Issue 9: Grand Graduation Ceremony

Dear Engineering Students...

As we celebrate the graduation of the first engineering class in GUC. I would like to congratulate all of the students who are graduating.

We are rejoicing in the achievements of every student who has earned a degree in the most distinguished institution, the GUC. The students worked hard and diligently. They proved that they were serious about their commitment to their studies. You have been remarkable students and we are so pleased that you chose the GUC for this phase of your education. I personally have been deeply influenced by the 2008 class and wish them all the success.

Today, you graduates will be walking through a different door, a door to the future. You should commit yourselves to following your hearts and doing what you most love and what you most want to do in life. Now that you have graduated from college and are about to launch yourselves in new directions, it’s essential that you ask yourself how to be an active contributor to your country. Life has many difficulties and challenges. We will all face disappointments, frustrations, losses and injustices. The best way to deal with these challenges is to see them as opportunities to help you grow. Now, the grand adventures of your own lives lie open before you. Seize the day.

The vision that I have for this great university that we all cherish is simple. We must grow and nurture this wonderful asset so that the country, its people and the quality of life in this country are enhanced for the 21st century. We are at a defining moment. My vision for the GUC is to be the region’s premier developer of advanced human potential, of the jobs that employ that potential and the communities that sustain it. I foresee an influx of enrolment at GUC as it continues to grow.

We intend to all work together to develop the growth agenda of this university in a way that can be embraced by our leadership, our students, faculty and staff.

Prof. Dr. Slim Abdennadher Study Dean, Faculties of Engineering Dean of Faculty of Media Engineering

Dear Pharmacy & Biotechnology Graduates,

I would like to congratulate each and every one of my beloved students for their graduation. It really has been proven and has paidioff for you to have taken the decision to get educated at the GUC. Here, you had the opportunity to pursue either track; pharmacy and biotechnology or biotechnology. You were exposed to the combination of the interdisciplinary sciences benefiting from both worlds. An opportunity offered at GUC unparalleled anywhere in the world, where Pharmacy is practically interwoven with biotechnology. Biotechnology widens the scope of pharmacy, and allows the integration of specialized, advanced research areas.

The GUC did not only contribute to your educational career but also to your character and to the shaping of an independent personality. You had the benefit of receiving a very special education following both the Egyptian and the German models, tying together teaching and research with state of the art laboratories. This has certainly enhanced your knowledge and skills, while exposing you -- through internships and “track to Germany” -- to a unique environment. Your solid background can be considered a primary stepping stone towards your career and will pave your way to success in any field you endeavor.

You are a unique blend between solid educational background and an excellent training capacity in areas which the local and international market needs.

You may have been through some hard times, having been the first students. Now the way is paved for your colleagues to follow and, you and only you, are privileged to receive the title “1st GUCian Graduates.” You are a role model for the newcomers.

I want to assure you that you have definitely contributed to the GUC success story and great reputation. You helped create a family atmosphere that we all feel. I would like to commend all those who have been part of this success.

My dear students…………..

Be proud of yourselves, Be helpful to your colleagues and set an example

Be an ambassador for GUC and Egypt, and, finally,

Be a team player as team work spirit is the real key to success.

Needless to say, I’m very proud of you..

Dear 1st GUCians, I would like to grasp this opportunity to congratulate you on your big day. After all your great achievements, I can only foresee a great career path for you.

Prof. Dr. Laila G. Mahran Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy & Biotechnology

Goodbye,”baby”!

Hesham Saleh ECHO Coordinator, Co-founder of GUC Divers Club

I never knew the meaning of “successful team-work” as much as during the times I spent working on ECHO. Every member worked on a completely different task ior tasks i and had no idea if the whole project (issue) will ever see light. All we have is trust and faith in the whole team i in ourselves; everyone is simultaneously independent and deii pendent on the team. And maybe that”s what adds to our excitement with every issue that comes out.

In an interview in the most recent issue, my colii leagues – Mohamed Abou EliEzz & Mahmoud Diaa i and I (ECHO founders) we described ECHO as “our baby”; it didn”t take us effort to think about the term. And now we”re letting it go. Although of course we don”t have real babies of our own, but we can sense the analogy.And the fact that we”re leaving it to an extraordinary team of talented, smart & hard working group gives me relief and hope that it will keep on growing and improving.

Perhaps that”s similar to real life situations. If we leave every good idea or success for those who are capable of running it, then chances for failure on the long run will drop.

Now to the new ECHO team: Congratulations on your good work, and I hope you won”t lose sight of what defines success for this magazine; and that is your impact on students. It’s as simple as that. If you can reflect their views & opinions, if you can inspire them, if you echo their thoughts; then you”ll be on the side of success.

To all of those who spent valuable time working on this beautiful project; to all of those who supported & believed in ECHO, and to all of those who are willing to take it to further accomplishments; I thank you.

From the DEO to the DMC

“If you don’t get the appointment letter for your internship till next Sunday you’ll fail!!!” this was today’s “good morning” from our “lovely” class teacher Herr Hoehl.

A few weeks earlier, the three of us (Nadine, Sara and Laila) had visited the German University in Cairo to do some interviews with the students for our school magazine and we were really impressed by the campus and its facilities. Hence, Nadine had a brilliant idea: “The Digital Media Campus!”

We started contacting the DMC team and asked for an internship opportunity, which had to be two weeks long.

On our first day, we were introduced to the DMC project, its concept and how it was originally initiated. By the end of the two weeks our job was to prepare a complete show on our own.

This sounded really hard! We learnt about the various program formats and features (colleague talks, news, reports, vox pops) and understood for the first time how the radio production works.

Everyday we started with the theoretical part and after a one-hour break we went on with the practical part inside the GUC DMC studio - and that’s where all the fun started!

During those two weeks, we talked to students and GUC staff to collect information that would help us make the show. Preparing a full live show that includes moderating and presenting the show. We also received a technical session to produce audio files and get the knowledge of the audio editing (DIGA system software) as well as an introduction to video shooting to produce video reports on GUC campus.

Finally the time had come to show our supervisors how well prepared we were and present our own show. Though we did some mistakes we were all happy and proud of the result.

And at the end we would like to thank the DMC team for everything. We’ll never regret that we chose the DMC. It was an amazing experience! So thanks again!!

Nadine, Laila and Sara DEO Students

Undergraduate Research Assistant Positions

The molecular pathology research group is seeking 2 undergraduate research assistants.

We are looking for undergraduate students in Pharmacy or Biotechnology with GPA not more then 2.0 (GUC admission requirement). Applicants should be highly motivated, with an aptitude and interest in the lab work. Previous experience in the lab is appreciated.

Interested students should email their applications containing a CV & statement of research interests. Starting dates are flexible, but must be before the end of this year.

Applications should be sent as one pdf file to ahmed.abdel-aziz@guc.edu.eg

The Molecular Pathology Research Group

The Molecular Pathology research group is working within the disciplines of Molecular Diagnostics and Pharmacogenomics. The research interest encompasses two main areas: Molecular Immunopathology: We are interested in the Molecular pathogenesis of adult & pediatric immune disorders as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) & Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Our research emphasis is mainly on the expression profiling of coding & non-coding RNA involved in the pathogenesis of immune disorders. In addition, we are concerned with the detection of genetic mutations believed to be involved in the pathogenesis of these diseases.

Molecular Oncology: We are interested in elucidating the role of the cell cycle proteins whether oncogenic or anti-oncogenic in the pathogenesis of cancer. We are working with cell models overexpressing different cell cycle and tumor suppressor proteins, and we are exploring the role of these proteins in the tumorgenesis. Moreover, we are implementing different therapeutic modalities on our cell models and studying the involvement of different molecular signaling pathways.

Research Group Structure

Group Leader

Dr. Ahmed Ihab Abdelaziz MD, PhD.

(Assistant Professor of Molecular Medicine & Genetic Pathology).

Junior Scientists

Nabila Hamdy, MD (Senior Teaching & Research Assistant of Pathology)

Gada Sherifa (Senior Teaching & Research Assistant of Biology)

Yasmine Lashin, MD (Teaching & Research Assistant of Pathology)

Undergraduate Research Assistant Pharmacy Students:

Alyaa Mahmoud

Yasmine Mandour

Maha Ibrahim

Mai Zaghloul

Biotechnology Bachelor Thesis Students:

Omneya Sabry

Rufaida Hassan

Hannan Moatassem

Yara Seif Mokhtar

Hisham Gamal Abu-Taleb

From the Ethics-Based Marketing Team

Dear Echo Readers,

I would like to introduce you to the Ethics-Based Marketing project. (www.ethicsbasedmarekting.net) It is an international project aiming at enhancing the ethical integrity of the marketing profession through mobilizing the different stakeholders involved, including students, academics, marketers, and ordinary consumers. The project was launched in 2007. The founders would like to congratulate the student writers that managed to get their articles published on the website.

Please visit:

www.ethicsbasedmarketing.net/articles.html

and if you have a published paper (or a working paper) that would fit under any of those titles (or relevant topics),

please let us know to share it with the world.

Noha El-Bassiouny Study Dean, Faculties of Assistant Lecturer of Marketing

Founder, Ethics-Based Marketing Initiative

What it takes for a non-traditional semester

Nouran Amer

You open your GUC e-mail and find summer trips to Germany. Then a thought crosses your mind: “Why not stay for a whole semester in Germany studying instead of a vacation?” A great idea!

You spend the whole night thinking of all the advantages of such a step. You dream of the great experience you are getting, the loads of fun you are going to have, the beautiful places you are going to visit and the numerous skills you are going to obtain.

The next day you head to the Admission Office to inquire about the details. But unfortunately, it’s YOU who should contact the university you want to study at. But on the other hand, they do not necessarily have to be one of the GUC’s partner universities. So you can choose whatever city you desire to live in. It’s YOU who should get their study curriculum and then the dean of your faculty studies if the courses are similar or not. Additionally, you need in each course you study there not less than (B-) in order to be able to transfer its credits when you come back. Now you start thinking about all the efforts you have to give there to get an (A) or maximum a (B).

Colleges in Germany are by all means hard, but do not forget the benefits studying in a well-developed country like Germany, even if only for one semester; as well as to know what it take to develop and to improve.

Not to mention the college fees, which are not very high as you might think. And if you go to Ulm or Stuttgart where the GUC provides you the accommodation; that is even another advantage. Positive and negative aspects seem to be of equal quantity. Yet, dependency on one-self and responsibility may be good for some and not that much for others. It’s totally up to you then to decide which aspects matter more and are of greater quality.

The youngsters summer club

Maha Salah El Din

This year, 2008, the Youngsters Summer Club (YSC), a program under the supervision of English and Scientific Methods Department, is celebrating its third year in adding joy to the summer of many youngsters.

The aims behind initiating this program are to add a touch of childhood innocence to the campus, and make the sons and daughters of the GUC staff as well as the siblings of the GUC students develop a sense of affiliation to the university. The youngsters enjoy along the twenty days, the duration of one summer round, a variety of activities and acquire new skills in a safe friendly environment.

The program offers critical thinking skills, English and German language classes as well as sports, computer, arts and crafts, dancing, movie editing, scouting, simulation and reading. In addition, the youngsters have fun in trips and good experiences in the Mensa sharing their daily lunch meal. The program also offers a wide variety of working opportunities to many GUC students.

The Secret of All Times

Zeinab Kamal

“The Secret” is an amazing documentary that elegantly reveals everything you need to know to manifest your dreams.

The movie explains “The Law of Attraction” which is not the one we know about from science (it’s not about Earth and gravity).

The Law of Attraction here states that like attracts like; your thoughts and feelings attract corresponding experiences.

GUC students and staff had the chance to watch this inspiring documentary on GUC campus. The movie was shown on June 4th in H6; where a big number of attendees gathered and made sure to not miss this chance.

The film quotes Einstein: «Imagination is everything; it is the preview of life’s forthcoming attractions.» As usual, he’s spot on. With many further such examples, the film demonstrates that this «secret» has in fact been revealed over and over by the great men and women of history.

I heartily recommend this movie to anyone interested in evolving and growing beyond the belief that he or she is the victim or the outcome of his or her own life, to anyone interested in taking the driver’s seat and in feeling responsible and enjoying it. I believe that this movie might change your perception of life, and it might as well change your life.

«The Secret» is suitable for anyone with an open mind. Not only is it ideal for novices due to the concepts being presented in a transparent and enjoyable manner, but it also satisfies advanced students of metaphysics because the execution is so delightfully original and insightful.

Inspiration and insight filled H6 and with the clapping of the audience the documentary came to an end. This movie cannot be described in words; so for now “The Secret” remains a secret until YOU reveal it…

GUC Internship and Employment Fair '08

Safa Al- Motasem

….where GUC Students & Employers get closer and interact

The GUC SCAD office (Student Career and Alumni Development) hosted its annual GUC Internship and Employment fair for Spring/Summer 2008 on Sunday, April 13th, 2008.

This fair - organized at the German University in Cairo for the third time - aims to build up and strengthen the GUC relationship with the local, regional and international business and industrial sector.

A number of 1470 employment opportunities and around 900 internships were offered by the 75 companies which participated in the fair.

Students are given the opportunity to seek for an internship or a job opportunity through reaching potential employers on GUC campus while practicing companies had the chance to present themselves to GUC graduates.

Internships are an essential part of the practical life development during the university years because it allows them to experience the actual work-field environment - an initial step towards their future career planning.

Since last year, the GUC fair aims to also provide employ-- ment opportunities, as the first class graduated last October 2007. In summer 2008, the GUC will experience the first Engineering and Pharmacy graduates, next to the second Management Technology graduates.

GUC Internship and Employment Fair in the eyes of the organizers

Ahmed Shaltoot

Being the head of the ushers for the Internship and Employment Fair ‘08, I learnt a lot through this experience; starting the preparations that started two days before the fair and getting to know the venue, the companies, the security guards and even the electricians!!

This year’s fair was a great success with more than 70 companies and more than 6000 students participating. The GUC students began entering the fair’s venue at 10am and communicating with the companies’ representatives. It’s the real life interaction.

12:00 pm was the rush hour: it’s the GUC official break for all students. It became overcrowded yet controlled. By 5:00 pm the day came to an end with the closing of the 2008 Internship and Employment Fair with a cocktail reception at C1 for all the companies’ representatives, GUC Staff and the ushers team.

That was my experience from this successful, energetic, fruitful day. Finally, thank you to all the ushers team who exerted great efforts, time and energy throughout all the experience.

