AUC and USAID Celebrate the Inauguration of a New University Center for Career Development at Ain Shams University

The American University in Cairo (AUC) celebrated today the opening of a university career development center at the faculty of commerce, Ain Shams University, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  The event was attended by Nancy Fisher- Gormley, acting deputy mission director of USAID/Egypt; Ashraf Hatem, AUC Counselor; Ahmed Tolba, AUC associate provost; and Nazmy Abdel Hamid Ain Shams University vice president for community service and environmental development. "As AUC celebrates one hundred years of excellence in education and service to Egypt, we are pleased to once again collaborate with Ain Shams University in the field of career education as we celebrate the inauguration of the career development center at the faculty of commerce,” said Tolba.  “This follows the success of the Employability and Career Development Centers (ECDC) established at the faculty of engineering and the main career center that we jointly established in 2014. Collectively, the three centers will provide more students with access to career guidance services, which will contribute to increasing their competitiveness and employability in the job market. We appreciate the support of the USAID in funding the University Centers for Career Development in Egypt,” he added.

This center is among 20 other UCCDs in 12 universities across Egypt that aim to provide one million students with access to career education, and bridge the gap between the university education outcomes and the industry and labor market needs. The center will provide a full range of career services and career management trainings to enhance the graduates’ employability.  Ain Shams University collaborated earlier with The American University in Cairo in the field of career education when it hosted in 2014 two centers at the faculty of engineering and at the main campus as part of the pilot project “Employability and Career Development Centers” (ECDCs).

Ain Shams University Vice President for Community Service and Environmental Development, Nazmy Abdel Hamid noted; “Ain Shams University has always been a forerunner among universities to embrace new models and approaches to serve its students and the wider community.” He added “The university is building on the success of the Employability and Career Development centers (ECDCs), which we take pride in the fact that they continue to be sustained and successfully functioning. The ECDC at the faculty of engineering has provided different services to more than 11,000 students, while the main campus ECDC has served more than 13,000 students.  The two centers have hosted six employment fairs availing hundreds of vacancies and internships for thousands of students and alumni.” He concluded, “Our success will continue with the UCCD and we will continue to inspire, model success and share our best practices with others.”

This inauguration comes after the opening of three Zagazig University UCCDs last week, to reach a total of twelve university centers for career development that have opened to date all over Egypt.  

To ensure the sustainability of the career development centers and its career services, the AUC team will train the UCCD staff of Ain Shams University – faculty of commerce to become Career Service Providers who are capable of providing career guidance services to university students.