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By Andrew Bossone

Intel Corporation recently announced the launch of the META (Middle East, Turkey, and Africa) Higher Education Initiative in Egypt to focus on bringing technology to the nation’s universities.

Cairo University, Alexandria University, Ain Shams University and the American University in Cairo signed on to the initiative with support from the World Economic Forum, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology.

“The first item of achieving quality in education we see is connectivity to the internet, giving students access to internet, having them use computers and software. Incorporating its elements in the curriculum is very effective now,” Minister of Education Yousry El-Gamal said at a recent press conference.

Under its Technology Entrepreneurship Program, Intel developed a curriculum for universities that covers topics including setting up and running a company. The structure of the course is based on the University of California, Berkeley’s Haas School of Business entrepreneur classes. The program makes UC Berkeley professors available for in-person curriculum development, and Intel invites regional universities to participate in a technology-focused business plan competition that it sponsors.

Once META is fully up and running, Intel will offer funding to universities to perform outreach to other schools using curriculum workshops, seminars and lectures. Intel will also provide equipment to implement changes in curricula. Selected university researchers will participate in an annual academic conference with Intel executives, fellows and technologists.

“Intel’s support of higher education curricula and research already extends to more than 100 universities in over 30 countries,” says Martina Roth, Intel’s director of education for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. “By collaborating with top universities on programs and opportunities, Intel helps advance innovation in key technology areas and develops a pipeline of world-class technical talent for the knowledge-based economy.

Additionally, Nortel, a communication technology company, donated a state-of-the-art Multimedia Communication Server 5100 that facilitates web collaboration, instant messaging, secure chat rooms, conferencing, application sharing and information exchange between the participating Egyptian universities. The server, which has also been used for business solutions, creates educational opportunities as well by facilitating e-learning and collaboration between peers and between students and faculty.

“Public and private partnerships have become a huge success in driving education initiatives forward, particularly when it comes to bringing global best practices and advanced communication services to education systems,” Joseph Mehawej, Middle East marketing manager at Nortel said in a company statement.

Although the initiative focuses on technology and learning in a university setting, El-Gamal reaffirmed his commitment to primary learning. “It is our target to have every student who completes K through nine to be computer literate in a few years,” he said.