The German University in Cairo was a dream that developed into an idea and became a true reality. The dream did not end by the inauguration of the GUC; but the GUC has an ongoing dream.

The dream of commencing well-educated generations, hard working calibers and outstanding experts which serve the community and put everlasting finger-prints in the society. In this section, our Echo team is crowing the 1st GUC Engineers and Pharmacist (Class ‘08) as well as its 2nd batch of Management Grads - sharing their memories and best moments as well as welcoming the new GUC comers and giving their first impressions.

GUC alumni and GUC freshmens represent our GUC community that shines in the various career fields as stars of today and tomorrow.

Just Graduated

Neveen Gohar

Whether you are graduating this year, or waiting a year or two for the big day, it seems no one can imagine what it’s like to be graduating unless you experience it yourself. Our fellow GUCians who are graduating in the year 2008 have a lot to say from the heart about their graduation.

Asking them how they feel about it was quite curiosity-arousing and gave answers which reflected their looks to their future.

Lobna Khairy:

On my first day at college, I was looking forward to experiencing the grown-up world, waiting impatiently to live through the “best years of my life” while holding that particular question in mind: “How will I feel about graduating?” Five years ago, I would have answered: “pure joy, like the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders”. Now, weeks away from being an official graduate, I’m scared, as if I’m pushed out of this Cancun where I’ve stayed in for 15 years. Still, it’s the good scare though, where I’m totally excited about what’s to come while enjoyably clasping to the present till I’m forced to let go.

Yahya Khalifa:

‘FREEDOM’ is the first thing I can think of when I graduate; it’s a personal achievement to me rather than an academic! The pressure of exams, deadlines and high academic expectations from my parents will be finally over. ‘Graduation’ to me means a new start and to enjoy what is yet to come which I believe is going to be more thrilling than the past. Although I might be the happiest person on this planet to graduate, ‘graduation’ also means I’ll miss the good times, friends and how we did not have much responsibilities. It means growing up, taking greater responsibilities and all the things we hear from grown ups but its not going to stop me from wanting to graduate and moving on!

Hedaya Moussa:

How I feel about graduating is something that I can’t easily describe with just simple words as its mixed, confused and unclear emotions. They alternate between the joy of getting done at last and the panic and anxiety towards my somehow unclear future in a whole new world that I’ll have to fit in for the first time ever. That doesn’t overcome the fact that I’m going to miss what I would call a remarkable phase of my education journey.

Heba Fawzy Mohammed:

I can’t imagine that this will be the last year for me to study, maybe I have a complex set of feelings.....sad, happy and panicking at the same time, sad for leaving my friends, doctors and TAs, sad for leaving my teenage period in my life......BUT at the same time I’m very happy because I’ll prove to myself that I can do it, and make all my family happy to see me in the way they deserve.....

I’m very worried about my new world, from my future, but I will do my best to be what I want to be.... <

Needless to say, it must be an inevitable conflict between giving up what you are used to and the urge to discover and shape your own future. After all, we wish all our colleagues the best of luck in their lives.

Congratulations!!

Here we go, GUC second class is graduating

More than 600 students - Pharmacists, Engineers, Financial Analysts and Marketers - will be out there representing the GUC community in the various career fields.

On Friday May 16th, a big number of the graduating class and the GUC staff gathered at the GUC campus to attend the photo shooting day and frame their memories.

Without exception, everyone told us that they will miss their professors, friends, the landscape, the u-area, the Hs and surprisingly even the tensions during the exams… and that’s where our questions came from!

How would you describe your feelings during the first mid term at GUC and your last mid term/final?

First you go in, you are sweating and anxious not knowing what to expect. Now you surely know what a mid term is.

Shahira Abdel Rahman

Pharmacy & Biotechnology

Oh, that’s like years ago! First, I was really confused and not prepared. Now I am used to the GUC system.

Sara Al-Ashraf

Pharmacy & Biotechnology

It was a horror and people told me that the first midterm is the toughest. By the last mid term I was really confident.

Ahmed Ismail

Pharmacy & Biotechnology

I studied like hell. By the last one I laid back and relaxed. And actually did great.

Mai El-Hatab, Management

I admit that I was tensed, because it was different from school. But now I’m used to the system and the last one was interesting because it is “last”

Basma Heidar, Management

First one I was excited – Last, I was thinking during the exam that this will be the last and I will not go through this again.

Hind Samir, Management

First I was terrified and my hand was shaking during the exam. But yesterday during my last one, I was just excited that am graduating.

Lamyaa Tantawi, Management

I didn’t know the meaning of a mid term before joining the GUC. My last exam was yesterday and all I can think of is I AM DONE! It’s a relief!

Hany Naash, Management

I was Scared! No expectations. By the last mid term, I was like: no not again!

Miriam Bebali, Management

First it was a disaster for me. I was panicking and it was a new beginning. Now it’s clear and I am expecting a new beginning again.

Lilain Abdallah, Management

My first midterm was tough; I was used to the regular easy school exams. But here I am, graduating!!

Kamel Al-Sharkawi, Management

In the framework of the admission period at the German University in Cairo(GUC), Professor Dr. Ashraf Mansour Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the GUC welcomed Sara Ahmed El-Senussy (ranked 2nd - Thanaweya Amma Science Section) and Kirolos Joseph Gerguis (ranked 2nd - Thanaweya Amma Science Section) at the GUC premises.

Kyrollos and Sara were awarded the GUC scholarship and were accepted at the GUC Faculty of Pharmacy and Biotechnology as a recognition and appreciation by Professor Mansour of their outstanding achievement and academic excellence as top ranked Thanaweya Amma students. Since 2003, GUC is keen to offer annual scholarships for Top-ranked Thanaweya Amma students, covering their entire education period up till graduation.

GUC scholarships include housing, transportation, lab insurance, and full tuition fees.

German Hospitality

Iman Ateya

During his daily tour through the German University in Cairo, Professor Dr. Ashraf Mansour GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees welcomed the top ranked Thanaweya Amma students, who applied to join the GUC on scholarship basis offered from the GUC covering their entire education period up till graduation.

During their visit to the GUC, the top ranked students had the chance to see the GUC academic and non-academic facilities. They attended different presentations to learn more about the education and the faculties, as well as presentations about some GUC facilities such as the Industrial Park and the Digital Media Campus.

After a friendly lunch with the GUC staff and national journalists, top ranked Thanaweya Amma students received information about the admission process and then visited the admission to fill in the application forms in order to join the GUC.

The Bright Future GUC Engineers

Sarah Adel

One day we decided that we should have a BIG gathering photo for all the 6th semester Engineering students. We thought about having it in a different way - OUR way!

A photo that shows that no matter how we get separated in different majors, or studying different subjects and we even hardly meet each other on GUC campus, BUT we are still the ONE BIG Engineering Group

So we started thinking about having a dress code in the picture, girls in white and boys in red. We did not mean Ahly and Zamalek but those were the common colors most of us had ...

And here it is, one of the amazing photos we had that day.

What do you think of the GUC? And what are your impressions of the campus?

Akram Ibrahim Mohamed

Egypt’s 6th top ranked Thanaweya Amma student (Math Section)

“The facilities at the GUC are great. I love the fact that the studies put a big weight on practical work and research, unlike other universities. Joining the GUC is a big opportunity for me and I’m considering applying in the Comupter Engineering section inshallah”

Mostafa Fahim Sayed

Egypt’s 6th top ranked Thanaweya Amma student (Math Section)

“I’m truly impressed with the facilities here ate the GUC, especially the labs, research facilities and course descriptions. I believe GUC prepares the students very well for post graduation. The high-technology is remarkable and I would be stupid not applying my papers at the GUC. I’m very much interested in IET because after hearing the presentations today, I see myself in this career”

Al-Sayed Arafa Mohemed Ahmed

Egypt’s 3rd top ranked Thanaweya Amma student (Math Section)

“The technology at the GUC is the first thing that stroke me. It’s not a university that depends on learning by heart like in other universities, however it gives students to work in the labs and do research work to develop further. I would advise every undecided student to joining the GUC, especially Engineering Faculty. Among the GUC facilities is also the SCAD office that helps students in finding job opportunities and directing them in the career market.”

Ahmed Ezz El-Din

Egypt’s 9th top ranked Thanaweya Amma student (Math Section)

“The labs, research facilities and the industrial park are impressive. Also the sports areas are great. I am very encouraged to apply at the GUC and looking forward to specializing in the Media Engineering section. It is a new filed of study which ensures working opportunities and a bright career in the future”

Islam Abdel Sadae

3rd top ranked Thanaweya Amma student (Math Section)

“Very impressive! When you visit GUC, you immediately see the great high technology in everything. I’m of course considering Engineering faculty. I had a campus tour and visited the labs and different faculties. I’m still hesitated about the specialization, I’m confused between IET and MET, actually both seem very interesting for me. But studying at GUC seems fun and interesting. With no hesitation, I will join GUC”

From GUCians to GUCians

Karim Abdelhady
Youmna Younes

If you’re a current GUCian studying Management, Pharmacy or Engineering, there is a great chance that you’ve been taught by a junior TA in at least one course throughout your studies. Have you ever wondered how exactly they’ve been chosen (although we all guess they all have good grades) or why they do it in the first place?

Well, enough with the wondering and guessing. We went straight to the source and asked some Junior Teacher Assistants (Jr. TAs) what this job is all about…

• What are the criteria upon which Jr. TAs are chosen?

An official announcement was sent to both pharmacy and engineering students to apply for the job. In pharmacy, students with the highest cumulative GPA were chosen to fill in the job vacancies. Only a small number was hired (36 students from the 4th, 6th, 8th, and 10th semesters).

In engineering, a much greater number of students were hired. These students were hired based on the choice of the professors, which is based on the professor’s knowledge of the academic excellence of the student and/or his transcript. The hired students sign an official contract with the university before they begin their work.

• What do you get in return?

After the course is over, each junior TA receives a certificate for accomplishing the job, and is paid a compensation for his working hours. The amount of money he receives depends on the number of working hours he was assigned and whether he was working in a tutorial or a lab.

• How does it affect your schedule? Do you still have free slots?

After a student is accepted as a Jr. TA, he sets with his coordinator the times which he will work in, and thus, of course, using up free slots from his/her schedule. The timing of these slots depends on the timing of the slots set for the course in the schedule of the semester it is offered in.

If clashes occur between the available slots and your schedule, the academic coordinator can reschedule some of your normal courses to fit in the available slots in which you can work as a junior TA, and you will attend your normal tutorials/labs/lectures with other study groups just like the advising students do. Anyhow, say goodbye to that extra free time, and adapt to catching your bus at 6 pm instead of 2 or 4 pm.

• Who does a junior TA refer to?

There were no «set rules» for who the junior TA should report to. However it is better to report to the senior TAs first, especially in engineering where the number of junior TAs employed is large, and it would be impractical for them to report directly to the professor in charge of the subject as they may heavily distract him. In Pharmacy it is easier to directly consult the professor due to the small number employed.

• How easy is it getting along with the students, and communicating with them?

The answer to this question depends solely on the character of the Jr. TA. At first, most of the students have no idea that you are just a student like them, they think you are an actual graduated TA. But after they get to know you are just a year or two ahead of them, it is your self confidence and academic excellence that will frame the way they communicate with you.

You have to make sure you are thorough with the knowledge so that you are able to provide assistance whenever needed yet maintaining a friendly relation with the students which makes learning a lot easier for them.

• So you think that Jr. TAs can be more helpful to students than actual graduated TAs, and why is that?

Due to the fact that you just recently passed the course that you are now teaching/assisting in, which makes you more aware of the mistakes that students may go through, points to stress on in the course, important questions that need answering, and other aspects to consider compared to the senior TA who finished the course a longer time ago, and mostly took it in another university where the curriculum may have been very different!!

Also the small age difference between you and the students might make the students feel that you are more of a «friend» than a person just here to lecture them, which will make the communication even easier.

• Do you consider being a TA after graduation? Why/Why not?

Some students seriously consider being TAs after graduation, and even continuing all their life in the academic career. But there are many others who want to become TAs only as a temporary job, until they finish their masters and Ph.D. degrees. Being a junior TA gives you great insight on how it is like to work as a TA, and about the academic career in general. Throughout your working hours you can gain valuable information from the senior TAs you work with, and from the professors in charge of the course. And you can vividly see what it is like to work as a TA. This will greatly help you in deciding your future career, and may cause a major turning point in your life.

• So through your personal experience, what do you suggest improve the system?

>Fairly speaking the system was well organized. There are however some points that can be made better. For example in pharmacy, it is better to have 2 junior TAs and one senior TA per lab, instead of 2 seniors & one junior, in order to delegate more responsibility to the junior TAs. Points can be also added to the system such as collecting feedback from students on the junior TAs performance, so he/she can learn from their mistakes & get better at the job.

In general, working as a junior TA is a great experience that adds a lot to your personality. It increases your self confidence, widens your perspective of how other students think, and lets you see the world from a TAs point of view, thus aiding you in choosing your future career. So if you got the chance to be a junior TA, use it!

sDon’t burden yourself with thinking that it will waste your studying time and will affect your grades. On the contrary, it will teach you better time management, and you might as well get better grades in the end than you expected!!

It's the youth who make the difference

Nouran Amer

In the following lines I will introduce to you a member of the GUC staff we all have to be proud of: our Strategic Management TA Raghda El-Ebrashi. About her successful contribution to the development of the Egyptian society through the NGO (nongovernmental organization) she and other volunteers founded we talked and discovered what of a friendly, ambitious and down-to-earth person we have among our GUC community.

She talked very freely about…..

….the strategic history of “Ashanek Ya Balady”.

It started as a student club in the AUC in 2002 although they had the chance to start it as an NGO because they believed that the root of the problem was not in the existence of NGOs in Egypt. Statistics in 2000 stated that there are around 15000 NGOs in Egypt. The problem is that youth are not connected with these NGOs. The majority of them are totally not aware of the problems in Egypt and do not understand to what extent poverty and underdevelopment are dominating a lot of places. And even if they know, they are reluctant to do anything and they just want to leave the country.

Consequently, the founders of “Ashanek Ya Balady” started to create a hub for youth, so to volunteer in community development and not in charity, as charity does not improve the situation. On the contrary, it may worsen it through creating dependency and the absence of any transformation. Development on the other hand makes youth do the transformation, they feel and love their country and they are then able to decide whether they seriously want to leave the country or not. In 2003 another student club was opened in Ain Shams Univeristy, in 2005 another one was open in Cairo University, one more was open in 2007 in the French University and in the next fall it is starting in the GUC.

