Intel today announced the launch of the “Intel Engineering Excellence Program,” which will provide scholarships and internships to outstanding engineering students from Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey in technology-related fields at top universities in the region. The program advances Intel’s comprehensive, multi-year “Digital Transformation Initiative for the Middle East” and underscores the company’s long-term commitment to promote technology skills, knowledge transfer and economic development in the region.
Under the “Intel Engineering Excellence Program,” Intel will offer full scholarships to five university students from each of the participating countries. The program will be run in partnership with each country’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technology and the Ministries of Education and Higher Education as well as with specific universities with highly-regarded technology programs in each country.
In addition to the full three-year scholarship, the program will offer a three-to-six month internship at one of Intel’s sites around the world.
Said Her Excellency Ms. Nadia Al-Saeed, Jordan’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology: “This program is yet another result of the public-private collaboration. We are keen to work with Intel as part of our efforts to develop Jordanian skillsets and continue building the knowledge based society and economy”.
Added Aysegul Ildeniz, Intel’s regional director for the Middle East Turkey and Africa, “This grass-roots engineering excellence program addresses two of the most pressing needs of governments throughout the region – developing critical information and communication technology skills, and facilitating knowledge transfer within individual countries and across borders. These capabilities will help drive economic development and jobs creation, enable Middle Eastern countries to be competitive in the global marketplace, and accelerate the overall growth of the region.”
Benefits of the “Intel Engineering Excellence Program”
There are numerous social and economic benefits of the “Intel Engineering Excellence Program.” For students, the program will:
• Enhance the ability to compete and excel in information and communication technology (ICT)-related university studies. This is especially important for financially-constrained students who might otherwise not be able to complete their university studies.
• Provide an opportunity to develop professional and technical skills in areas that are most needed within the region’s ICT sector, such as systems design, platform development, and advanced technology research.
• Provide structured professional training to develop and expand the capabilities and talents they need to become highly-trained professionals.
• Broaden and improve educational and employment opportunities.
For Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, the new “Intel Engineering Excellence Program” will:
• Transfer leading-edge information and communications technology from around the world to them.
• Build each area’s pool of highly-trained and -motivated ICT workers.
• Establish the knowledge base required to encourage further investment in their economies.
• Encourage and broaden their export of ideas, services and products.
For the overall region, the “Intel Engineering Excellence Program” will:
• Supply highly-qualified knowledge workers who can contribute to the accelerating development of the region’s information-based economy.
• Encourage creativity, innovation, research and development.
Said Dr. Hoda Baraka, Senior Advisor to the Egypt Minister of CIT on Information Infrastructure, “We are happy to be working with a technology leader such as Intel to help encourage excellence and nurture our young science and engineering talent. At our universities, we endeavor to provide students with the chance to shine in their studies and succeed in life, and this program will help us put brand new opportunities within reach of more of our gifted youth.”
New Education Program Advances the “Intel Digital Transformation Initiative”
The “Intel Engineering Excellence Program” is the first initiative to be rolled out under the “Intel Digital Transformation Initiative for the Middle East,” a comprehensive, multi-year program that will expand Intel’s economic, educational and technology-related support throughout the region.
Under the “Digital Transformation” program, Intel is increasing its investments in four key areas – local entrepreneurship, education, digital accessibility and specialized technical competencies – which it sees as critical building blocks for developing new technology centers in the region.
Intel already has significant on-going IT activities underway in several countries throughout the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa. The company currently works with several local governments, educational institutions, businesses, NGOs and non-profit organizations, program developers, local businesses, and other groups and organizations to expand the use and understanding of technology. Over the past decade, Intel has expanded its operations in the Middle East, Turkey and North Africa to include six offices in the region – Istanbul, Cairo, Riyadh, Beirut, Dubai and Casablanca.
Moving forward, Intel anticipates:
• Enhanced support for regional software developers and other local technology entrepreneurs.
• More investments in education at all levels.
• Greater efforts to make the latest information and communication technology – including the wireless Internet – more widely accessible.
• An increased commitment to building specialized technical competencies in key industries, including energy and finance, serving the region.
These are the logical steps Intel takes in building its business in emerging markets around the world.
Other Educational Initiatives in the Region
Intel already has a number of educational initiatives underway in the Middle East and Turkey, including:
• Intel Teach to the Future in Jordan, Egypt and Turkey – This program trains teachers to integrate IT into their classroom teaching. Debuting in the region in 2003, Intel Teach to the Future is currently in three countries and Intel is currently in negotiations with the governments of three other countries (Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates) to develop programs there. To date, the Intel Teach to the Future program has trained more than 55,000 teachers – and improved the classroom experiences of approximately 2 million students – in the region.
• Intel Learn in Egypt – Intel launched its Intel Learn program in Egypt in 2005. Intel Learn is an after-school, community-based program designed to teach 8-16 year olds, technological literacy, problem solving and collaboration skills—essential attributes for success in today’s knowledge economy.
• Intel Computer Clubhouses in Ramallah and Amman – Intel Computer Clubhouses provide an opportunity for youth in under-privileged neighborhoods to interact with each other, be mentored by young adults from the community, and develop information and communications technology (ICT) skills. Clubhouses were established in Ramallah in 2003 and Amman in 2004.
Concluded Ildeniz, “The ‘Intel Engineering Excellence’ program and our broader digital transformation initiative reflect Intel’s long-term commitment to the development of new technology centers in key Middle East markets. Over time, we plan to continue increasing our investments in order to accelerate the development and adoption of technology, contribute to the improvement of the regional economy, and improve the lives of people living in the region.”
