A S U

Under the auspices of Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zain El-Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Amani Osama Kamel chaired the meeting of the Graduate Studies and Research Affairs Council for the academic year 2024/2025. The meeting was attended by the deans of graduate studies and research at the faculties, Prof. Mohamed El Khatib, Assistant Secretary of the University for Graduate Studies and Research, and members of the Council. The meeting discussed strategies for developing education and scientific research with the aim of developing the university's academic, research, and administrative systems.

At the beginning of the session, Prof. Amani Osama Kamel greeted the members of the Council and the Graduate Studies and Research Sector. She also welcomed the addition of Prof. Mona Abdel Aal, Director of the Education Development Department, to the Council. She also congratulated the Faculty of Engineering for the inclusion of the Ain Shams Engineering Journal among the top 6% of engineering journals worldwide and congratulated the Faculty of Agriculture for the Annals of Agricultural Sciences being ranked Q1 for the seventh consecutive year.

The council discussed the guide for organizing and scheduling annual conferences at the university: the policy, the unified model, and the formation of a "University Conference Coordination Committee" to include representatives from each faculty to ensure effective and comprehensive participation in preparing the annual conference schedule.

Prof. Amani Osama Kamel explained that this policy aims to ensure effective planning, coordination, and promotion of conferences across all faculties, departments, and units, while avoiding overlapping and achieving optimal use of resources. It also aims to maximize academic and strategic societal impact and select topics that align with the university's vision, mission, and strategic objectives, including national and global priorities such as Egypt Vision 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.

This approach also contributes to enhancing academic compatibility and cooperation between different disciplines and avoiding duplication or fragmentation in the topics presented.

The council also discussed the introduction of a series of free training courses in artificial intelligence in education and scientific research as part of the courses required for faculty promotion, provided by the Training and Development Center, in cooperation with the Center for the Development of Educational Strategies and Research, in line with the sector's commitment to sustainable professional development for faculty members.

The council also reviewed and discussed the recently circulated article on the Integrity Index in academic circles, along with several other topics.

The meeting included presentations covering a variety of initiatives and reports, such as the Center for Strategy Development and Education Research, the role of the Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence Units, UMS assessments, and the efforts of the Quality Assurance Center, in addition to presenting the position of the Department of International and Visiting Students.