The NGO started in 2005 after the student clubs had more than 200 volunteers who were already culturally aware to expand the scope of these student clubs everywhere.

….the operations of the NGO.

“Ashanek Ya Balady” is area-oriented and not budget-oriented. Its members are convinced that to change, one has to create a prototype in one area, then duplicate this model all over Egypt and then all over the world. The focus then is on Old Cairo with 2.5-3 mio. inhabitants. The NGO applies comprehensive development programs to whole families. It provides educational programs, such as computer learning courses, English Language courses and literacy revocation classes. Additionally, there are economic empowerment programs which are very strong.

Graduates are taught a lot of useful skills by professors from the private sector through lectures or courses. Then they have access to the market through the first employment office for the poor which was launched in January 2008; or they are given loans for micro enterprises, like a partnership with Etisalat to provide mobile phones for the poor to build an infrastructure and to create an enterprise for them at the same time.

Another development program is for children who lack informal education. They are provided with art, music and acting classes to express themselves in other ways than violence or drugs. And of course, health awareness is present through all these programs.

….the NGO’s awards.

What makes this NGO different than any other one to deserve an award is the social entrepreneurship notion it follows. In other words, they do not depend only on donations or pop-up funds, they run their own for-profit subsidiaries which compete in the normal market to provide the NGO with the money it needs. The first one is the Youth Leadership Initiative which competes in the Training and Consultancy market.

Core competencies such as the non-obligation to pay taxes and the franchises in many universities enable this project to enter the universities very easily to train youth or even only to advertise. The next subsidiary is “Cherry Curves” which once held a booth in GUC B1. Poor women produce high-quality products, like accessories, bags and scarves, and people buy them even before they know that this is a NGO, exactly like any other accessories outlet. So it is not out of pity or mercy that customers buy the products, on the contrary. They buy something of value and at the same time contribute to the development of the society. “Cherry Curves” is planning to open a permanent outlet in one of the malls in the end of 2008. The third project which will be fully launched in September 2008 is ScopeIT, a company to provide IT consultancy services to organizations.

This model of the hybrid money is the main reason for the numerous awards the NGO was given:

.2003 & 2004: award from the Ministry of Local Development for being the first student club in universities for community development & not for charity

.Oct. 2007: “35 under 35” (which stands for the best 35 entrepreneurs under the age of 35) from the World Business Magazine& Shell in London

.Dec. 2007: awarded in Malaysia as one of the “best 100 socioentrepreneurs around the world”

.Jan. 2008: awarded in Qatar as one of the “best ICT entrepreneurs” who use Information Communication Technology in development activities

.Feb. 2008: chosen from 25 consultants to implement development goals of the UN in Egypt to improve poverty

.April 2008: awarded in the World Economic Forum in Sharm El- Sheikh as one of the “best 4 socio entrepreneurs of the year” in Egypt

….and finally about the NGO’s influence on her personality.

TA Raghda is an AUC marketing graduate. Yet, this volunteer work made her change her career as she believed that her life in multinational companies is focused on people who are not in need for something. This belief that Egypt definitely needs more contribution was also the reason for her to drop her MBA and to make her masters in the management of NGOs. She chose the academic career at the GUC to be able to finish her PhD on Socio entrepreneurship, a topic which no one did before. Personally, she benefited from the diversified relations she is put into due to her position in the NGO to stronger leadership and communication skills. Moreover, this work taught her responsibility towards the limited resourc-- es we have in Egypt and satisfaction towards everything she gets. Finally, this volunteer work also gives her and everyone else in the NGO the feeling that youth are the solution for the problems in Egypt. Even if they have to face a lot of obstacles to reach their goals, “Ashanek Ya Balady” created loyalty and commitment to the country inside every member.

GUC Students win 1st AAIB Award

Safa Al-Motasem

“This experience encourages team work and allows students to think out of the box and make a change in the society ”

Sherif Hassan,

AAIN Marketing Manger

“The GUC is very proud of the winning team. I would like to tell all GUC students to follow the lead of those winners and the participants in general. Please do more than the expected and work hard to guarantee a better future for yourself ”

Dr. Günter Lang,

Acting dean of Faculty of

Management Technology

(Head of Economic Department)

“Young minds..Great ideas”, this was the slogan of the 5th annual Arab African International Bank Award (AAIB) 2008. The Closing Ceremony took place at the Four Seasons Hotel at Cairo Nile Plaza on Tuesday July 29, 2008.

The program of the ceremony started with an introduction by Dr. Dalia Abdel Kader - Head of Marketing & Communications, AAIB, followed by speeches from the participating Universities Presidents.

AAIB award is an annual banking competition for undergraduate students that aim to help them enhance their knowledge in banking and finance.

Students apply in teams from 3-5 members and conduct an in depth research on the market to develop a new banking product or service – or to improve an existing one.

After entering the third phase, the Arab African Bank arranged for 7 training Sessions in Banking Sessions (Retail Banking, Corporate Finance and Investment Banking), Personal Development Sessions (Presentation Skills and Report Writing), Marketing and Feasibility Study.

“The judging panel took the decision of the winning team in a minute. VS – Box team was very organized, the research was accurate and the presentation was great. The idea was truly innovative ”

Mr. Walaa Kamal
AAIB Coordinator Marketing

Department & Project Owner

Two outstanding groups participated from the GUC: S-Bank Group (Eman Alfatatry, Dina Elkalla, Mahmoud Hamdy, Bassant El-hariry) and the winning team VS-Box (Aya Mourad Ghaleb, Ahmed Mohamed Badreldin, Yara Ayman Moussa, Ahmed Mahmoud Nofal),

“GUC contributed last year and won 3rd prize. So, I was really excited to know this year’s results. Two groups participated this year & only one won a ranking, however, the spirit is wonderful and both are celebrating together tonight. The winning team exerted a lot of effort and time. I would like to tell them: ALF ALF MABORUK ”

Mrs. Nevine Fahmy,

GUC Student Career

& Alumni Development (SCAD)

and the exceptional “VS-Box” group came up with a new product that was feasible enough for implementation in the Egyptian banking industry and deserved the first prize consisting of 50,000 LE, certificate of Merit and one month internship at AAIB.

Such a competition contributes to the academic excellence provided at the GUC and prepares students with high potential to excel further in their future careers that contribute to society and at the same time are personally fulfilling; which is furthermore one of the pillar believers of the GUC mission.

What are you planning to do with the money?

Ahmed Nofal: I will keep the money for a while, give some for charity and buy gifts for my mom, sisters and my father.

Ahmed Badr: We might divide it .. or maybe do our own project. I love the team and would like to work with them again in the future

Yara: Ahmed Nofal wants to take the whole amount and initiate a new project. Then we will have our own real project.

Aya: Mrs. Hena Ghoneim advised us to put the money in the post office and get the highest rates.

GUC in IEEE Egyptian Engineering Day (EED)

IEEE or the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers is the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology. It’s an American non-profit organization that mainly serves more than 375,000 professional and student members as a source of technical information, resources and services. (More information about IEEE on www.ieee.org )

IEEE Egyptian Engineering Day is an annual event organized by the IEEE Egypt Section GOLD (Graduate Of Last Decade), and EED 2008 is the 7th EED. In EED 2008 tens of graduation projects teams in different engineering fields from many Egyptian universities were presenting their bachelor projects in the presence of industry and government leaders.

Six GUCian teams have participated in EED 2008; we will focus on two of the participant projects:

The first one is “Advanced Vehicle Security System” project which is divided into 2 parts:

• The Security Part: which use an Artificial Intelligent system that learn the behavior of the driver to know if he is the owner of the car or not, and a fuzzy logic system to detect the false alarms so the system won’t disturb the owner with a false alarm each time.

• The Communication and Automation Part: which send a notification to the owner on his mobile phone if there is any theft detection beside sending an image snap shot of the one inside the car. Also an application on the mobile phone was done using java 2 Micro Edition to have the ability to control the car from the mobile phone like turn on the Engine, Center Lock, Music, Air Condition ...etc.

Project Supervisors:

Prof. Hany Hagras (Faculty of MET)

Dr. Tallal El Shabrawy (Faculty of IET)

Team Members:

Tarek Khaled Morsy - IET-Communication Department

Mohamed Ashraf Nassar - MET-Computer Science

Mahmoud Hamouda el Abd - MET-Digital Media

Project Sponsor:

BMW – Bavarian Group

The second project is “Design and Control of a Heat Exchanger” which aims to save part of the heat energy lost in condensation of steam to saturated water a control unit is designed and implemented to control the water passage through the entrance and the exit of the heat exchanger to enhance its performance, by the help of heat sensors, electric valve, limit switches and by the Programmable

Logic Controller (PLC).

The results showed an increase in the efficiency of the water distiller by about 16% after the installation of the Shell and Tube heat exchanger that improved the distiller performance.

The project is ranked 1st in the field of Mechanics Engineering in EED 2008.

Project Supervisors:

Dr. Hamdy Kandil (Faculty of EMS)

Dr. Hisham Elsherief (Faculty of IET)

Achieved by:

Mohamed Mahmoud Talawy (Faculty of EMS)

Finally we wish all GUC students best luck and expecting more participants in EED 2009.

Mohamed Esam

GUC-IEEE Student Branch Chairman

Faculty of IET

Mohamed.Esameldin@guc.edu.eg

BOSS Simulation... from Europe to GUC

Dina Nader
Safa Al-Motasem

For the second time, the GUC organized the boss bank management simulation for 8th semester management students majoring in Finance out of its profound belief in the great importance of practicing real work-filed situations. The aim of the BOSS is to simulate the banking world and allow decision making in a complex and changing environment. The simulation allows the students - by acting as the board of directors - to structure and perform the typical decision making process in commercial banks. The simulation is fully backed up with state of the art tools and techniques in banking, including Value at Risk based risk management, market value oriented Asset Liability management, including derivatives, and it is applying the Basel II regulations. Furthermore, it is embedded in the course “Bank Management”, providing full academic coverage of all topics. In addition to the GUC initiative and sponsoring, the simulation was co-sponsored by “Commercial International Bank”, as well as Bloom Bank and Export Development Bank of Egypt.

BOSS is used in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria in executive educational programs as well as in several universities, with all major banking groups as well as with central banks, in corporate universities as well as in in-house seminars. The program has also been successfully performed at the German University in Cairo in both undergraduate and MBA programs, as well as in South Africa.

Thirty one students participated in this year’s boss simulation, where they were divided into two rounds. Each round lasted for two days, and the students were divided into 4 groups, where each group presents a bank. Each competing bank provided some information by the BOSS Central Bank. The game management operates within the market for three consecutive years trying to achieve appropriate earnings and simultaneously limit the risks. The Boss Central Bank holds a Board of Directors meeting by the end of each year, whereby it evaluates each of the competing banks. By the end of the 3rd year a final evaluation takes place and the WINNERS are announced.

The students not only learnt from this simulation, but also had fun acting within a team as a bank’s board of directors and experienced how difficult their job could be!!

Rania Abdel Fattah Salem

It was amazing to actually manage a bank for three consecutive years and the amount of team work and decision making involved made it ever so thrilling

Ahmed Badreldin

And from Germany, Echo had the chance to have a talk with Dr. Manfred J. Borosch the Managing Director of the Boss Bank management systems (BBMS) to learn more about the event and get a deeper insight.

Here is what he told us…

This is not your first time in Egypt and not your first time at the GUC. So, the question is “Why GUC?”

This is my fourth time here in Egypt. The reason behind choosing this university is very simple: because I’ve worked together with Dr. Christian Kalhoefer since 1995 and we did several programs all over the world. It’s a great pleasure for me to stay here for the fourth time and to implement this program for both the undergraduate students and the MBA students, which we had on the weekend.

What are the benefits of the BBMS for the students?

I think the students will benefit greatly, because they have a chance to see what’s going on in a bank either on the risk situation of this bank and on the profit situation of this bank. Through the interaction with our computer program, students have the chance to practice and to make their own targets, their own solutions and their own decisions.

We are running a modular system, which means that year by year we are bringing new information, new content and new models to train on different types of managing a bank.

How would you evaluate the participating GUC students?

I was very impressed. Some of them are able to use this system and to increase the benefit of the system even. They can be easily compared to students in Germany or Switzerland. Maybe they don’t have a strong background since they are still undergraduates who were at the school and then university unlike most of the European students who worked for a bank or for savings or loan associations and so on before joining university.

However, this lack of experience can turn into an advantage; you are free to have in mind “ok, I can use this and this “ and they are not blocked or restricted. vAlso, they use the chance to improve, e.g. in the first course there was a student that I was very proud of in how he used the system and how he made a progress from year to year and it was a brilliant result. So, regarding the theoretical basis, I was very impressed by the results they got.

Are you planning to offer the boss stimulation somewhere else to other students?

We are using it in Germany on one hand for the universities and for the students, because several colleagues of mine are working at universities in Germany and Switzerland. I also worked as a professor at the University of Muenster in the 80’s and 90’s and applied this system.

Since then, we have a big network and we work together for the universities, cooperative banks, private banks, central banks and consultants in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. We’ve been working since 1998. It was the first step to go abroad, we traveled to South Africa and worked for the South Africa Central Bank itself.

Christian and I, had a discussion last week and we are going to the Egyptian Central Bank to have a kind of “banking institute” and to show what we offer in the sense of education purposes.

In the framework of this important event, we also had an interview with Dr. Christian Kalhoefer - Head of Finance Department at the GUC

How was the idea initiated to organize the boss simulation?

I have a course called bank management in the finance major and I know the boss bank management game since 12 years. I knew it would perfectly match the theoretical background, so that’s why I tried to organize it with the help and financial support of the GUC as well as other international renowned banks.

How do you think the students can benefit from the boss simulation?

In the lectures and the tutorials, although we do some exercises it’s all theoretical. Through this simulation they can apply all the things they have actually learnt in theory in the simulation, it’s not real life but it’s almost that, it’s the attempt to get real life experience.

How would you evaluate the participating students so far? Basically, how are they doing in the practical environment?

Well, we have already finished one course last week and they are doing pretty well. Actually, I can’t evaluate this one, but I hope they will do the same. We didn’t even finish the first year so it’s hard to tell, but I think they are doing well so far.

Do you have any comments about this year and what about the future plans for the next year?

Yes, I hope that we can establish the program and to be able to repeat it every year. I think the feedback of offering the bank management course is pretty good, so I think it would be beneficial in the future. In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the great support I found from GUC and all the contributing sponsors to make this important event come true.

