The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

When you think of technology, your mind ultimately takes you to the world of tech giants. And when you think of tech giants, your mind then leads you to a plethora of intimidating names in the IT industry, including IBM. So, it’s safe to say that IBM is objectively one of the biggest names in the field of information technology. It’s also safe to say that the concept of having a school, run by IBM, right here in the Middle East, in Egypt no less, would be a pretty big deal. And that is exactly what is happening!

According to Egypt Independent, the Ministry of Education signed a cooperation protocol with the multinational information technology company, IBM, to establish Egypt’s first IT school, operating on the P-Tech model system. Based on the IBM website, Pathways in Technology Early College High Schools (P-TECH) are innovative public schools, spanning grades 9 to 14, that bring together the best elements of high school, college, and career. It has currently grown from one school in 2011 to more than 100 schools in four countries so far!

In an interview with Ahram Online, Senior VP of IBM, Michelle Peluso, stated, “We have announced the launch of the first model of Pathways in Technology Early College High-School, or P-TECH schools, in Egypt. With the aim to create technical and professional educational opportunities for Egyptian students, and provide them with the skills and experience for tech-related ‘new collar’ jobs. The students will be qualified in five years for employment in varied technical fields like cybersecurity, cloud computing, digital design, data analytics, and artificial intelligence. We do believe that future jobs will depend on talented people who have skills and willing to learn and execute rather than graduates with academic certificates.” You can read the rest of the interview via this link.

In attendance for the signing of the protocol were Minister of Education, Dr Tarek Shawqi; Deputy Minister for Technical Education, Dr Mohamed Mujahid; Minister’s Advisor for Technical Education and Co-ordinator of the Education Reform Project, Habiba Ezz; General Manager of IBM Egypt, Wael Abdulush, and a number of other education officials, according to Whatsup Cairo. 

The first P-TECH school in Egypt will be operational at Al Shorouq Advanced Technical School, one of the Ministry of Education’s schools in Al Shorouq, beginning in September of this year. We truly hope and predict that this critical step, like so many other current initiatives, joining corporate and educational sectors, will lead today’s younger generations to a better and more productive tomorrow.