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Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University, received a high-level delegation from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), including Dr. Wiebke Bachmann, President of the DAAD, and Dr. Manuel Jung, the German lecturer responsible for supporting German language and literature programs. This visit reflects the university's commitment to expanding its international partnerships and supporting academic exchange programs with leading global educational institutions. It also aims to strengthen academic, scientific, and cultural cooperation between the university and German educational institutions, and to open new avenues for supporting students and faculty staff.

Following this, the delegation visited the Faculty of Al-Alsun, where they were received by Prof. Yumna Safwat, Acting Dean and Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development. Prof. Safwat welcomed the guests and presented a comprehensive overview of the Faculty of Languages' long and distinguished history, dating back to its founding by the pioneer of modern renaissance, Rifa'a al-Tahtawi. She highlighted its status as one of the oldest faculties specializing in languages ​​and translation in Egypt and the Arab region, emphasizing its academic and cultural mission to build bridges of communication between peoples, disseminate knowledge and sciences, and foster openness to diverse cultures.

Prof. Safwat also reviewed the significant development the Faculty has witnessed in recent years, its distinguished academic programs, and its extensive international partnerships with numerous universities and educational institutions worldwide. She further emphasized its leading role in preparing qualified professionals for the local and international labor markets in the fields of languages, translation, and cultural studies.

Prof. Yumna Safwat accompanied the German delegation on a tour of the Faculty of Al-Alsun, including the modern electronic testing halls and smart laboratories equipped with the latest technology, which host various international exams. The German delegation praised the advanced infrastructure of the Faculty of Al-Alsun ​​and the sophisticated learning environment it provides, which supports digital transformation and keeps pace with international standards in university education.

The visit also included an extensive meeting between the German delegation and faculty staff and teaching assistants of the German Language Department, headed by Prof. Nahla Nagi Tawfiq, Head of the German Language Department. During the meeting, Prof. Tawfiq emphasized the deep historical ties between the department and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) since the department's founding, noting that the German Language Department at the Faculty of Al-Alsun ​​is the largest academic department specializing in German language and literature studies in Egypt and the Middle East.

The department head presented a detailed overview of the academic programs offered by the department, explaining that it boasts a distinguished faculty staff and teaching assistants specializing in language, literature, translation, and cultural studies. In addition to its traditional program in German Language and Literature—accredited in 2024—the department also offers a specialized German translation program designed to prepare professional translators capable of meeting the demands of the evolving job market.

The meeting also addressed ways to expand cooperation between the two sides. The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) delegation presented the various support programs it offers to faculty staff and teaching assistants, and students. These programs include supporting institutional partnerships with German universities, funding academic and research projects, bringing in international lecturers and experts, and providing short- and long-term training opportunities and scholarships.

The meeting also discussed utilizing the German educational platform Dhoch3, which provides rich and interactive educational content that can be used to develop the educational process and enhance the teaching of German within Egyptian universities.

The discussion also touched upon research grant opportunities for collecting scientific material and obtaining master's and doctoral degrees from German universities, in addition to academic and research exchange programs that offer broad opportunities for scientific and cultural exchange between Egyptian researchers and their counterparts in Germany.

As part of supporting academic capacity building, the German side offered to organize specialized workshops in English for faculty staff and teaching assistants in the areas of academic skills development and capacity building, which will contribute to enhancing academic and research performance and raising the efficiency of university staff.

The meeting commended the remarkable success of the Faculty of Languages ​​in this year's student scholarship program. Sixty-five students from the German Language Department received fully funded summer scholarships to study German for a month in Germany. These students were among only 130 scholarships offered to Egyptian university students this year by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), making the Faculty of Al-Alsun ​​the recipient of the largest share of these scholarships among Egyptian universities.

In this context, a special meeting was held with the outstanding scholarship recipients, during which they were honored and their academic excellence was praised. Emphasis was placed on the importance of utilizing these international opportunities to develop their linguistic and cultural skills and refine their scientific and practical expertise.

The visit concluded with an open dialogue and rich discussion between the German delegation, faculty staff and teaching assistants, addressing future cooperation prospects and ways to enhance academic and scientific relations between the Faculty of Languages ​​and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), in support of Ain Shams University’s strategy towards internationalization and openness to global educational institutions and enhancing its academic standing regionally and internationally.