On Tuesday, 20 October 2015, the Graduation Ceremony of the University to Work Round 7 (UTW-7) was held at the Cleopatra Ballroom of Cairo Semiramis InterContinental Hotel in the presence of Manpower Minister Dr. Gamal Sorour, Minister of Environment Representative Dr. Wael Reda, Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers Vice-President Abed Khattab, and ECG Chairman Amr Allouba.
UTW-7 has hosted a total of 500 engineering graduates from public and private Egyptian universities, as part of the UTW initiative sponsored by ECG, in collaboration with the Egyptian European Organization for Training & Development (EEOTD), TEA Computers, Schneider Electric, Ideal Standard, and Rotary District 2451. As part of the UTW-7 Graduation Ceremony, top-ranking students and distinguished teams from different engineering specializations were honored amid the applause of their fellow graduates and their parents.
During the ceremony, Architect Dalia Al-Saadany, President of the International Association of Designers (IAD), announced that ECG has been selected as the “Capital of Engineering Design” worldwide. Al-Saadany also praised the efforts made by ECG in setting excellence in design as a norm in the minds of young engineers. She urged other Egyptian private-sector firms to follow in the footsteps of ECG in relation to their Corporate Social Responsibility.
In her speech, ECG Vice-President & UTW Project Manager Dr. Nevine AbdelKhalek stated that UTW is considered a key training program for employment in Egypt, and that the initiative had been acknowledged by the United Nations in 2012 as one of the best CSR models brought forward by the private sector worldwide. In the same context, Dr. Sorour congratulated the graduates on their achievement and recognized the effort exerted by ECG to qualify Egyptian youth for the national and international labor markets.
He urged the youth to make good use of all the available training opportunities to gain more technical and professional skills. He added that the Ministry of Manpower is ready to cooperate with all partners and stakeholders in qualifying Egyptian youth for the labor market and creating more employment opportunities.
On behalf of Minister of Environment Dr. Khaled Fahmy, Dr. Reda expressed his appreciation for the UTW initiative and stated that there is a great potential for cooperation between UTW and the Ministry of Environment.
In his speech, Dr. Khattab stated that it was not the first time for him to attend a UTW Graduation Ceremony, and that both he and Egyptian Syndicate of Engineers President Tarek Al-Nabarawy appreciate the great effort made by ECG through the UTW initiative.
