Qalaa Holdings remains committed to providing Egyptian youth with
unparalleled opportunities to pursue graduate studies abroad at some of the
world’s most prestigious universities. The 2015-2016 class of scholars includes
17 students representing 6 governorates throughout Egypt
The Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation (QHSF),
Egypt’s largest private-sector funded scholarship program, has to date awarded
138 Egyptian students full scholarships to pursue master’s-level studies in the
United States and Europe at top-tier universities on the condition that they
return to Egypt to work in their chosen field following the completion of their
studies
The Ninth Annual class of scholarship recipients was
announced yesterday in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Social Solidarity
HE Ghada Waly
Waly stressed the importance of the role of civil
society and all its institutions including NGO’s to support education in Egypt.
“Education is the main tool that will empower our younger generations and allow
them to build a better future. These private sector initiatives aim to
encourage and support education by providing scholarships to help talented students
earn graduate degrees that will in turn help them contribute to building a more
effective and innovative society,” said Waly. She also emphasized the
importance of joint efforts between the government and the private sector in
order to better equip our youth so that they may compete effectively on the job
market
The 17 students who were awarded scholarships include 6
females and 11 males who will be studying social sciences, medicine & life
sciences, computer sciences, engineering, natural sciences, architecture and
arts in the U.S., the U.K, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden and Norway
“Today, Egypt is
at a crossroads. Now that the country has regained some measure of political
and economic stability it has become more crucial than ever that we turn our
attention to education, said Ambassador Hussein El-Khazindar, Secretary General
of the Board of Trustees of the Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation. “By
providing our youth with educational opportunities that they may not have
otherwise had access to, we are enabling them to make a positive impact on the
economic and social well being of the country”
The QHSF (formerly the Citadel Capital Scholarship
Foundation, CCSF) was founded by Qalaa Holdings (formerly Citadel Capital) in
2007 as a part of the company’s commitment to education and human capital
development in Egypt and across the region. Each year the foundation awards
scholarships to 15-20 students and has thus far awarded 138 scholarships in
total to talented young Egyptian men and women from 12 governorates to study in
a wide variety of disciplines including filmmaking, anthropology, arts,
business, engineering, architecture, nanotechnology, environmental development and political and economic
development
“Egypt's ability to create a new generation of young leaders is
dependent upon how well we can educate our youth. We believe that
Education is a key component of our ongoing reform process as a country. At
Qalaa Holdings we have continued to deliver on our commitment to education and
human capital development through various initiatives in Egypt and across the
region. Even on the level of our subsidiary companies, community development
projects have focused on education on all levels including technical and
vocational training as well as higher education," said Qalaa Holdings
Chairman and Founder Ahmed Heikal who also highlighted the need for the
immediate reform and modernization of Egypt's system of education
Qalaa Holdings Co-Founder and Managing Director Hisham
El-Khazindar also stressed the role of the private sector in
reforming education. "The Qalaa Holdings Scholarship Foundation is
an extension of our belief that the private sector must help lead positive
change. By investing in the graduate education of 138 of Egypt's brightest
young scholars over the past 9 years, including this year's class of 17
scholars, we are investing in the future development of the country as these
young men and women are required to return to Egypt upon the completion of
their various Masters and PhD programs," said El-Khazindar
“The scholarships that we grant each year are
essentially a reaffirmation of our belief that entrepreneurs are the backbone
of our economy. We hope that our scholarship recipients will be ، able to transfer the knowledge that they have gained in
a manner that will benefit their broader communities,” he added
In addition to supporting community-based vocational
training initiatives at the subsidiary level, Qalaa Holdings has also endowed
the Qalaa Holdings Financial Services Center, while El-Khazindar has personally
endowed the Khazindar Business Research and Case Studies Center, both at the
American University in Cairo. Qalaa Holdings’ cement subsidiary, ASEC Cement,
has partnered with the United Nations World Food Program to provide healthy
meals to more than 3,000 children in public schools in the governorate of
Minya. Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the primary investment of Africa Railways,
Qalaa Holdings’ subsidiary company for investment in the African railway
sector, also offers training programs in management and entrepreneurship to
further encourage sustainable development and private enterprise in the
neighboring communities
"Making a positive social impact in the
communities in which we invest has always been a core value at Qalaa Holdings.
One of Egypt’s most attractive assets is its youth demographic. This burgeoning
working age population’s full potential can only be harnessed through
education. By lending our support to education we are providing new generations
with much needed hope for the future,” said Ghada Hammouda, CMO and Head of
Marketing Communications at Qalaa Holdings
Recipients of Qalaa Holdings’ Scholarships have
attended top international institutions including Harvard, Stanford, Duke,
Wharton, Pratt, the University of Pennsylvania, New York University, Cornell,
Tufts and Columbia in the United States; Oxford, Cambridge, the University of
London, University College London, Imperial College London and the London
School of Economics in the United Kingdom; Lund University in Sweden;
University of Heidelberg in Germany; University of Helsinki in Finland; Ghent
University in Belgium; and ESADE Business School in Spain, among other top
universities and institutes
Governorates represented by this year’s class of
scholarship recipients include Cairo, Alexandria, Mansoura, Beni Suef, Qena and Menoufia
Name
|
University
|
Field
|
Engy Saleh
|
London School of Economics
|
Masters of Public Administration
|
Sara Abdou
|
Wageningen University
|
Msc in Biotechnology
|
Lujain Salama
|
London School of Economics
|
MSc in Social Policy & Development
|
Mohamed Issam
|
Queen Mary
|
MSc in Surgical Sciences
|
Khaled El Kammar
|
University of Edinburg
|
MSc in Music Composition
for Screen
|
Karim Labib
|
ETH Zurich
|
MSc in Computer Science
|
Mahmoud Hefny
|
University
College London
|
Msc in Renewable Geothermal Energy
|
George Nesr
|
Imperial College London
|
MSc in Clinical Research
|
Mohamed Ossama
|
Chalmers & Norwegian University of Science & Tech
|
MSc in Urban Planning
|
Youma Farag
|
Cambridge University
|
MSc in Advanced Computer Science
|
Mohamed Dawoud
|
University College London
|
MSc in Architecture
|
Ahmed Mostafa
|
University of California, Berkeley
|
MSc in Nuclear Engineering
|
Omar Mahfouz
|
Imperial College London
|
MSc in Computational
Methods for Aeronautics
|
Esraa El Sheikh
|
University College London
|
MSc in Social Policy & Social Research
|
Ahmed Hassanein
|
Nottingham University
|
MSc in Molecular & Cellular Science
|
Hatem Wafa
|
King's College London
|
MSc in Public Health
|
Mohamed Rabie
|
University of Glasgow
|
LLM
|
The Qalaa Holdings
Scholarship Foundation (formerly the Citadel Capital Scholarship Foundation) helps
bright Egyptian students pursue graduate degrees at elite international
institutions on the condition they return to Egypt to work following
graduation. The Foundation was established in 2007 by Qalaa Holdings, an
African leader in infrastructure and industry. For more information, see www.qalaascholarships.org.
