- Cheryl Yu
(image from Wix)
When we think about the internationalisation of postsecondary education, there are often defined differently by different countries, take on diverse paths and play different roles in the country.
For most of the Anglophone countries, the internationalisation of universities capitalises on its traditionally well-established reputable education system, quality and heritage, reinforced through global ranking systems, generating economic gain through exporting to the Global South. At the same time, fair attention is also given to the international and intercultural competencies of its education through engaging with diverse international students and staff on home campuses and exchange programmes.
Others in the Global South, such as China, place particular focus on learning from the developed Western countries through Transnational education, staff and students' mobility to study abroad, and joint research, so then we can compete with them on an equal footing.
In the academic arena, some post-colonial countries, such as South Africa, endeavour to decolonise the education, hierarchy and dominance of knowledge.
For some others, institutional international collaboration, focusing on Transnational education, forms the key strategy to create a regional international education hub, through importing to be able to export higher education, including Malaysia, Singapore, UAE and Egypt. It seems that the emerging trend of globalisation of higher education meets the regionalisation of higher education.
However, most of the TNE-receiving countries work predominantly with developed Anglophone countries, such as the USA, the UK and Australia. However, in Egypt, it presents a much more diverse landscape, a true 'melting pot', a country of significance for many countries to create representation in the region, despite that English-speaking countries account for the majority of TNE provision in the country.
As a result of its historical, political, cultural and educational significance in the region of MEAN and wider Africa, many countries perceive Egypt as a strategic representation of their international higher education agenda. Since its first American University of Cairo, established over 100 years ago, currently Egypt also boasts of other branch campuses or international institutions in Germany, Canada, Japan, French, Russia, China, Portugal and of course the UK, such as
The Egyptian Chinese University
Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology
British University in Egypt
Germany International University
Germany University in Cairo
Canadian International College
The American University in Cairo
Egyptian Russian University
European Universities in Egypt (University of London, University of Central Lancashire)
Hertfordshire University in Egypt
French University of Egypt
Egypt Vision 2030 places the internationalisation of higher education as one of the key strategies of the ministry as a way to increase capacity while enhancing the quality of education and research. Higher education is both a social and economic priority for the country. It promotes collaboration with foreign universities on joint programmes, dual degrees as well as international branch campuses. A few years back, the ministry also issued regulations, mandating universities launch new faculties to form academic partnerships with foreign universities that rank higher than Egypt's highest-ranking academic institution. We could argue that the TNE success from the neighbouring countries, Saudi Arabia, and UAE, also motivates the Egyptian government to invest in international education to become the regional TNE hub for MENA and wider Africa.
The first foreign university to operate in Egypt's new administrative capital was the University of Canada in Egypt, in April 2018, under an umbrella organisation formed to host degree programmes from select Canadian universities in partnership with Canwell Education Consultancy. This was followed by the launch by Coventry University in September 2019 of the Knowledge Hub, in partnership with Elsewedy Education. The University of Hertfordshire, in partnership with Global Academic Foundation, inaugurated its branch campus in December 2019; 2021 saw the establishment of the European Universities in Egypt, one of the latest IBCs set up European Universities in Egypt hosts the University of London and the University of Central Lancashire. In 2023, Cira Education and Seneca College of Applied Arts and Technology also signed an agreement to establish two branches. Private Education makes up almost 15% higher education provision in the country where TNE plays a significant role within the private space .
Not surprisingly, the government of Egypt intends to use TNE and international collaboration to keep its talents within the country to prevent the 'brain drain'. Speaking to local international educational specialists, I understood that most Egyptian students when they cannot get into the desirable public universities because of the limited quota or high academic requirements, or because they could not afford private education in the country, would seek alternative free higher education elsewhere, such as, in Germany, Ukraine, France, Russia or GULF countries where they would be able to access free but high-quality education. UNESCO data shows that 31,822 students were studying abroad in 2017. With limited quantitative data available, the general trajectory and sentiment is that most Egyptian students tend to stay in the hosting countries to look for employment, or they might relocate to GULF countries which functions as a bridge between the East and the West, where they can enjoy their accustomed Western values but practice their religions freely while being close to 'home'. So TNE becomes a solution to the 'brain drain' for the country.
