In order to achieve the seventeenth goal in sustainable development goals to form successful partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society based on common goals and visions, Ain Shams University held its twelfth conference under the title “Partnerships and Alliances” and witnessed the activities of discussing partnerships in the medical sector, Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zein El-Abedeen, President of the university and Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs.

Through partnerships with government agencies, civil society and others, and in support of building new interactions and partnerships, the university succeeded in overcoming obstacles and promoting constructive interaction between all sectors of the university.

The university administration pays special attention to the medical sector because of its great impact on the medical care provided by Ain Shams University.

Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen opened two medical sessions held within the activities of the first day of the twelfth conference by maximizing the role of the medical sector and synergizing efforts between the faculties of pharmacy and dentistry.

Pointing out that the dream of local institutional accreditation has been haunting us a lot, and with work and effort it has been achieved through investing in the available capabilities, dedication to work, energy and effort.

Then we began our aspiration for international accreditation, and with greater effort we obtained it in the colleges of pharmacy and dentistry, stressing the importance of taking diligent steps to reach the desired goal and support and develop capabilities.

Drawing attention to Ain Shams University’s keenness on the principle of training and developing second-year cadres to provide administrative support and support for the strategic plan by strengthening administrative cadres with strong experience in administrative work, which encouraged foreign universities and various bodies to enter into partnerships with the university alone

The activities of the first session were headed by Prof. Dalia Ibrahim Al-Qurashi, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University.

In the first session, Prof. Karim Al-Batouti, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry for Education and Student Affairs, reviewed the faculty’s hosting of the Royal College of Glasgow fellowship exams, in light of the directives of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the necessity of holding fellowship exams in cooperation with foreign bodies, referring to the directive of Prof. Mohamed Diaa to form a team of great stature and experience and even held a number of meetings with the Royal College of Glasgow, which were held for the first time outside Britain, explaining that he had previously held the fellowship examination of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in Glasgow - United Kingdom twice at the Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University.

Dr. Basma Gamal, Director of the Clinical Dentistry Program and teacher in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry, added a detailed presentation of the steps followed for the fellowship exam, the conditions for admission, and how to access it.

In addition, Prof. Amani Osama Kamel, Acting Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy, explained the model of partnership between the Faculty of Pharmacy at Ain Shams University and ACPE, the American International Accreditation Commission, which was achieved after two years of effort and solidarity to obtain international accreditation from ACPE for its university programs, as the first government faculty of pharmacy to obtain this accreditation, and this contributed to this. This contributed to the efforts of external parties to contract with the Faculty of Pharmacy. Prof. Amani Osama said that this major achievement is a testimony to the faculty’s commitment to excellence in pharmacy education and positions it as a leading institution in this field.

There is another model of partnership, which is the professional diploma program in immune changes (IMCert), which is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus Plus program and was between the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, 3 European universities, and 5 Egyptian universities.

Ass. Prof. Sherehan Galal, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, and the Co-PI of the project, elaborated on the definition of the Professional Diploma Program in Immune Changes (IMCert), which is funded by the European Union’s Erasmus Plus programme, as Ain Shams University participates in the project with four Egyptian universities. Others are Al-Azhar University, the main researcher of the project, and the University of Cairo, Damanhour, and Aswan - and this project is in partnership with three European universities, namely the University of Leipzig in Germany, the University of Lorient in France, and the National University of Athens in Greece. This program has been approved by the Supreme Council of Universities and the possibility of studying and joining this program has been completed starting from the academic year 2024/2025.

The session was attended by Prof. Maram Obaid, Professor in the Department of Endodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, and Prof. Rehab Othman, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, Faculty of Pharmacy.

The second session for the medical sector was chaired by Prof. Sahar Moussa, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University

Prof. Osama Mansour, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine for Postgraduate Studies and Research, spoke about improving the hospital infrastructure with full presidential support and training students with an executive action plan with the support of civil society institutions to improve the medical service provided by medical and nursing staff.

Prof. Mohamed El-Ghannam, Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Director of the Heart Diseases and Surgeries Hospital, also pointed out the cooperation between Ain Shams University, represented by the Heart Diseases and Surgeries Hospital, and the Royal Brompton Hospital in the field of aortic surgeries, which is one of the projects that we are proud of, with joint funding from the University. Ain Shams and the National Bank of Egypt provided financial and logistical support, and the protocol was already signed in November 2021. This protocol reflects the vision of Ain Shams University in interest and investment in human resources and various medical teams, and not only interest in infrastructure, medical devices, and consumables, which have also witnessed a boom in recent years.

The second session was attended by Prof. Hayam Refaat Tantawi, Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Affairs, Faculty of Nursing, Ain Shams University, and Prof. Fatima Obaid, Professor of Pediatrics and Executive Director of the Clinical Research Unit.