Pursue your career... From Academic Achievement to Brilliant Career

Seven GUC Engineering students were honored in a spectacular event at Intercontinental City Stars Hotel on Thursday, August 7th, 2008.

“TechXellence Day” is a full day event sponsored by ITS GBS (Formerly know as ITSoft) to honor the elite of information technology graduates in Egypt and prepare them to take the first steps in their professional life. This event will include two technical sessions in addition to soft skills session.

Other students from other universities in Egypt were also honored for their educational achievements.

These Universities were:

Faculty of Computer Science, Cairo University

Faculty of Computer Science, AinShams University

Faculty of Computer Science, Helwan University

Faculty of Computer Science, AUC

Faculty of Business Technology, CIC

Faculty of Engineering, GUC

Faculty of Computer Science, MSA

Faculty of Engineering, Alex University

Faculty of Computer Science, Arab academy

Such an event aims at motivating students for continuous educational improvement and becoming pioneers in their future career. The benefits of this event are to prepare the graduates in Egypt to take the first steps in their professional life. Moreover, the graduates were able to develop their technical and soft skills through the provided sessions during the full day event.

Furthermore, the honored graduates may be even lucky and receive an on-job opportunity or even training. The top ranked students from these Egyptian universities get to mingle and interact under the umbrella of one of the largest software companies in the Middle East.

GUC participated in the ITS-TechXellence Day, where 10 Computer Science/ Engineering graduates were honored for their distinguished efforts throughout their years of college education up till graduation day.

Among the speakers were ITS Operations Manager, Mr. Ehab Omran, Operations Manager, Mr. Magdy Kamal and the Telecom Quality Control Manager, Eng. Mohamed Hamdy who gave the attendees a full description and analysis of ITS company aiming at allowing students to understand this career field and encourage them to join the team and start their career path.

ITS Operations Manager,

Mr. Ehab Omran:

We are here today to honor the top graduates from the different universities and also to let them know about ITSoft to know the options of joining us. Students need to imagine their role after graduation and know how to fit into a big picture in the society and understand their opportunities in the market.

Part of our ongoing programs, is to offer internships and employment opportunities to the graduates, especially the honored and top ranked students.

I would like to thank the GUC students for taking care of themselves, reaching this level of excellence and being concerned about their future.

We will be really happy to have GUC graduates apply in our company because they are special and with amazing quality .

“European Bankers Forum” EBF - in Switzerland

Salma Mitkees

One of the most unforgettable trips we ever experienced during our GUC studies was the trip to Switzerland. We headed there to attend and participate in the European Bankers Forum that takes place annually in Meiringen, Switzerland. We were a group of five students together with our TA and professor. Our mission was to present the GUC and discuss our seminar paper with other students, TAs and professors from another five German and Swiss universities.

Our trip started off in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Zurich; where we spent two days. We enjoyed our time a lot between shopping in its lavish boutiques and strolling down its Victorian-style boulevards. Then afterwards, we started our trip to Meiringin; where on our way we passed by the evergreen Swiss Alps with its magnificent panoramas. With only two main roads, one supermarket and maximum-4-storey buildings, we found Meiringin to be the smallest town we’ve ever seen. We were not actually sure whether to call it a city, a town or what. But still it has a magnificent view that overlooks the Alps with its ice-covered peaks.

This forum was actually a great chance given to us by the GUC to attend a seminar that covers various areas in finance, academic research and discuss the most recent and debatable issues in the finance world, opens up a lot of chances for anyone to make new contacts, go through something new and meet new people, all in a friendly and fun atmosphere. We had our presentation done by the first day; people there were really impressed by the research we’ve done and the effort we’ve put into the paper. We had so much fun afterwards; we went skiing and visited the breathtaking Brienz Lake.

Thanks to the GUC, it was such a nice experience that we’d never forget. Of course we would remember the ending which was not a very happy one; as we had to fly back to Cairo to catch up with the revision week in order to compensate what we missed so that we would be able to do well in our finals.

GUC students learn how to make Intelligent businesss

Aya Rizk

As a part of the evolving information era, Business Intelligence (BI) tools and analytical techniques are essential when dealing with massive amounts of data, information and knowledge. For companies taking the lead in their industry, they must have unique, relevant knowledge to let them gain competitive advantage. That’s why it is important for people dealing with business information to get familiar with basic BI concepts that would help them to use data in its most effective forms.

Teaching principles of BI is already included in the Information Systems and Business Informatics standard curriculum. On top of this, the GUC Information Systems Department, in cooperation with Teradata Egypt, has organized a six-day course of intensive BI hands-on experience during August 2008. The course included two days for Introducing Teradata V2R5 (Version 2, Release 5), one day for introducing the Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) tool that Teradata uses, MicroStrategy; one day for the Data mining fundamentals, and two days for working with Teradata Warehouse Miner.

The first two days were Web-based training to provide the basic technical knowledge about Teradata databases. The main objective of this introduction was to be familiar with Teradata database and relational databases. First, an overview about Teradata and data warehousing architecture was given, then moving to the hardware and software components of the system and its process of storing data. Some Teradata specific terms and components had to be introduced in the beginning as well. Teradata has its own SQL database query language that is enhanced as an extension from regular SQL in order to give better results with huge amounts of data. Data structures, data protection and indexes in Teradata warehouse were also some of the areas tackled in this introduction. Data is well stored and queried from the database; however, an intelligent tool such as OLAP needs to be used in order to answer certain questions about business problems. Teradata uses MicroStrategy as a very powerful OLAP tool. At the end of the third day, participants were supposed to have the minimum knowledge to use such tool to create informative reports from massive data in the data warehouse. MicroStrategy best fits with Teradata and is very flexible with it.

The fourth day focused on the next step in the knowledge discovery process which is Data Mining. Fundamentals of Data Mining techniques were explained and how combinations of these techniques are used in practice. Data Mining has proven to be a widely approached practice in many industries; most known in banking (e.g. for fraud detection), re-tailing, medicine and insurance. The material covered in this day included types of knowledge, difference between Data Mining and Data Querying, the process of Data Mining and finally some techniques of Data Mining.

Finally, in the last day, participants were introduced to work with Teradata warehouse miner. Using specific data sets need to be investigated, certain techniques and equations are applied and results are shown accordingly. These results, often including graphs, help decision makers in their decision making process no matter what their type of decision is.

Teradata usually offers such courses for people seeking to be certified Teradata professionals. However, this course’s participants included undergraduate and graduate students, professors and teaching assistants.The material included in the first two days qualifies the participant to take the exam for the Teradata basics V2R5 certificate. Most of the participants have the potential, after finishing the two days, to take the test.

As much as this week was a very knowledgeable week, it has also been fun for the participants. The participation of such diverse groups helped in sharing knowledge, thus increasing its value for each of them. An interesting learning environment was created throughout the course. Also gifts from Teradata were received by participants like Teradata’s notes and magazines; and a draw for T-shirt and Teradata warehouse miner CD was held in the last day.

The first step to a career

Sara Othman
Ahmed Khayyat
Dina Askalany
Abdullatif Bakry

As you approach your last year at university you begin to wonder what will happen after all the studying, projects, exams and farewells. Your future becomes this place that you are forced to explore and just wish someone could give you a map, pictures, ANYTHING just so that excitement you have could be accompanied by some sort of certainty as to where you will be heading.

This year four of us from the Faculty of Management Technology joined Thomson Reuters, one of the most prestigious and reputable organizations worldwide. We are currently attending a training program at the organization which will enable us to reach our potential and apply all the knowledge and skills we have learnt at the GUC.

We would have never found out about the job vacancies if it weren’t for GUC’s SCAD team. They make a matter as serious as securing the beginning of your career very simple, as all you need to do is follow the SCAD guidelines on how to prepare your CV, prepare yourself for an interview, attend the employment fair and regularly check your mail.

Thank you SCAD team!

Thumbs Up Thumbs Down Expanded

Ala'a Ragab

In our last Echo issue (Spring 2008 – page: 42), the new GUC library was voted for in the Thumbs up section.

Here is why… In January of this year, the GUC library relocated from B4 to C1 (-1). This change is only one of many improvements in the library facilities.

While there are still six librarians hard at work, the library caters to 5365 registered students, 536 staff members and 153 MBA students. The reading area capacity has expanded from 80 students to 220. The collection housed in the library has increased from 7,000 in 2006 to 18,000 in 2008, and includes textbooks, periodicals, and references (dictionaries, encyclopedias) in English, German, Arabic and a few in French.

The library can be accessed from anywhere on campus, and users can search for available books through the OPAC system. The library staff is always working to expand the available collection and makes an effort to acquire books that are requested by members. They are also responsible for receiving, cataloguing and classifying the theses of Management and Engineering students.

In reality, there are two libraries: the hard copy library and the digital library. The digital library is comprised of four databases including EBSCO host, JSTOR and Emerald. The university subscribes to these databases, and students and staff can use them to access thousands of journals, books, reports and government documents.

Future plans for improving the library include an ever-increasing collection of texts, a new webpage and providing the database service to students and staff from their homes. Eventually, the library is going to be a 10 story building to cater to all the needs of students and staff alike.

Tips for A Powerful Life

• Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

• Live with the 3 E’s -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

• Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured.

• Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

• Try to make at least 3 people smile each day.

• Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new flowing energy into your life.

• Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

•Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

Arena - Salma, the GUC Champion

Yara Hassan

Salma Abdel Raouf is a swimming champion, who attends the GUC and is majoring in Computer Engineering.

She has participated in many important competitions world wide like the FINA world cup and the Olympics.

Balancing her life between school and swimming, travelling all over the world to fulfill her dreams, she shares her story with us.

How old were you when you started to swim and what encouraged you to continue this sport in particular?

I was four years old when I started to swim. I had problems with my breathing and doctors said that swimming would help me overcome this problem-widen the respiratory tracts, so I started to swim in Nasr City Club. I didn’t like swimming that much but coaches said that I had a very good talent and encouraged me to keep swimming.

My mom was a great supporter and always encouraged me to do better. I started to like swimming more as I got older and in the year 2000, I joined the national team and also represented the Zohour Club in competitions. All the years before 2000, swimming was just a hobby.

How often / how long were your practice sessions and how were you able to balance your life between school and swimming?

I had a maximum of 12 sessions per week and a minimum of 10. During the winter, when there was school or university, I would get up very early at 4:45am to make it to morning practice which started at 5:30 am and lasted for two hours till about 7:30 am then run to school or college, then back to the stadium at around 4:00pm for the afternoon session.

After the long day, I would still have to go home and study. It was really hard; I had to sacrifice a lot of things.

There wasn’t time for anything else in my life other than swimming and school. It definitely affected my grades because I only had a few hours to study, but I managed to get everything done. I finished Thanaweya 3ama having a grade average of 95%, even though during these two years, training was critical and intense because right after the exams, in July 2003, was the FINA world championship.

Can you tell me about the major competitions you participated in and the awards you have received?

In 2003, the FINA world cup series - I swam in Paris, Berlin and Stockholm. I won a silver medal in the 200m breast stroke in Paris and got 5th place in the 100m breaststroke of the same competition.

In 2003 as well, the African games in Nigeria- I won 2 gold medals and 4 silver medals.

In 2004, the Arab games in Algeria - I won 7 gold medals and 4 silver ones.

Also in 2004, was the ATHENS OLYMPICS- I got 21st place in the 100 m breast stroke.

In 2005, the Mediterranean games- I got 9th place in the 100 and 200 m breast stroke.

October 2007, the Arab games in Egypt - I got 2 gold medals and 4 silver and 1 bronze medal and set the Arab record for the 50,100 and 200 m breast stroke IM (individual medley)

I also played for El Ahly club in 2007 in Sindelfingen, Germany where I won a gold medal in the 200 IM and 2 silver medals in the 50 and 100 m breast stroke.

The last competition I participated in, was last April 2008, where I represented the GUC in the Universities National Championship. I got a gold and bronze medal. That was the last time I swam and I have retired now.

How are your relations with fellow teammates in the Egyptian national team, as well as other swimmers you competed against in national competitions?

In 2004, I became the team captain for the women’s national team. All of the team is my friends. We travel together on swim camps and competitions; it was never a problem competing against each other.

I made friends with girls of the Lebanese, Tunisian and Algerian National teams. I also have friends, both girls and boys, from the South African Team. In 2004, before the Olympics, I traveled to the US to join a swim camp for 6 months, there; I made many friends with whom I am still in contact.

What are your most special unforgettable moments?

The FINA World Cup in 2003, when I won the silver medal in the 200 m breast stroke: I achieved second place in the World Cup! It was surreal. Also, in the same year, during the African games in Nigeria. I won the gold medal in the 100 m breast stroke. Not only had I won the race but I had broken the Egyptian record, which was originally mine.

Also, an amazing experience that I will never forget is participating in the Olympics. Even though I didn’t do as well as I hoped I would, the experience was unbelievable.

Water-SPLASHING Polo

Seif Badawi GUC Water Polo Team Member

It took a long discussion with Dr Farouk El Razaz, Head of GUC Student activities department to convince him to participate in the Universities Annual Competition in Sports and that the University has a strong water polo team.

The GUC Water Polo Team consists of many players of the best teams in Egypt: the Gezi-- ra team, Heliopolis team, Ahly, Zamalek and Shooting Club team. I did my best to form this team by gathering the potential members and getting a Coach which was a very hard task to do for some reasons.

Fortunately, the GUC water polo team got the 2nd place in the Egyptian Universities Championship 2008. This was the first time for our university to participate in the water polo competition. We were led by Coach Ahmed Abd el Rasool after defeating the “Cairo University”team in the first match in the competition. This surprised all teams participating because our opponents previously won the second place and were nominated to win the competition.

Our second victory was over the team “Institutes” in the semi final. Unfortunately, we were defeated by the “Ein Shams University” team in the final by 2 penalties. As per Dr. Farouk, this is the first time in the GUC that a team gets a position in the Universities Annual Sports Competition.

iPods, Smart-phones & Laptops … Charging goes Wireless

Sherif El-Mahdy

Wireless Charging here at last… No more worries about forgetting your chargers when you travel. Whether you are today here at your home in Cairo.. or tomorrow in Stuttgart Airport or next week in LA having a business lunch, they are all the same .. Simply put it on a pad & it’s magically charge!

What Pad?!!!!

Simple Idea: It’s a pad with technology of magnetic induction to transfer power wirelessly from a charging base to target device which is enabled with a wireless power.

The electronic gadgets with rechargeable batteries are fitted with a receiver core wound with a coil.

