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Published: April 2004
The Egyptian Ministry of Education (MOE), which is responsible for all K-12 schools in Egypt, aims to harness technology to improve the education process in Egypt. To fulfill this goal, the ministry and Microsoft signed an education agreement, as well as and the Partner in Learning (PiL) memorandum of understanding.
The Ministry of Education and Microsoft together launched the Junior Developer Program, which seeks to capitalize on the talent of Egyptian youth. The program is creating a new generation of developers for the Egyptian workforce.
Situation
In 1999, President Hosni Mubarak, announced a national government campaign to adopt IT (information technology) for Egypt’s economic and social development. Embracing IT will improve the quality of life of Egyptian citizens, help build a strong economy and bridge the digital divide, he said.
Education is a cornerstone in any national campaign. As such, President Mubarak has offered unwavering support of the campaign’s utilization of IT to develop and improve the education process.
Both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education have signed agreements with Microsoft to adopt its technology and know-how.
The Ministry of Higher Education has partnered with Microsoft to ensure that college graduates receive the latest tools and training to prepare them for the global market.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education has adopted an aggressive strategy to completely revamp Egypt’s education process. The plan outlines training for teachers and school administrators, introduces new IT curricula and adopts technology to improve the education process.
Education minister Dr. Hussein Bahaa El-Din wanted schools and students to play a pivotal role in the national IT campaign. To achieve this goal, the ministry and Microsoft jointly launched several initiatives that not only improve education, but also prepare the IT industry leaders of tomorrow.
To plant the seed for a future community of developers in Egypt of the highest international caliber, the Ministry of Education and Microsoft launched the Junior Developer Program.
The Junior Developer Program
The Junior Developer Program aims at creating the next generation of developers to enhance the Egyptian workforce and advance the country’s IT industry. This skilled workforce will enrich the economy and turn Egypt into an international IT hub.
The Junior Developer Program provides early training on fundamental programming concepts and creative thinking. Its three stages target highly gifted youth between the ages of 12 and 15.
The first stage provides training on development fundamentals. The second and third stages focus on MS.NET technologies. At the end of each stage, students are required to submit a project.
During the first year, 1,000 students, 51 percent of them female, were trained in Cairo, Alexandria and Assiut. The number is expected to reach 6,000 within five years.
Students are selected from the second preparatory stage of public schools according to their aptitude, as well as their proficiency in mathematics and English.
The Junior Development Program was launched in 2003 and is expected to continue until 2008. During 2003/2004 academic year, over 1,000 students received training. In addition, the program trained instructors for the Ministry of Education.
Between 2004 and 2008, over 5,000 students are expected to receive training from Microsoft. Another 28,000 students will be trained by Ministry of Education instructors, who themselves received training from Microsoft.
Benefits
Enriching the IT industry:
The Junior Developer Program is creating a highly skilled core of developers who can contribute to Egypt’s IT industry certain that their ideas will make a difference.
Building the foundation of a strong software industry:
The skill and innovation of developers is the building block of a robust software industry. The Junior Developer Program will help provide over 6,000 highly motivated developers capable of improving the lives of their family, community and country.
Reducing Unemployment:
The program will help students secure highly paid jobs or launch their own projects. Given that each job in the software industry creates 9 jobs in related sectors, the program will significantly help in reducing unemployment and in enriching the lives of its participants.
Improve Economy:
The new program will help create highly skilled developers who can compete in the global arena, thus increasing the software production and exports.
For more information about Microsoft go to:
http://www.microsoft.com/education/
For More Information
For more information about Microsoft products and services, go to: http://www.microsoft.com/
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Microsoft is either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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 Customer Profile
The Ministry of Education is responsible for all K-12 schools in Egypt- a total of 36,332 private and public schools with over 15 million students.
The ministry’s staff includes 799,000 teachers as well as 300,000 officials and administrative employees.
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 Business Situation
The ministry sought to harness technology to improve the education process and create a new generation of developers for the workforce.
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Solution
The Ministry of Education collaborated with Microsoft on the Junior Developer Program (JDP), a specialized program consisting of three stages. Each stage involves 100 hours of training followed by a graduation project and/or an exam. JDP covers fundamentals of programming, as well as basic and advanced MS.NET technology.
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Benefits
- Improves the economy
- Enriches the IT industry
- Builds the foundation of a robust software industry
- Reduces unemployment
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Software and Services
Microsoft Visual Studio®
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“Our mission is to modernize education in Egypt through the use of information technology. To fulfill our mission, we partnered with Microsoft to adopt state-of-the-art technology and prepare our youth to compete in the global market.”
Dr. Hussein Bahaa el-Din,
Minister of Education
Arab Republic of Egypt
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