SODIC has been working closely with the Young Arab Leaders (YAL) chapter in Egypt on initiatives that will directly impact young Egyptian students and professionals. On Wednesday, December 1, 2010, Cairo University opened the SODIC Computer Lab in the Faculty of Science's Physics Department along with the Entrepreneurship Development Office (CEDO), a Nahdet El Mahrousa project. The Faculty of Science was chosen for the SODIC Computer Lab because there was a strong need for professors and students within the Physics Department to have access to online research as well as partake in the online training courses commissioned by YAL and Nahdet El Mahrousa.
"At SODIC we realize the importance of providing educational tools to Egypt's youth," said Ahmad Badrawi, SODIC's Chief Business Development Officer. "The young people of Egypt represent the country's future and there is no better way to ensure the maximum potential of a population, than investing in their education."
SODIC has played an important role in the Young Arab Leaders' campaigns to help support local universities in Egypt. Under the patronage of Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, former Minister of Investment, SODIC and YAL signed a Memorandum of Understanding, in which SODIC supports the YAL Global Action Program and Youth Outreach Program in Egypt, which target the following areas: Youth Outreach, Learning for Life Development Courses and the re-launch of the YAL Egypt Country Office.
Young Arab Leaders (YAL) launched the Learning for Life program as a pilot in Egypt. The idea was to research the needs of the job market versus the skills that young Arabs are graduating with from university. Based on the research, courses were developed to empower the students with the skills, knowledge and training needed to make them more competitive upon graduation. Following around a year of work with a consultant, professors, students and companies, the courses were successfully implemented on the 8th of March, 2009 in Ain Shams, Cairo and Fayoum Universities. To date, over 1500 students have been impacted and trained in project management, leadership, personal productivity, problem solving, team building and decision making courses.
