Dr. Ayman Ashour, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, chaired the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Authority, in the presence of Dr. Walaa Sheta, CEO of the Authority, Dr. Yasser Refaat, Deputy Minister for Scientific Research Affairs, and members of the Board of Directors, at the Ministry’s headquarter.
At the beginning of the meeting, Dr. Ayman Ashour stressed the importance of the role played by the authority in implementing the state`s general plan in the field of financing scientific research, supporting the innovative capabilities of the science and technology system, supporting universities and research bodies to cooperate with industry, as well as contributing to finding solutions to the challenges facing Egyptian society.
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During the meeting, Dr. Walaa Sheta, CEO of the Science, Technology and Innovation Funding Authority, gave a detailed presentation on the Authority`s activities during the year 2022, including: signing a cooperation protocol with the Ministry of Health and Population in the field of "One Health"; Which was directly translated into an appeal to address the challenges facing the state in the field of health, and the allocation of 100 million pounds to support competitive research projects; With the aim of developing research outputs in the areas of combating infectious, epidemic and endemic diseases and applying them to the semi-industrial level, which contributes to the development of the national industry.
On the international level, he pointed out that the authority is in the process of cooperating with the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation, to support joint research projects in the fields of sustainable agriculture and food security, natural resources, water management, renewable energy, climate change and health.
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Dr Sheta stated that the number of new research calls has reached 14, including 3 national calls and 11 international calls, with the aim of supporting innovation in applied sciences, technology and manufacturing, and developing centers of excellence and capacity building laboratories.
Dr. Walaa Sheta also noted that the authority is about to launch several research calls during the first quarter of 2023, including the initiative to support basic sciences to support sustainable development and support postgraduate students to fund master`s and doctoral research that serve the country`s strategic plan.
Within the framework of international cooperation, Eng. Marwa Alaa, the supervisor of the General Administration of Programs, gave a presentation on the Authority’s implementation of many international programs that included cooperation with many countries, including (China, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United States American Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Region, British Royal Academy of Engineering, United Kingdom).
She also referred to the new international cooperation programs, including: the Egyptian-American cooperation program, which included the technology transfer program, the investment program in emerging companies, and the expansion of the scope of the Egypt Innovation Program.
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