The coils embedded in the charging pad are made up of multiple shapes so that their magnetic fields intersect to cover as much of the pad as possible.

Then the receiver placed on the pad intercepts flux which induced charging current.

It’s the same Idea if you>ve got one of those high-end vibrating toothbrushes or any of several waterproof electric shavers, then you already own a device capable of a neat trick called wireless charging.

When you put that toothbrush in its charging cradle, you>ll notice that no metal contacts are exposed for the electricity to charge the batteries. The toothbrush charges magically, right through the plastic.

So soon ‘The tangle of cables and plugs needed to recharge todays electronic gadgets could soon be a thing of the past “

Nowadays Devices like Splashpower & WildCharge are changing people’s life where WildCharge got the TIME Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2007, and being awarded a Best of Innovations Award at the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Best New Technology at RetailVision 2008.

References:

www.bbc.co.uk

www.wildcharge.com

www.splashpower.com

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/ <

What is KEO?

Nabil A. Boulos

It has always intrigued scientists how humans lived tens of thousands of years ago and how they were different from us. The history of our early ancestors was lost, merely because they were unable to find a way to preserve their history for thousands of years. Now, in the 21st century, mankind has decided that we are not going to make the same mistake again. This was the moment when the idea of KEO was born.

Elected in 1999 by UNESCO “Project of the 21st Century”, KEO is a flying time capsule: a satellite that will be launched into space in 2010/2011, carrying all the history of mankind as we know it. The satellite will orbit our planet for 50,000 years, and then it would land to deliver our history to our future descendants.

Conception and Aim

KEO was created by Jean-Marc Philippe, a French artist and scientist, with the aim of telling the people of tomorrow who we are and to discover who we are.

The word KEO is based on the fact that the three most spoken sounds in most languages are [k], [e] and [o], making the word pronounceable by all cultures … something that truly reflects the spirit of sharing and exchange between all the people of the world, which is the main purpose of KEO.

KEO is unique in two ways. First, it is a flying time capsule. The most logical way was to bury it underground, but the creators of KEO decided that space is more appealing to human imagination.

Second, KEO is unique in its fifty-thousand-year-long journey, which will make it the longest living time capsule ever created, as scientists have found that 50,000 years is the unit of time in which a “step of evolution” may occur. So we can be certain that whoever receives the messages within KEO will be very different from us in the way they think and perceive the world, thus making our history and culture more valuable to them.

Structure and Design

The genius design of KEO allows it to uniquely survive its journey through space and time. First, KEO is a passive satellite, meaning that it has no energy and orbits Earth purely by the laws of ballistics and gravity.

KEO is composed of two parts: a sphere, 0.8 meters in diameter, which carries all the messages KEO contains and is coated with several metal and vacuum shields to protect it from the harsh space environment, and two wings with a total wingspan of 10 meters. The wings are made of shape-memory-alloys: metal mixtures that can change shape at certain temperatures. So while orbiting Earth, KEO will spread its wings when touched by the sun’s rays and fold them when it is behind Earth’s shadow, giving KEO the appearance of a bird that is beautifully fluttering its wings.

Landing

Once the time comes for KEO to land, it will create a shower of lights resembling the Northern Lights known as Aurora Borealis, thus signaling its return to all humankind, and, although strong, the density of the whole satellite is less than 1, allowing it to float on water in case of sea landing. A very royal landing indeed!!

Treasures Within

Six main objects constitute the contents inside KEO.

Terra 2006

As the sphere moves through our atmosphere, the outer protective shields will burn away, exposing the sphere’s inner layer, revealing that this sphere was a map of Earth all along, which, no doubt, will be very different from what it looks like 50,000 years from now.

But yet more surprises await them inside.

Portraits of the ancestors

The first thing they will find is numerous portraits of men, women and children of all races in existence that lived in the 21st century. (Hmmm…so this is how humans looked like 50,000 years ago!)

The Contemporary Library of Alexandria

The original Library of Alexandria was founded in 360-283 BC. Its objective was to gather all the information about the world at one place. A committee of people will try to renovate it in a digital form and include all the history of the world known to us.

This information will be written on DVDs, along with diagrams on how to construct a DVD reader, since such technology will be obsolete 50,000 years from now!

The 4-Inclusion Diamond

This will be a diamond specifically designed to carry and preserve four samples from Earth: water, air, soil and human blood. The diamond will have the whole DNA sequence of our species engraved on its facets.

The Astronomical Clock

This is a device that shows the current position and rotation speed of different radio pulsars. By calculating the deceleration rate over time, the discoverers of KEO will be able to date it as being 50,000 years old.

The Messages

Now this is where you can get involved. Every person on Earth is invited to address his far away descendants, be it to describe his or her life, to share a thought, or to pass on his or her experiences and dreams. You have 4 uncensored pages to write whatever you like to your descendants and submit them online to be written on CD-ROMs and sent with the satellite.

But KEO has a deeper purpose than just a message to people we will never see, for its real interest lies in the impact it will have on us today: once the satellite is put into orbit, a computer will analyze the messages and try to answer the fundamental questions of life: “who we are?”, “what could we do together to realize a more human world?” and “what future do we wish to build together?” That way, we will be able to focus on the common factors among all the people of the world and what makes us unique as a species.

After launching, all the messages will be freely accessible on the Internet after being made anonymous. So you can go there and have a look at what people have written, however don’t try to read all of them; because by the time you finish, KEO would have already returned to Earth!

The deadline for sending your messages is the end of 2009. For submitting the messages and learn more about this project, visit the official website: http://www.keo.org

Let Go

Yara Hassan

Obsessed with feelings we cannot hide

Nor do we show

Because they bring us no pride

Feelings of strong anger

Feelings of hasted love

Feelings of early wisdom

of injustice and of cruelty

It’s time to LET GO of these feelings

That have been burying us alive

They have caused us so much trouble and pressure

And have never supported us in our lives

It’s time to take a break from our defeated souls

To stop thinking so badly of our nation

To come together and stand strong against proclamations

That the world is falling apart

Today is where it begins

Today is our positive start

To renew our identities

To make stronger our beliefs

To kill the negativity

And the hurt that it has brought with all the grief

They say life is a movie

Youmna Younes

They say life is a movie.

Some call it a romance, thriller or sci-fi,

Some claim being superman flying up and reaching the sky,

Some are all about turning heads with plastic surgeries and hair dyes.

Others get as dramatic as a drama can ever get,

Swallowing anti-depressives to stay intact.

Others paint the world the darkest shade of black,

While others fly without wings and swift without strings.

Many can’t fathom but that life has already been written,

Many believe they can’t but act out the script,

come what may,

too afraid to write their own version, too

afraid to change the genre,

They have to pay the ticket to see their own movie,

They merely grab some pop corn and watch by,

They never get to clap in the end or even

know the ending, they’re already gone by then.

Few people believe their life is yet to be written,

They sit, think, walk, run and jump working

on their autobiographical hit

They write, direct, produce and act,

afraid that no one would show up at the premiere.

They doubt if someone would pay a ticket,

grab some pop corn and watch by.

They fear the movie ends before they want it to.

I say life is a movie

With a draft that’s not all changeable;

I can’t rewrite the start nor the end

But I can change all the “in-betweens” that I comprehend.

I’ll try to add drama, action, comedy and sci-fi

And cry, laugh and eat some pop-corn while watching by.

The draft doesn’t reveal when the curtains fall.

Till then, I will have probably have voiced my call.

Laylat El Imti7an
Zee Ezam Eve

Sarah Abubakr

It is already midnight,

And I’m still awake,

For I have exams,

And my marks are at stake,

Thus I cram,

All night long,

Kept up by coffee,

Caffeinated and strong.

First I must go through,

The study of plants,

Who eventually die,

And are digested by ants,

How they feed,

And how they survive,

And tedious details,

About their solitary lives.

Onto physics,

Velocity and speed,

And how it is possible,

To trip on a weed,

About the movement of

waves,

The «lengths» of light,

And dozens of invisibilities,

Quite out of our sight.

How about pharmaceutics?

The study of drugs,

Learn how to market them,

To poor victims and thugs,

Revise on lab work,

And critical skills,

Learn to fabricate,

When hindered by spills.

No, study chemistry!

The basics of science,

For without it, you’ll never,

Get a pharmacist’s liscence.

Remember that for

Ammonia,

A nose plug’s the cure,

And that bromine fumes,

Spell out death for sure.

But my eyes are smarting,

My head’s in a spin,

And tonight, Sleep

Is determined to win...

But no! I have exams,

My life is at stake!

I still must revise,

I must stay awake!

Just another cup of coffee,

Sugar and cream galore,

And I’ll revise *yawn* maths,

“X” equals to... *snore*

Arabian Nights Extravaganza

Ala'a Ragab
Youmna Younes

Friday 30th of May - As a member of one of the newest clubs in the GUC, I attended the launch event of ANTICA(Active Non-Traditional Individuals Creating Activities) on May 30th. It was an Arabian Nights theme that was realized through the creativity and the hard work of the Antica active team. The day started from 10 am and went on till 6 pm. Throughout the day there were soccer matches, a bazaar, traditional food like termes and koshary… even olal for those who got thirsty! And Antica took care of its own, providing the members with a free lunch! The atmosphere was alive with Egyptian culture and authenticity, especially in the late afternoon, with the folk singers, tanoora dancer, the 7atabeen and Satoona who sang and did henna. The day ended off with Salalem playing several of their original and popular tracks.

I sat down with Noha Kandil, Co-founder & Head of Culture, during one of the lulls in all the work, to find out a little more about the planning of the event and Antica in general.

Antica has been in the works since the beginning of this year. We were a group of friends bored of sitting around and eventually it developed into an official GUC club that’s aimed at developing the cultural sense of GUCians. We were nameless at this point and we wanted something catchy and creative that would connote our heritage, something valuable, ethnic and not just historical. And that’s how “Antica” was born: Active

Non-Traditional Individuals Creating Activities.

We had the idea; we had the name… we just needed a launch event that would reflect positively on the club’s spirit to introduce ourselves to the student body. It would also be a chance for our members to meet and to work together. The important thing was that people associate Antica with something fun and productive. I came up with the idea for our Arabian Nights Extravaganza theme as a launch but without the support of the whole board, nothing would have been realized, especially Mohamed Khaled, Head of OC, who was very optimistic and excited about getting things underway. And eventually, it developed into a folkloric show complete with tanoora, traditional singing, henna and even termes!

Behind the Scenes

We wanted the Extravaganza to be directly after the midterms. Unfortunately, we got the approval three days AFTER the midterms, and had no funds! However, we were determined to have the event and so the whole board had to juggle fundraising, member recruitment and organizing in the two weeks before the Arabian Night. By day, we’d be recruiting members in our B1 booth, by night we’d be meeting potential sponsors, and in between we’d be CALLING the sponsors. Bassem Omar, Head of Awareness, was busy getting B.Tech as both our main and PlayStation sponsor. Tamer Zahran, High Board, was responsible for everything outside the university, always leaving early to arrange and buy things. The administration was also very helpful, despite what we’d been led to believe, that the GUC administration would bury you with bureaucracy. However, the External Relations office was extremely cooperative and supportive, especially Ingy Galal, Nermine Hashish & Farouk Razzaz.

“We owe the event to them.”

No event is complete without music to set the mood and after looking at several potential bands, we decided on Salalem, a local up and coming band. Mo Blitz, the lead singer, used to be an event organizer and, therefore, was very understanding of our position and the problems we were facing. So we got Salalem playing free at the GUC in exchange for the publicity! They were incredibly accommodating to us, and they really hit it during the event.

“The most stressful two weeks of my life!”

“There were many hardships involved in setting up this event, but there were also some great times that have made it truly memorable and a great experience.”

The book fair we had in the proceeding week stemmed from the launch event, where there was a tent lined up for the bazaar. We’re hoping to establish the book fair as a yearly event in the GUC and later on it should be promoted as a carnival with many bookstores and include fun activities like air hockey and caricature face-drawing.

Bookstores such as Diwan and Adam and others were present with their booths luring us with great collections.

In addition to the latter, we were thrilled to host a selection of local writers who came to share their books with us and sign them for the readers. For most of us, it was a brand new experience to get to know the people whose names appear to on the covers of the books we buy. We had the pleasure and honor to have a friendly chit-chat with most of them. Ever wondered what topics one would bring up when talking with writers? “Books” would be the immediate answer of course, but how about our very own campus magazine aka ECHO, or even haircuts? Well, pretty much all of the latter. Mohamed El Ashry, the award-winning author of “Khayal Sakhen” came across as a quiet but very friendly person. We talked about his book and his experience with us as GUCians. In a kind gesture, upon knowing that we were editors for our dear ECHO magazine, he wrote us an encouraging note wishing us lots of success when signing our copy of his wonderful novel. It was also a delight to have an entertainingly insightful conversation about books and authors from various cultures with the aspiring writer Mary Mourad. She turned out to be a fan of Milan Kundera, whose novel “the unbearable lightness of being we briefly discussed. She was such an interesting person that I knew I won’t regret buying her book “By Monet”, and boy was I right. It was definitely an interesting read that is worthy of a lengthy review. Also present was Amy Mowafi, author of “Fem@ail”, who seemed to enjoy the GUCian atmosphere and was very friendly and down to earth.

We were really proud we were able to pull that book fair off and were glad to get positive feedback from our colleagues, which motivates us to have an even bigger and better one next year.

Anything else planned?

The awareness and philanthropic committee has several things planned, including participating with the WHO and WHF to bring awareness campaigns on diseases that are prevalent in Egypt to the GUC. Doctors from the WHF would come to the GUC, teach students about these diseases and who would in turn go out and set up booths to spread the information to other people. It’s a charitable gesture not with money but with time and effort.

Additionally, the active branches of Antica will collaborate to produce a magazine, semi-cultural semi-awareness, which will be distributed in pharmacies and bookshops.

Summer plans

We want to make our book club meetings a bimonthly event. Several trips are planned, including one to Turkey and a trip to Old Islamic Cairo. And Antica is now responsible for organizing the GUC After Graduation party for this year’s graduates, which will be a chance to really show our capabilities and our creativity and it should be a great way to say goodbye to all our friends leaving.

Members are the most important thing to Antica because they represent the club. When people see this sophisticated, cultured person and get inspired by that image… that’s the whole CONCEPT of Antica: “Making culture fashionable by removing the association between culture and boredom.”

