SWOT Analysis: The Case of Egyptian Partners Prof. Omar Ramzy, Heliopolis University Europe Regional Meeting 2019 13-14 September, 2019, Heraklion, Greece

1. STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIESWEAKNESSES THREATS
S OW T
SWOT ANALYSIS
The Case of Egyptian Partners
Presented by Dr. Omar Ramzy on behalf of the Egyptian Partners

2. STRENGTHS
S
• International partnerships with universities that address the CCSAFS themes
• Interdisciplinary approach at Heliopolis University among the different faculties
• Founding the first organic agriculture faculty in Egypt at Heliopolis University
• ICT facilities that support blended learning programs
• Several projects were implemented at Heliopolis University that address the
CCSAFS themes

3. STRENGTHS
S
• Very strong research department that supports the research areas of CCSAFS
• Egyptian Biodynamic Agriculture Association (EBDA) is part of SEKEM and is
located at Heliopolis University premises
• As part of indirect promotion, the M.Sc. Could be disseminated within the events
that take place at HU Premises (e.g. The International Conference of Scaling up
Agro-ecology that took place on the 12th of September, 2019- CCSAFS Master
Students joined this conference)

4. STRENGTHS
S
• The Center of Education for Sustainable Development (CESD) at Heliopolis
University supports the curriculum development process
• The program is unique and distinguished among Egyptian universities in terms
of its multidisciplinary nature and its alignment with SDG's
• Synchronizing the projects that are implemented in the faculty of Engineering
especially Food, Energy, and Water Nexus (TriNex Erasmus+ Project)
• The botanical garden at HU Campus will facilitate practical experiments of the
M.Sc. Program

5. STRENGTHS
S
• Number of qualified experts in the field of climate change, sustainable
agriculture and food security
• Supportive administration
• The alumni from the ICT & ESD master program in Frederick University will
support the blended learning approach
• SEKEM was founded in 1977 based on the organic agriculture principle

6. STRENGTHS
S
• The infrastructure and capacity building of the participating universities were
enhanced to serve the implementation of the M.Sc. Program efficiently
• Accredited program from the Supreme Council of Universities
• Revised and ready to use course specification
• SEKEM is involved in a huge number of projects while having limited number of
staff which may hinder achieving the project objectives effectively

7. • Education for Sustainable Development awareness is not well established in
Egypt
• Weak dissemination
• Insufficient budget in order to promote the program
• Lack of student financial supporting programs
• Low level of English language proficiency among students enrolled in the
program
WEAKNESSES
W

8. • Lack of expert in the field of agriculture from the beginning of the project
• Some of the staff are lacking the ICT competencies needed for teaching in the
M.Sc.
• Lack of staff competencies needed to deal with blending learning systems
• Staff member’s internal interaction is weak
WEAKNESSES
W

9. • Stakeholders are willing to support CCSAFS with training internships
• Official national and local interest in climate change education programs
• The labor market is demanding climate change specialists
• We can strength collaboration with donors concerned with CCSAFS
• Staff are motivated to learn modern teaching techniquesOPPORTUNITIES
O

10. • The government direction towards cutting the subsidies of the chemical
fertilizers gives the partners an opportunity to promote the program
• The government is intending to mainstream organic agriculture practices
within the 1.5 million hectare reclamation project
• Organic agriculture is one of the main dimensions of Egypt’s 2030 vision for
sustainable development
• Alignment with the international trends towards studying climate change
OPPORTUNITIES
O

11. • Low command of English among potential applicants
• Low level of ICT awareness which might hinder applicants’ ability to use
CCSAFS LMS
• Students may be reluctant to join the program due to the high tuition fees
• The challenge of getting foreign students to apply in the M.Sc. due to security
reasonsTHREATS
T

12. • The economic situation in Egypt is in favour of conventional products rather
than organic products
• The organic market in Egypt is not dominating yet and its market share is too
low compared with the conventional market
THREATS
T