Mapping the landscape of scholarships and fellowships in Egypt

MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE: SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS IN EGYPT Nayra Ijjeh, Consultant to the Ford Foundation FORD FOUNDATION MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA REGIONAL OFFICE October 2018 Page 2 of 35 MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE: SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS IN EGYPT FOREWORD Several years have passed since the launch of the Ford Foundation’s flagship International Fellowship Program (IFP) in 2001. The IFP which was implemented in several countries of the world including Egypt and Palestine, has been fondly remembered as the program that allowed hundreds of bright and ambitious young people to complete their graduate studies or become qualified and enterprising leaders of civil society organizations in their countries. The fame and success of the IFP was not in the number of fellowships it offered. Its uniqueness came from its focus on ‘disadvantage’ and its attempt to help outstanding young people overcome social and economic hurdles that hindered their social mobility and move towards a brighter future. Those who benefited from the IFP were students who typically would not have access to such an opportunity. In the years after IFP came to an end in 2013, the gap continued to widen between the number of Egyptian students who wished to complete their graduate studies abroad, on one hand, and supply of fellowships on the other. While government-sponsored study abroad opportunities sought to address some of the disparities between supply and demand, they were still a small drop in a large ocean. Meanwhile, new and diverse actors rose to the scene driven by strong interest in and commitment to training promising young Egyptians and preparing them to become future leaders. The new actors included the burgeoning Egyptian philanthropy and private foundations which slowly but surely has been carving a place for itself in the country’s fellowships’ scene next to regional and bilateral organizations. As one of the longest standing philanthropic organization in Egypt with many years of engagement with the country’s higher education, Ford saw in the changing landscape an opportune moment to reflect on the status of fellowships for Egyptians. Some of the questions that pre-occupied us were: who exactly are the new players? what drives their interest in higher education and what are their assumptions about social mobility in Egypt? where is the need most felt and what are the populations, disciplines and sectors that require our attention? How do we measure the impact of fellowships? As we started to engage with these questions, we found an enthusiastic partner in the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, which has been offering a prestigious graduate fellowship program to Egyptian students for close to 18 years. On 12 December 2017, Ford and Sawiris Foundations jointly organized an event that brought together a large number of significant players in fellowships and scholarships in Egypt. To guide the discussion at the meeting, Nayra Ijjeh, consultant to Ford Foundation drafted this report entitled “Mapping the Landscape: Scholarships and Fellowships in Egypt”. The report includes the main available fellowship opportunities by type of offering organization. At the end of the document, Nayra raises important questions for discussion that revolve around philosophy, implementation and impact of fellowships. Page 3 of 35 MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE: SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS IN EGYPT MAPPING THE LANDSCAPE: SCHOLARSHIPS AND FELLOWSHIPS IN EGYPT A noteworthy recommendation came out of the December event: participants felt a strong need to organize a get-together for alumni of the different fellowship programs in Egypt. The event would serve as a reunion for many of them. At the same time, it would allow alumni to steer the discussion of the issues raised, using their own experiences and lessons learned as a starting point. In response to that recommendation, Ford and Sawiris, and this time with more collaborating institutions: Amideast, Misr El-Kheir Foundation, Qalaa Holding Scholarship Foundation, Abdullah Al-Ghurair Foundation for Education, British Council, Institute of International Education, UK Chevening Programme Egypt, and Al-Jameel Leadership Program - organized a gathering on 3rd September for alumni of different programs. Following a panel discussion with two inspiring alumni moderated by Noha El-Mikawy and Noura Selim, directors of Ford Foundation and Sawiris Foundation respectively, alumni had the chance to discuss in small groups fellowship design, pre-scholarship preparations and post-fellowship expectations. A report on the September event is under preparation and will be posted in due time. We believe that this is the beginning of an import