SIFE
"Students in Free Enterprise"

Hala Gabr Sife President

SIFE is a global, non-profit organization active in more than 40 countries. It is funded by financial contributions from corporations, entrepreneurs, foundations, government agencies and individuals. Working in partnership with businesses and higher education, SIFE establishes student teams on university campuses. These teams are led by faculty advisors and they are challenged to develop community outreach projects that should be fulfilling the SIFE criteria topics:

1. Market Economics

2. Success Skills

3. Entrepreneurship

4. Financial Literacy

5. Business Ethics

SIFE team members leverage their personal educational experiences, the expertise of their faculty advisors, the support of their local business advisory boards, and the resources of their institutions to implement programs that create real economic opportunities for members of their communities.

For more info please visit the official SIFE website: www.sife.org

The effectiveness of their programs is judged at competitions. Each national SIFE organization conducts a national competition, which is judged by leaders from its business community. At a competition, SIFE teams present the results of their outreach projects and compete to determine which team is the most successful at creating economic opportunity for others. SIFE National Champion teams advance to the top level of competitions, the SIFE World Cup.

For more information about SIFE Egypt and SIFE Egypt national competition please check the following link: http://www.sife.org/egypt/index.asp?ID=EG

This year, the SIFE GUC team is ready to break new ground and help as many people as possible by establishing fruitful educational projects that will help them take a step forward in their futures and careers. The team will proudly compete this year for the national title, and hopefully from there we’ll hit the road to the top level of competition; SIFE World Cup!

For more information about SIFE World Cup please visit the following link: http://sife.org/world_cup/Default. asp?ID=WC

GUC DMC Project

Last year, the Digital Media Campus (DMC) was inaugurated in the GUC. This inspired our team to benefit from it by conveying messages to all of our listeners, students and staff, which in result gives a big impact and an expected good feedback.

The objective of the project is to promote Business Ethics concepts among individuals by increasing Business Ethics awareness, and to fix the misconception which took place nowadays due to the expansion of businesses in our society. It became an important part in our lives which in all led to forgetting ethics and its importance due to competitiveness between companies and corporations.

Thus we thought of using the GUC DMC as a distinguished platform to release our Business Ethics messages and tips. The GUC administration welcomed our idea since it saw the importance of its contribution as an educational mansion in apprising Business Ethics concepts on campus to all its students as well as its staff.

First, team members were asked to research Business Ethics to explore its history, main goals, concepts, & importance. We came to a conclusion that Business Ethics in general is divided into:

• Ethics in Marketing

• Ethics in Production

• Ethics of Intellectual Property and knowledge

In addition to more informative chapters as Corporate Ethics policies and Ethics in Religion.

Instead of broadcasting hard terminologies in Business Ethics among our listeners, we thought of using a simpler method, which is “sketching”. After gathering enough data, the team created humorous dialogues between ordinary citizens of our society, each of which reflects a case of business ethics violation or compliance. The cases were categorized under one of the previously mentioned divisions of business ethics. The sketches represent real life situations that are liable to be experienced by anyone in our community. They thus touched and tackled society-related cases and tried to spread business ethics awareness through the indirect message conveyed to the listener.

The sketches were recorded later by the team members using their own voices in the DMC. The sketches were aired a couple of times and feedback was gathered from students, both verbal and in forms. The feedback aims at assessing the understanding of the students to the sketches. The team members along with the students who listened to the sketches discussed the cases tackled within each sketch to share information and reach a mutual conclusion of whether the sketch was a positive or a negative example of ethics in business.

We as SIFE-GUC team believe that ethical conduct should be given more attention and we see it vital to make sure that such ethical approach is conducted everywhere and at all times.

We welcome all of you to support us in our mission and spread the awareness of abiding by ethics in business.

Diggers AWG

Muhammed Atef

Lead by Diggers from the second semester, our XNA workshop was a success. XNA is simply a collection of C# libraries written for the purpose of game development. If you are an XBOX fan, then you would have enjoyed our event greatly. XBOX games are programmed and developed using XNA. The workshop aimed at giving a brief introduction to creating 3D games.

If you are not familiar with the Imagine Cup, it is a yearly competition held by Microsoft, which has seven different fields. One of them is about Game Development and XNA is used for that. Every year competitors from around the world go through a couple of rounds and reach the finals which are held in Egypt for 2009, as for 2008 it was in Paris. The students attending the workshop were introduced to the first steps of the Game Development competition. The winner of the cup gets cash prizes, internships at Microsoft and even free trips to the country hosting the finals.

As the Diggers club, we have held several events concerning the Imagine Cup and we plan to have more. With the coming year approaching and the semester on its start, wait for very interesting events and workshops to be announced soon.

For more information about:

- The Diggers club, visit www.gucdiggers.com

- XNA, visit creators.xna.com

- The Imagine Cup, visit imaginecup.com

- The workshop instructor, visit hassanselim0.freehostia.com

Who are the "freelancers"?

Hala Gabr Sife President

Freelancers Project

SIFE-GUC freelancing team participated last year in SIFE national competition and was the 2nd place winner of the Market Economics criteria upon its panel. Owing to the importance of the freelancing activity, our team saw their contribution as the connection between their fellow university students and corporations in need of their skills. Last year, we took the initiative to increase the awareness of both students and corporations with the term “freelancing”, while this year we served as the source of service buyers, in the sense that they searched and contracted with companies and matched the requirements of their projects with corresponding skillful students.

Contracted students showed extreme professionalism, commitment, as well as perfect performance with their assigned projects. They were compensated with the previously agreed upon amount of money in the contract.

The Freelancers team further thought of increasing the students’ and corporations’ interactions by joining them together through a website where they can directly meet and experience the normal procedures of the freelancing activity. You can visit the website at www.freelancers-spot.com

About Freelancers Team

We are a group of GUC students who are teamed up in the Freelancers project under SIFE-GUC, fulfilling SIFE’s first criteria: Market Economics. Our main aim is to break a new solid ground in the freelancing field in Egypt. Our work is mainly concerned with three categories of freelancers: Web developers, Programmers and graphic designers.

Our Vision

Creating a link between the freelancers and the clients that can gain the trust of both, based on the firmly fixed and superior linkage that we build, and also maintaining a permanent and progressive state for our website til it becomes leading.

Our Mission

The mission of the freelancing team is to provide a strong reliable and secure connection between our targeted freelancers and clients. We are also concerned with maintaining a highly beneficial level for our freelancers to get the most experience out of it.

Our Target

Our target is university students who have the attitude and the skills in the three above mentioned categories. We help them experience another level of professionalism and commitment rather than the usual academic level. This is fulfilled by introducing them to the real world of business so they benefit from the exclusive experience and also earn money that motivates them to further employ their effort to witness it becoming an achievement.

Freelancers Achievements

• Shashaty magazine’s website is under development

• RSM-Consulting website is under development

• Shoot store network marketing system done

• 15 hours of photoshop sessions held at the GUC to enhance the designing skills of students

• Our website developed and launched (www.freelancers-spot.com)

• More than 50 freelancers are registered in our database

Global Conference on Business Transactions

Noha Kandil

GCBT, one of the leading AWGs in GUC is a student run activity that aims at developing business related skills in a fun similar-to-real-life environment. Doesn’t the word “Simulation” excite you enough? Well I was excited and decided to join the club. What you will be reading is an interview between me and Farah Hisham, Head of GCBT Organizing Committees.

How does the Organization operate?

The organization committee works hard all summer to bring together sponsors, delegates, and the needed business environment and its resources to bring out outstanding sessions followed by conference days. The students pick one of four councils to participate in 4 sessions followed by a conference, and at the end receive a certificate of completion.

Brief Description of Councils

When the GCBT started in 2006, it had just one council, The GBIT Council (Global Banking and Investment Transactions). In other words, it’s “stock market” simulation where students (delegates) play roles like Investors, Bankers, or Brokers, while investing their virtual money. Later on in 2007 The GMST Council (Global Marketing and Sales Transactions) was introduced. It is a marketing council where delegates create fascinating products in their vivid imagination then market them in non conventional ways! This year in 2008 we are introducing two new councils. The GPET Council (Global Political and Economic Transactions) and The Junior Council. The GPET is a political council, a little like a game of risk; delegates will be taking over countries and controlling their trade, civil expansion and much more in a highly competitive simulation game. The Junior Council, as the name implies, is aimed for high school students, giving them hands-on experience with businesses and how they operate.

With two new councils, how can you describe the work environment now in GCBT?

The GCBT team is highly prepared this year with many new faces that are very excited and working so hard to produce the best GCBT conference to date. It is July now and we almost have all the work plans ready and prepared. We are ready to rock the GUC with a huge event with people participating from inside and outside the GUC with new faces, new logos, new spirit and much more surprises!!

How can one be a delegate?

You can fill out the application forms in our booth or apply online at www.gcbt-guc.com whether you are a GUCian or Non-GUCian. Take in consideration that the sessions and the conference activities will take place mostly on Saturdays and Fridays all throughout October and November.

And that was my interview with Farah Hisham; Head of Organizing Committee in GCBT; the Student run activity operating in the GUC to serve hundreds of knowledge-thirsty individuals, entertaining their present and brightening their future.

Discover Egyptian History

Egypt - the cradle of the human civilization - the oldest well known civilization in the human history, you can experience it when visiting the Pharaonic, Greek-Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and modern Egyptian monuments.

The mission of the History Club is to help students discover their inherited history and treasures, provide them with useful back ground about the Egyptian history and to open inter- cultural debates.

Our vision is creating and encouraging the Egyptian cultural spirit through planning monthly trips to the Egyptian monuments, e.g. Sultan Hassan Mosque, Ibn Tulun Mosque, the Citadel.

If you believe that you have the greatest well known history and artifacts in the whole world, come and join us in our History Club.

Our first trip:

We visited a number of places in Old Cairo and Old Qataee cities. It started with a walk in Old Cairo starting from the Northern till the Southern gates of Cairo, and then moved to Qataee.

The schedule started with the Northern Wall of Cairo, which was built in the year 1087 by Prince Badr el Gamally. The city of Cairo was forfeited till about two centuries ago. The only part of the Wall which still has its original character is the Northern Wall, because the area behind was a cemetery till ten-fifteen years ago. The Northern Wall is made in a way such that there is a trap around it to make it harder for the enemies to attack the city, and has two gates that no one can enter the city but through them, “Bab el Nasr” (victory gate), and “Bab el Fotouh” (conquests gate). These two gates have towers with soldiers at the time of fights to defend the city.

The second site was “al Hakim Mosque” in “al Moez” street, the most famous street in old Cairo. The main feature of this mosque is that it was a Shiites mosque, having some of the Shiites words, and has also Shiites inside of it. We also passed by some sites like “Soliman Pacha el Selehdar” Mosque, Sabil and Kuttab; but we didn’t have time to visit them.

Afterwards, then visited “Bait el Sehemy” (House of El Sehemy), and made sure to take some pictures. We then visited Al Ghory Mosque, the Al Ghory Group; it had a wonderful ceiling, walls and windows.

The last visit before we move to Qataee area was the southern gate of Cairo, “Bab Zeweila”, or “Bawabet el Metwally”; together with the Moayad Mosque. The historians said that they never saw a gate as beautiful as this one. However, people in the past thought that it brings troubles, and after a while they had a completely different idea; it was that it has the spirit of one of the good guys named “Metwally Qotb” and that’s why they called the gate Metwally gate in stead of Zeweila, which was a Barbar tribe that came to Egypt with the Fatemys and used to live in this area. Al Moayad Mosque is another really beautiful mosque, having another wonderful ceiling and dome. Also, the students had fun in this mosque.

After that, we started the second part of the trip: The first site was “Gayer Anderson” museum; it was originally two homes, one named Cretleya “Greek people from Crete”, and another home named “Amala bent el Gazzar”.

These houses were renovated by this guy, and had so many Arabic, Persian, even Turkish and English rooms. The houses have some really nice rooms, a secret room, and a ceremony area. It’s a really beautiful house, and so many movies were directed in its beautiful sects.

The last part of the visit was Sultan Hassan and Rifaii masjids. The first one is the greatest influential Islamic artifact in the whole world, and the other is the one of the most masjids in the whole world.

The architects consider Sultan Hassan mosque as the greatest Islamic building in the whole world, and it was mentioned in almost all the Great Architecture books in the world. The Artists consider the paintings of Rifaii as one of the greatest in the Islamic world too. In this mosque, King Farouq, his dad and his Grand mom are buried in this mosque. There is also a very beautiful tomb for Sheikh Ali el Rifaii.

We had really fun in these sites, and everybody said that it was really wonderful and they would’ve missed it.

Come join our History Club!!!

A Spectacular “Spring” night

Yara Hassan

On the night of April 17th, 2008, the GUC hosted its annual spring concert on campus. The concert started with the GUC bands who won the first place in the GUC talent show: BlackBulletz and Open-mic, both who performed their songs, rapped and even did some break dancing.

After that, DJ Khaled Hussein entertained the audience until Wust el Balad arrived and performed many of their great hits from their recently released album.

Superstars Nicole Saba and Ramy Ayach, who came from Lebanon to perform at the GUC, took the stage right after that and fascinated the audience with their Egyptian and Lebanese songs. The atmosphere was full of excitement, but it was quit a windy and cold night, even Ramy Ayach brought this fact up when he arrived on stage! Other than that, the concert preceded quite smoothly, the security men were alert and were doing there job efficiently to make sure that the environment was safe and to make sure that everyone who entered was either a Gucian or held a ticket.

The transportation was efficient and buses were even there to take students back home after the concert ended at around 2 am. Moreover, there were many cold/hot drink stands and food stands. Coffee was brewing and Shawerma was grilling all through the night, and I’m sure you can imagine the scent!

The concert was well organized, everyone had loads of fun and their cameras were flashing away as they danced, sung and laughed.

We look forward to the Spring Concert of 2009 !

Chit-chat with Wust El Balad...

Youmna Younes

For almost everyone attending the past Spring Festival, the routine resembles the following: gather up with friends and head to the stage, find a good spot where you can see and hear the singer(s) crooning on stage, sing along, swing to the music and have fun. For the ECHO music section head Ahmed Shaltoot and I, the so-called ‘routine’ involved totally different things. Don’t worry; some fun was also in store for us…

The plan was to interview Wust El Balad and Nicole Saba on the day of the concert whenever convenient and to take photos with them. I would like to highlight the word «plan» here. Well, as is the case with many things in life, things didn’t go as planned. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; let’s just say it was different. After all, wouldn’t life be too boring without a bunch of surprises along the way?