Egypt and the UK
The history between Egypt and the UK has been entangled for hundreds of years. We could say a mixed sentiment. The British Council has 80 years of experience developing education partnerships with the government of Egypt, working to build ties between organisations here and in the UK to provide international opportunities for young people. In general, UK universities enjoy a global reputation for their quality education and research. This sentiment is shared in Egypt too. In 2018 the UK and Egypt signed a memorandum of agreement on IBCs and in the same year Egypt rectifies the International Branch Campus Act.
According to UUKI data released recently, With 24,545 TNE students in 21/22 (increased from 23, 805 in 20/21), Egypt is the fifth largest host country for UK TNE programmes globally. It hosts 42 per cent of Africa's TNE population. TNE in the country continues to expand; the latest recorded growth was 22 per cent in 2020-21 compared with the previous year. Over two-thirds of the students are at the undergraduate level of study (69 per cent). The number of UK-Egypt co-authored research papers is also increasing, bolstered by bilateral initiatives such as the Newton-Mosharafa Fund, and the UK is currently Egypt's fourth-largest international research collaboration partner (source: SciVal).
TNE is generally welcomed and sometimes is even perceived as the 'magic bean' to internationalise the educational offering in Egypt. For example, if a university has one joint programme with a foreign university, this could serve as the basis of a university-wide learning platform, to understand how the curriculum is developed, the teaching pedagogies, the knowledge generation and creation and student employability. 'Imitation' becomes the basis for innovation and inspiration.
This returns to what I mentioned above, the internalisation of higher education in Egypt can be a cause of modernising its educational provision to promote the mobility and collaboration of knowledge, students, faculty members and research.
Egypt has a comparatively young population, 45 per cent of which is under 19. It is the 14th most populous country in the world and has a population forecast to reach 160 million by 2050, which would rank it 11th globally. In Egypt, about 2 million students are studying at public universities and about 60,000 students are studying at private universities (Top Universities 2018). While public higher education is free in Egypt except for a registration fee, private education is much more expensive, charging a fee ranging from £3,000-£10,000 compared to TNE costing £5,000-£10,000. Private HE institutions basically serve to absorb the demand for higher education, and TNE becomes part of their strategy to create marketing differentiation. With some recently established projects, TNE also serves as a channel for degree awarding power.
Although public universities have more capacity and resources, and a higher student enrollment rate, some of the private universities in this country are among the most prestigious institutions. Given that said, STEM subjects in some universities are the most competitive programmes with limited quotas and high academic requirements. Cairo University, Alex University and the Arab Academy for Science and Technology rank among the top 50 world universities in QS 2023 ranking by subject for petroleum engineering, dentistry and veterinary science.
TNE Challenges and Opportunities?
Of course, Egypt despite being a quite well-established TNE market, there exist its own challenges, first and foremost, including the bureaucratic application process for new projects or to add new programmes, and national quality assurance and qualification parity and comparability.
Secondly, despite the huge potential as a result of the demographics, we also need to look into the mismatch of the price point of TNE with affordability and willingness. Currently, we also need to note that it is a market of less ranking sensitive compared to some other matured markets too. Notably, the almost 41% drop in exchange rate within one year between the Egyptian Pound against the Pound sterling further narrows the pool of families who can afford TNE education in the country.
To set up TNE projects or International Branch Campus in Egypt, it is not simply to understand the market demands in economic terms but also importantly the wider context such as social cultural, economic and educational contexts to navigate the potential and risks. More importantly, will the International Branch Campus be part of your institutional global engagement strategy to remain to be relevant in ten or twenty years as we move from globalisation to regionalisation?
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