department, began her speech by explaining the nature of the study in the department, which revolves around studying Israel from the aspects of culture, language, and civilization. In the beginning, the student is completely ignorant of the Hebrew language until he reaches the stage of proficiency. The department allows its graduates to work as a translator in press institutions, and news agencies from and to the Hebrew language. She also urged students to be serious and committed to attending lectures.

As for Prof. Muhammad Hamed, Head of the Oriental Languages Department, expressed his pride in being present in the auditorium after it was reopened after renovation, after it had been on the renewal waiting list for years. He welcomed the students of the Oriental Languages Department who were present, and drew them to the advantage that distinguishes their department and some other departments of equal opportunities for excellence. Because students do not have individual differences when joining the department, because the student is exposed to languages and study subjects that he did not know before. He stressed that the department has a great role and impact in society, and produces cultural attachés and translators for the President of the Republic in the Turkish, Indian, and Urdu languages.

As for Prof. Hatem Rabie, Head of the Department of Ancient European Civilization and Languages, began his speech to the students by telling them that the Dean of Arabic Literature, Dr. Taha Hussein was the first to establish the department, and it is one of the oldest departments in Egyptian universities. Its establishment was launched in 1925 with the establishment of the National University, which turned into Fouad I University. Its name was the Department of Ancient Studies, then it changed to Classical Studies. He was keen on teaching the Greek and Latin languages in Egypt. and the Arab world, the department studies Greek and Roman civilization, Greek and Roman antiquities, religion, mythology, inscriptions, and papyri. The department also teaches Greek and Italian languages, ancient Greek and Latin language, and Greek and Hellenistic literature.

For his part, Prof. Muhammad Khattab, Head of the Department of Psychology, said that the department is one of the oldest departments at the university level, and is characterized by a large demand from new students, those holding higher qualifications, and graduates of medicine and engineering, and it has a psychological clinic to solve all the problems that students may face, free of charge.

In her speech, Prof. Hanan Salem, Head of the Sociology Department, praised the unprecedented boom that the faculty is witnessing at all levels. She spoke about the department’s seniority, which goes back thirty years, and the commonalities that unite it with the Psychology Department and the interface that characterizes it, as it works in many and disparate fields (Medical, industrial, rural cognitive, legal, and media sociology) The department graduates an academic social researcher who has knowledge of field reality and can work in all state institutions, whether governmental or civil society institutions, in addition to the security sector, prison sector, and social defense.

She called on the students to be proud of their affiliation to the faculty, which many strive to join, and invited them to participate in various activities.

As for Dr. Mahmoud Tariq, as a representative of the Library and Information Department, spoke about the quality of the faculty’s educational service, and its weight, knowledge, and great experience in the labor market. He spoke about his memories of choosing the department, as it is one of the departments that most meets the need for science and knowledge. The history of the Department of Libraries and Information dates back to 1950 at Cairo University, and it meets the need for human knowledge as it exists in libraries and information institutions. The labor market needs a graduate of the department who keeps pace with digital transformation in the world, preservation and digitization of information sources, and selective broadcasting of information. The department studies everything related to computer science, automated websites, information retrieval, auxiliary languages Arabic and English, statistics, data analysis and educational psychology; To clarify how to deal with a service seeker, graduates of the department also have the opportunity to work in Cabinet libraries, public libraries, academic libraries, specialized and national libraries, archiving companies and institutions, and national and electronic newspapers.

In response to the speech of Dr. Mahmoud Tariq, Prof. Hanan Kamel said that she considers him the digital arm of the faculty for his contribution to achieving the college’s digital transformation from 2020 to 2023 thanks to his efforts in communicating with those concerned in order to solve the problems that faced the application of digitization at the faculty, in cooperation with the college’s technical support and information technology team. She also praised Dr. Bahaa Ibrahim, assistant professor at the department and responsible for the e-learning unit in the faculty.

Concluding the words of the department heads, Prof. Hoda Wasfi, Head of the French Language Department, said that the department scrutinizes the conditions for admission and requires studying French as a first language because studying in the department requires proficiency in the language because of this language’s special nature.

As for the qualified and visually impaired students of the Electronic Vision Center, Prof. Nadia Hashish, Director of the Center, talked about the scientific and research services, self-learning and writing services, and electronic examinations provided by the college to the center’s visitors, as the student has become able to use the computer without seeking help from anyone. The center also offers practical workshops, training courses, and recreational activities. She invited the students to visit the center and provide social assistance to them and share their diaries.

The ceremony hosted Prof. Hind Al-Hilali, Director of the Unit for Combating Violence against Women, who introduced the unit, its objectives, activities, work mechanisms and strategies, and how to report cases of harassment, violence and bullying, she also talked about the role she plays, in addition to the services she provides.

She pointed out the university's role in taking all measures and how to deal with cases that have been subjected to violence, bullying, or harassment from the psychological and social aspects, and how these cases are referred to the unit to take the necessary legal measures through the Legal Committee and the Psychological Support Committee as well as the Training and Capacity Development Committee and the Social and Entrepreneurship Committee.

The ceremony also witnessed a distinguished artistic segment presented by the faculty’s choral team, which included individual and group singing of the national anthem, a number of patriotic songs, and a number of traditional songs and light youth songs.

A video was also shown of the activities of the Student Union during the previous year, as well as summer activities and the activities of the seven union committees.

The Student Union Council, headed by student Hilmi Ahmed, honored Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty, presented her with the Union Shield.