So, Shaltoot and I were both waiting for Wust El Balad, but at different places in Cairo. That was not the problem, really, since by the time of the interview each of the eight members of the band was at a different place in the city as well. Luckily for me, the vocalist Adham and I were both on campus, so I got to have a nice chit-chat with him in the VIP lounge. I was relieved that he was spontaneous and down-to-earth. We kept talking about Germany and sharing our experiences of visiting it.

Every couple of minutes, he called up a member of the band to check where they are and if they lost their way to the university, which most of them did. It took a while till all eight members were in the lounge.

Apparently, the spontaneity was infectious among them and they kept joking around and making fun of each other. It was fun to see them acting totally natural. The thing is, we had to ask them the questions. At the same time, we didn’t want to interrupt the jokes and the laughs flying around and my guess is, neither did they. So, we settled with minimal questions since they had to get ready for their gig on time. One of the things I was curious to know was how they manage to work in harmony and understand each other, even though they have completely different styles. They said it was the fact that each one understands what the others like. They needn’t have the same influences; an understanding of the various styles would suffice. When asked about their vision of the band when it first started out, they said their plan was to prove to people that there can be an independent music scene and that teamwork can work wonders and lead to success.

The success didn’t occur overnight, though. According to Adham, the band tried out several record deals that didn’t work out. Then came STARGATE and this is when things changed. Tarek El Arian believed in the idea and performance of Wust El Balad and so they got signed. Assad, the acoustic guitarist believes that the record deal widened the scope of the band’s audience which used to be concert-goers only. With their debut single “Arabeeli” airing on mainstream music channels, their fame reached an unprecedented degree.

The one question that cracked us all up was the classic: the most memorable situation Wust El Balad came across. We had many situations to choose from: The so-called “Ice Concert” they donned in Kuwait in which the weather was incredibly cold and they were practically freezing on stage. Another memory was a gig where they all decided to perform barefoot. The funniest of all happened in a gig in Alexandria. As they were going through the sound-check, Ismail (vocalist and guitarist) suddenly realized that he forgot something: his guitar. After calling up all of their friends to get hold of a guitar on the spot, they got one which didn’t function properly. Having realized that they were due on stage in a matter of minutes, we escorted them from the VIP lounge to backstage where we got an up-close view of their performance.

The second part of the “plan” was to interview Nicole Saba as well. This, however, proved to be an even more difficult task. We were notified to escort her to the VIP lounge several times, only to find out each and every time that she’s still not there yet. To cut the long story of running back and forth all the time, we didn’t get to interview her. We only saw her speed from the stage into her BMW X5 (hey, at least we now know what car she has) and then off the campus. Since we’re talking about cars, Ramy Ayach has a very nice black Mercedes ;) and a nice grin as well.

GUC’s first band competition.. ROCK ON!!

Ahmed Shaltoot

Well, that was the dream of every band at the GUC and it just came true! Two weeks before the talent show, it had been announced that every band at the GUC – or at least with 50% GUC members – could participate.

The Talent show was organized to encourage the GUCians’ musical talents and with a huge number of applications the competition started on Wednesday 2nd of April with 15 bands participating. A-30-minutes performance during the annual GUC Spring ‘08 Concert on April 17th was the reward for the winning bands.

The competition was amazing and the best thing about it was the huge audience. The bands ignored the cold weather and the fact that they will have to wake up early the next day for their classes, and performed their best songs and music.

After the competition, GUC students voted for their favorite bands via the Internet for 10 days and then the winners were announced: Open Mic and Black Bulletz!!!

Both winning bands got the chance to perform in front of more than 30,000 spectators during the Spring Festival which was a great experience for both of them meeting superstars Nicole Saba, Ramy Ayach and West El Balad and of course meeting us – Echo team - for an interview

Meet the winners!!

Open Mic is a pure GUCian Arabic singing band…and not just any Arabic music, it’s the old style classic Arabic music..

Yet they won the battle of the bands by the GUCian students and staff votes and made it to the GUC spring concert....here is a little chat with Omar el Sayed one of the presidents of the band where we got to know more about them.

First of all, how did you guys start ‘open mic’?

Well, when we were still freshmens we were trying to get involved in some activity and we were amazed by the wide variety of active working groups (AWG) supported by the university. But unfortunately none of these AWG had to do with music. Weeks later we knew that some students came up with music clubs as a part of some AWG activities but unfortunately this didn’t succeed.

Yet we noticed that almost everyone in the GUC, not only students but also TA’s and Professors, were in love with music and singing, and that was our main motivation to do the required papers and have our booth in B1 with our own music club, the only Arabic music and singing club: ’Open Mic’.

And why is the name ‘Open Mic’?

As you know we had to choose an attractive and descriptive name for our club. Well that was not an easy task as many would think. The first proposed name was ‘Get Ready’, but we didn’t like it so we came up with the name ‘Open Mic’ meaning the free microphone signifying singing without limits.

Don’t you find a band with so many singers a bit weird?

I agree with you that it is kind of weird but actually the thing is when we first started off we had a huge number of people applying so we had to do a refining process in which we had to keep only those who are really talented. In the second year among all the applicants we made another test and we have chosen the most talented students, the next year we will make the auditions again and so on, so we are trying to limit the number to only the best of the best.

Does anyone of you sing professionally? Any one studies music or you are doing the whole thing just as a hobby?

Of course we got both. We have members who studied music and others who were trained to sing in many places as the opera house and other places.

Does anyone plan getting into the professional music career or you are just satisfied with a university AWG?

Many of us tried to, but nowadays that is so hard because you get to find new singers everyday and there is a lot of people getting into this business and now it is really hard to compete.

Do you have music of your own? Does anyone of you write lyrics or compose music?

So far no, but we are looking forward to having new members who can write and compose their own music.

Every artist got a message, what is yours?

Our massage is to make a team of singers and musicians and to get into competition with other universities. Our aim is to let the inside feelings out and to make people who don’t listen to Arabic music to re-think about the great art we have in our oriental music and the deep meanings of the lyrics.

Do you rehearse on your own or is someone training you?

As we all know that any team will not work and proceed and accomplish its mission unless a strongman takes the lead. Someone who is able to control everyone inside this team and actually that’s why we have chosen our great teacher Mr. Medhat El-Hady to be our coach and to be the leader of this team.

We owe him big thank you for making Open Mic happen, without him we would have never improved. He made us understand what Arabic music is and the real meaning of singing. He made us share everything in this closed class at every rehearsal we do in each week. I don’t know but I guess just words will not be enough to describe how valuable he is to us.

When and how do you practice and how do you manage your time?

Well, that was really a big problem that we faced. It is a hell of trouble to find a slot that suits everyone for the rehearsal. And finally we got this final timing practice schedule and it’s two times per week, actually after the regular working hours.

What made you sing old music? You are not into the new music or what?

Well it’s not that we don’t like new music but certainly the old music is the best music ever made and singers of that era like Halim, Um kalthoum, Karem Mahmoud, Mohamed Abd El Wahab mastered singing and that’s why their records are still popular even years after they passed away.

So we followed their leads and sang their songs to help us to develop our singing and maybe we would be “top” like them one day. But at the same time we do sing new songs and we already performed some in the GUC spring concert.

Speaking of the concert, how did you find people’s response to the old music?

Oh my God, we were actually shocked we thought that they might actually get bored or something but they were so responsive and showed great interest and we could tell they were really happy and satisfied. We saw people singing along, dancing and really enjoying their time. Our target was to grab attention of the audience but thanks God we actually got far more than that.

Why do you think people prefer new music with faster beats then?

It is not about being old or new, actually most of the GUC students listen to English trance, RnB , Rock and Metal maybe because they think it is cool but I guess that there are really few people here who listen to the Arabic music in general. We don’t want our Egyptian music to disappear that’s why we should work as hard as we can to show the beauty of this Arabic music and let all people receive the message and try to get on ‘the way’ of the Arabic music.

Honestly? Did u expect to be on the GUC spring concert?

To be honest with you we didn’t expect it as we didn’t expect this amount of people to support us and vote for us. We were also afraid of being on the GUC stage and the reaction from the out comers but thanks God we found real appreciation from both the GUC students and the out comers.

So what are your future plans?

We wish in the future to get more and more applicants and students who really love music and singing to form at the end a team of singers and musicians and to get into competition with other universities.

What future do you expect for yourselves? Do you want to have a band like El Masryeen and El Asdeka’a?

Sure we want!! Who doesn’t want to be famous!?? We just hope that the club would continue even after we graduate and maybe some of us would establish a professional career and form a band that can compete with the recent music mania we see on musical channels.

One last word for your fans..

Well we would like to thank each and every person who supported us not because we were friends and they’re just giving us compliments but for their honest support and their belief in our talent. Also we would like to thank Dr. Farouk El Razaz who was our Godfather; he was always giving us the advice and support. We would also like to thank Eng. Essam Hamouda who accepted the idea of ‘Open Mic’, actually I don’t want to forget anyone, Because we got a really great support from everyone and every department inside the GUC.

Last but not least we would like to thank Echo for giving us the time and space.

We really wish from our hearts not fail those who gave us their voices and helping us win the GUC band competition the 1st place, as well as those who supported us at the GUC spring concert and gave us their trust all the way.

Make Way For The BlackBulletz

Ahmed Shaltoot

Although they are still in their first year still and did not got that so much time to make friends they can impress you from the very first look, and after winning the GUC’s band competition, they are one of the most famous bands at GUC now, so let me introduce the newest band to our campus BLACKBULLETZ!!

Blackbulletz is a band that consists of four rappers (Mcflash,Blaze,Haroon and CHB) who sing and beat box and four dancers who can keep you entertained if you do not really like the music .

How did you guys get started?

Hip-hop is a talent. Freestyle is a talent too, which depends on thinking fast. It started by the the founders of black-bulletz who are Mcflash, Blaze, Heat and CHB. The Idea came from Mc.flash as he was from one of the famous crews in the gulf (SNK). Mc.flash & blaze had good underground reputation. So, any announcement for a new crew will be spread through the hiphop underground. MCflash knew Haroon through the internet as he is talented in Arabic hardcore rap.

BLACKBULLETZ was a gang made of more than 25 members…but we kicked all non active members…and kept only the family members together. By family members I mean those who have a strong connection with each other as BEST FRIENDs. Now, the reputation does not come from the talent only, it comes from good management, too. I’m not overconfident but I believe that my management (mc.flash) to Blackbulletz is what got us a good position. I believe that: Strong talent + Strong management = GOOD Reputation.

Where did the name “BLACK BULLETZ” come from?

Lots of ‘peepz’ don’t believe in HIPHOP in Egypt, so we thought of making a hip-hop revolution to send the hip-hop message to the people. The way I thought about it, is to spread ourselves fast at the «SPEED OF A BULLET». Blackbulletz signed a record deal after one year of its creation…HOW FAST IZ DAT??

Who are you mainly influenced by?

Some of us like the underground stream from Jedi Mind Tricks to Wutang, Ill Bill, Vinni Paz, Dzk to immortal technique. Others like the commercial rap specially the dirty south rap. Breakers usually love OLD school rap, so they can top rock n footwork on them….

How would you describe your music?

I believe in real music.I would describe it as a message…rap started as battles…right now…it is mostly the top selling music in western countries, but as a blackbulletz music we represent the hiphop connected to hardcore style….

What’s your favorite song that you have written so far?

Well, I made more than 130 songs, so that would be a bit difficult to choose. Of the blackbulletz songs, «eyes on me» was hot. But, as we move on, each song should be hotter.

Is all of your stuff original?

We use our own lyrics n beats. But, sometimes we want to drop mix tapes so we use famous beats with our own lyrics. This is a common thing to do in the hip-hop community.

What do you think of the music scene in Egypt?

It bothers me that some of our songs were banned because we can’t express our point of view. I know some colleagues such as ZE KHODZ (rock band) who can’t express their point of view too. I”m not that worried because I think this will change soon.

I heard of a record deal so tell me about it?

Ahmed El Wahsh (from Sahara band), the owner of WAVE RECORDS called me and asked me to meet him at his studio.

He spoke about joining the WAVE artists and we really loved the contract.

So, we signed it. It will market our album in lots of stores.

You were the winners of the GUC’s first talent show and you performed in the spring concert 2008.What does it feel like performing in front of more than 30000 people?

We are used to big audiences, but what we really enjoyed at the GUC is that most of them have a good mentality and they accepted our music.

You should struggle to win, and we as blackbulletz started from streets to schools to universities n here we go SOS vol8….

So you are participating in SOS8 July 31st, so tell me about the preparations for this well-known concert?

SOS vol8 has got a new idea...every two artists will collaborate together n will produce something. Sahara band wanted to collaborate with us in their RAI songs. So get ready for this cool mix of hip-hop and Rai.

Make way for the Blackbulletz

The Story of “his” Life

Hatem Amer

It took a lot of work to come up with a world-influential character who has actually helped the humanity and its greater cause.

There were many celebrities whom I would have loved to discuss in this issue’s character biography, but I couldn’t come with anyone better then Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Professor Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei; an international Egyptian figure that we should all be proud of.

Dr. Baradei and Hans Blix split the Nobel Peace Prize for the year 2005 for their effective hard work on the entire Iraqi crisis: “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way”.

Dr. ElBaradei was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1942, son of the late Mostafa ElBaradei, a lawyer and former president of the Egyptian Bar Association. He graduated from the University of Cairo with a bachelor degree in law; after doing so, he joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs serving on two occasions in the Permanent Missions of Egypt to the United Nations in New York and Geneva, in charge of political, legal and arms control issues.

Dr .ElBaradei’s thirst for knowledge only began with him acquiring his bachelor’s degree from Cairo University; he then took a Diplôme D’études Approfondies (Master of Advanced Studies) in International Law at the Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI) in Geneva. He didn’t stop there: he traveled to a different continent after 10 years to attain his PhD in International Law at the New York University School of Law.

After acquiring his PhD and up until 1978, he was a special assistant to the Egyptian Foreign Minister. In 1980, his career witnessed a vital transformation after he left the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and joined the United Nations to become a senior person in charge of the International Law Program at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. A year after his acquisition of such a prestigious position at the UN he became an Adjunct Professor of International Law at New York University School of Law.

After 4 years of hard work and “mothabara” at the UN, he became senior personnel of one of the most celebrated prominent organizations: the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He occupied different positions as the agency’s legal adviser and Assistant Director General for External Relations. On December 1st 1997 Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei became Director General of the IAEA; he has been reelected for a third four-year term in 2005, which will end by 2009.

There was a lot of debate on ElBaradei’s third term election due to the United States’ primary opposition. ElBaradei had disputed the US rationale for the 2003 Iraqi invasion since the 2002 Iraq disarmament crisis, when he, along with Hans Blix, led a team of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. ElBaradei and Blix told the UN Security Council in March 2003 that documents purport that Iraq had tried to acquire uranium from Niger were not authentic. Right now Dr. ElBaradei is up to his shoulders with work due to Iran’s nuclear program and its disarmament. While his efforts and work are being criticized by many like the Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz, it’s also being praised by numerous others like the Wall Street Journal.

So not to get into many political details and bore you with them, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei is a huge international influential figure that we should be proud of not only for wining more then 13 international prestigious awards like The Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award (2006), The Human Security award from the Muslim Public Affairs Council, The Golden Dove of Peace prize from the President of Italy, The Nobel Peace Prize (2005) and many more; or having more than 12 honorary doctoral degrees from high-status universities from all over the globe, but also because he was a great ambassador representing Egypt all over the world.

Wahawy ya Wahawy

Yara Hassan

Cultural traditions in Ramadan

“Ramadan”, this holy month that every Muslim and non Muslim waits for… This month where people fast, meaning abandoning sinning - even if minor - and abandoning eating, drinking, or even smoking through out the whole day from dawn to sunset for the whole month. Though the usual daily practice is neutral, Moslems prefer to spend more time praying or reading the Qora’an particularly at night.

In Ramadan, people feel it’s time to come close to each other, respect each other, increase donations, almsgiving and charity, it’s time of forgiveness and love.

Spending the holy month in Egypt is different than elsewhere. Other than the rituals practiced during the month, certain social habits are much different than anywhere else that makes the month special even for non Muslims.

Officially, the working hours are diminished to allow more time for prayers. Long time ago, it became the habit that the government fires a canon which voice is so loud to be heard everywhere for announcement of “Iftar”- the time of breaking the fast. Though modern technology has replaced this habit, yet it’s still practiced and announced daily on the air on TV.

In Ramadan, children have a very big fun part! The “Fanous” or lantern! It’s made of tin and colored glass with a candle inside. Modern “Fanous” is battery operated and it sings traditional songs of Ramadan like: “Wahawy ya wahawy”! All mosques and streets during the whole month are full of colored lights in a festival fashion to celebrate being in this wonderful month.

Egyptians look forward to eating special dishes such as the sweet desserts like “Kunafa and Atayef”. They also look forward to watching the very modern phenomenon of the Ramadan TV mini-series or religious programs talking about how to improve the relation with God, presented by very famous figures like. The family is usually gathered around the TV for long hours, if they do not go for prayers. Nuts are consumed as a snack, together with traditional drink “Qamar el-din” which is made of apricot.

It became a tradition for all 5-star hotels to build a large “Sohour” tent, furnished in the old Arabian decoration. But average Egyptians head to places the sprawling mosque and market complex of old Islamic Cairo. There they have their “Sohour” mainly including: mashed beans known as “Fool”, and yoghurt that is called “Zabadi”. Moreover, some Egyptians host sohour parties where friends and relatives pack into homes often decorated in brightly colored fabrics to give them the look of a traditional tent.

In the old days, to wake people up for “Sohour” which is taken usually before dawn with a very short period, the tradition was a man named “Mesaharaty” to walk down the streets before dawn with a drum singing and calling people’s names.

In addition, there are these charity table called “Mawaed Al-Rahman” where Cairo’s poor come to break their daily fast at sunset with the meal known as Iftar. The food is free provided by local businesses or individuals.

These are some of the Egyptian cultural traditions in Ramadan which make people socialize in a different, oriental way. Of course, socialization is great, meaningful and has a great effect on people’s attitude but the true spirit of Ramadan which is mainly focusing on getting closer to God by prayers, charities, and everything that improves the community’s production should not be lost while focusing on these traditions…

Wishing you to spend a great Ramadan full of enjoyment of God’s mercy.

Ramadan Kareem!!

HOW OUR FAVORITE FOODS WERE INVENTED

Yara Hassan

Ice cream cones, Popsicles, corn flakes, potato chips, chocolate chip cookies, and sandwiches are every day foods that we love and can’t live without. Each of these foods has its own story to how it was invented.

At the beach this summer, eating a refreshing ice cream cone. The brains behind this satisfying dessert was probably the last thing on your mind.The ice cream cone was actually invented to solve the problem of an ice cream vendor in 1904 who ran out of dishes to serve the ice cream in. A nearby pastry salesman came to his rescue, rolling pastry in a cone so the ice cream could be scooped into it.

Sometimes, inventions are accidental, and that is how corn flakes and Popsicles were invented. In 1905, there was an 11 year old boy called Frank Epperson. He was mixing powdered soda and water together in an attempt to make soda pop. Tired, he went to bed leaving the mixture outside with the mixing stick in it. The mixture froze overnight with the mixing stick standing upright. Hence, frozen pops were made that happily sold and later became known as Popsicles.

In 1894, Will Keith Kellog was trying to come up with a vegetarian food that could be served to hospital patients. He boiled wheat, then accidently left the pot out. The wheat became soft, so he rolled it and let it dry. He later did the same with corn to make thin delicious flakes: corn flakes!!!

Potato chips were made in 1853 due to a complaint about thick French fries from a diner in Saratoga Springs restaurant. To please his customer, the chef made the potatoes paper thin and deep fried them. The diner loved it and potato chips became famous when Herman Lay started selling them in 1920.

Chocolate chip cookies were invented by Ruth Wakefield in 1930. She was baking plain chocolate cookies and ran out of baking chocolate. She broke up chunks of a chocolate bar into the dough thinking that the chocolate would melt into the dough to give chocolate cookies. But the chocolate didn’t melt. It was scattered through out the cookie to give chocolate chip cookies, even better than plain chocolate cookies!

Finally and most important of all, the sandwich that we cannot live without. A guy named Earl was sitting in a London Club in the 1700s playing cards. He was hungry but couldn’t interrupt the game to eat, so he ordered that his roast beef be served between two pieces of bread, giving rise to the sandwich.

And now, thanks to quick thinking and experiments in the past, we are able to enjoy all the foods that otherwise, would’ve never existed!

"Home is where the Heart is"

Ghadeer Grant

Never really understood that phrase up until a couple of years ago when not only did I understand it but I actually experienced it in every minute in my life.

What I mean is for someone like me who always lived outside Egypt and with her family, her home is where she feels comfortable happy relaxed or in my words I say “Pink Bubbly World”. Anyway let’s not linger so much about my theories and thoughts. I’m writing this article here to show people that there are lots of things you can gain by living abroad and some things that you will find at your disadvantage.

I have always lived in KSA-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - and it’s the only place on earth I would rather be in. Sorry I started talking about me again but well I’m here to talk about this topic from the little experience I have. Living abroad gives any person a great chance of being capable of seeing, meeting and interacting with more than just one society and that, trust me, comes in really handy in many cases and situations I have been through. It’s what you can call experiencing a different culture, invaluable to develop appreciation and understanding of the local people of that country.

Think about it having friends who are Lebanese, Saudi, English and even Egyptians has a better advantage then just having Egyptian friends. You get to know about these cultures and their traditions and makes your social circle and life expand. Yeah, that’s true it makes you well am not going to say more clever because that will not be very nice wouldn’t it but it makes you maybe socially superior and a little bit more mature.

Well another great thing is the luxury. And boy oh boy, I do mean that word like really mean it. Again for me living with my family in a country where almost everything you could ever dream of is present is a great luxury. Be it shopping or food courts or bookstores boy things here just rock! And not only that everything from local stores to multinational retail shops and trademarks are available but they’re services are applicable for everyone everywhere to the point that you take things for granted or well at least I do.( don’t judge me, am only human) I don’t know but to be very honest with you I find life in KSA very nice and rewarding. My school there was amazing, I need to go visit it someday, shopping malls are huge and they have everything I want and don’t want.

Well that’s the way it is for me.

Yet just as I told you above there are many great things and some disadvantages about KSA. Biggest: weather. People weather in Egypt is a blessing, so don’t complain if it gets a little too cold or a little too hot because here it’s just plain humidity. I swear it’s very bad to the point that I sometimes can’t even breathe! Another thing I’m not very fond of is law that forbids women from driving. Or wait a minute is it really a disadvantage?

For us girls it is very much but for guys am sure they all would prefer streets with less women driving, don’t argue I know your point of view guys.

Still for me living in KSA means the world to me because that’s where my home is and that’s where my heart is. I just love this country or my country (again please don’t judge me) so much I can’t get enough of it. And that’s why now I believe that home is where the heart is!

My “Singapore” experience

Hatem Amer

When the words “living abroad” hit you the very first thing that comes to your mind is luxury, punctuality, beauty, organization, neatness, civilization, great places to visit, less crowd and of course most importantly – this one goes out to the ladies mostly – shopping (although I enjoy some – actually a lot of shopping myself, but of course that’s your thing ladies. No one can ever take that away from you).

That’s what comes to mind when we mention living in foreign lands, it doesn’t strike us until later that there can be also racism, discrimination, prejudice, inequality or lack of work luxury, not to mention the freezing weather or the burning heat.

Living abroad has lots of pros and cons. Take it from a person that lived in and visited more than 11 different countries. Despite learning about various cultures, norms, values, getting experience from meeting and dealing with different people with different mentalities, living the luxury, visiting all these amazing sites, malls and fun-parks, there’s still some racism that you sometimes get from colleagues, cladsmates or peers.

Singapore, in South East Asia, is the 2nd best harbour in the world and world’s best airport (Changi airport) with 19 Best Airport awards won in 2007 alone. With glamorous hotels and skyscrapers, outstanding shopping malls where you shop shop shop until you drop, mind-blowing state of the art entertainment facilities and everything else that makes living abroad such a wonderful glamorous experience. Despite all that, I spent one of the worst years of my life there because of my classmates and teachers. I was in the only French International School there, Lycee Francais De Singapoire, so I couldn’t transfer to any other school. After that awful year I transferred to the English system and joined this magnificent school, Chatsworth Inter- national School (recommended by The Education Consultation Center), where I passed the happiest most exciting years of my existence. In the two years I passed in Chatsworth I learned a lot from my teachers, classmates. They offered every single sport you can ever dream of joining, they had great celebrations, like Chinese New Year, Hindu Dipavali, Ismalic Eid, Jewish Hanukah, Christian Christmas, the UN day, book day, comic day, the food festival, family day sports day, where members of the three houses in school (Rafles, Sentosa and Changi) would compete in all sorts of different athletic events. The New Year and Christmas were celebrated with all sorts of events, musicals, dances, plays and FOOD, where everyone in school participated and had an effective role. Learning there was a hoot, you had nice teachers, great, loving, friendly classmates (with little exceptions of course). Every day 30 min before school was over, the whole class would site in the reading corner of the classroom where our homeroom teacher would read us a story from “chicken soup”, so we would finish our day with something great we think about for the rest of the day until we meet up again the next day. That’s all just inside of school, not mentioning, Bintan Island, The Butterfly Park, The Night Safari, Takashimaya, Tangs Plaza, Little India, Chinatown, Malay Village, Paragon Shopping Centre, and the breath taking Sentosa Island. Those are only the things I could remember, I haven’t been there since 2001. Hotels there are just unbelievable, I remember the last 10 days in Singapore I spent at the Royal Plaza Scotts, it was just wow, seriously, if you ever go to Singapore make sure you stay there or at Raffles Hotel or the Hilton on Orchard, those are just the ones I stayed in, I’m sure the rest are all amazing too. The celebrations there are just phenomenal, something worth remembering forever, the Christmas celebrations of every year is just wonderful, although Singapore is not a Christian country, it’s Buddhism (around 75% Chinese, 17% Malay, 9% Indians).

The millennium celebration was just indescribable, it was something you can never forget as long as you live, especially that I got to site next to the president of Singapore and talk to him, of course I was only 10 so I didn’t really have much to say, the best conversation that I could have put together could be “…so, who’s your favorite power-ranger Mr. President, mine’s the green ranger!”. With all those amazing things I just mentioned about Singapore, Singapore is a tiny island with it’s population less then Maadi’s, if you ever shift to fourth gear while driving you can actually fall into the pacific!

The tree years I spent in Singapore were unique and extraordinary, full of adventures, my Singapore experience had a great impact on my personality and the way I think. Let’s hope Egypt can become like the Asian tiger, Singapore one of these days. Well, to wrap up all of that, living abroad isn’t always as enchanting as everyone would presume, but my experience was .

How to lose a girl in 10 days

Hatem Amer

For some people, it’s really hard to be honest about themselves and their intentions, especially in relationships. Frequently they pretend to be something they’re not in an effort to attract the opposite sex – but just what does that achieve in the end? Certainly not a relationship built on honesty.

Well, after most of us enjoyed “how to lose a guy in 10 days”, we got that. And now I think you guys out there need to know how to lose a girl in 10 days, so we’ll take a man’s perspective for the movie. As Ben (Mathew McConaughey) said in the movie “Whether they’re eight years old, 35 years old or my 88-year- old grandmother, I love women. Mother-nature, mermaids, the white buffalo. All women. It’s a wonderful sex, man. One that we’re never going to figure out. That’s for damn sure”.

Despite the fact that, girls can get you to a point where you’re “aaaaaaahhhh”, that is when this article will come in handy. Just for the record, I’m a very romantic person; I usually don’t take drastic measures like the ones I’m about to mention, but some people are in desperate need for those, so here goes:

1. When she gets a new hairdo and asks you how you like it, avoid eye contact and look around with your eyes. After procrastinating, mutter out a hesitant «... um yeah, it looks fine» she’ll probably go home and cry especially after she turns her back and you mumble out «yikes».

2. When you’re out eating and she orders dessert, look at her and say «um, do you want some help eating that.” she’ll be making a trip to the bathroom right after that, guess why!

3. For her birthday, buy her anything that’s unflattering like slippers, a mug with hippies written on it. Uncooked slices of beef from the supermarket. Try to persuade her to cook them for you. Climb up to her window and surprise her with a stinky skunk with a red bow around its neck.

4. Women like men who can make decisions for themselves, don’t do that. Always ask for her advice and always follow whatever she says. Saying yes to everything she wants is saying no to your relationship

5. Call her every second hour, send sms stating how much you love her. Send good morning mails. Keep sending her flowers all the time. Those are instant girl losing techniques.

6. Be violent, that’s never appealing or tempting to a girl.

7. Finally the golden method, move things really fast, like telling her I LOVE YOU on your very first phone call as a couple, and just rush things. