Several students were acknowledged today at the award ceremony for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair held in Cairo. This event concluded a three-day program supported by Intel and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in collaboration with Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
"Science and technology play a critical role in spurring innovation and increasing economic growth," stated USAID Mission Director Sherry F. Carlin. "The U.S. government is proud to support this competition and hopes that the students here today will design solutions to Egypt’s greatest development challenges."
Chargé d’Affaires Thomas Goldberger also attended the fair, commending participants on their innovative projects. The U.S. government is organizing regional fairs in Cairo, Luxor, and Alexandria throughout February and March 2017. Winners from these events will join over 1,700 high school students globally to present their research at an international fair in Los Angeles, California, in May 2017.
USAID's contribution to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education forms part of the $30 billion invested by Americans in Egypt since 1978 through USAID. Beyond supporting this science fair, USAID has been instrumental in establishing eleven STEM high schools across Egypt and forming 140 scientific research clubs within Egyptian middle schools. Furthermore, USAID provides undergraduate scholarships for studies in STEM fields both domestically within Egypt and internationally in the United States while also backing the U.S.-Egypt Science and Technology Joint Research Program which unites scientists from both countries to tackle global challenges.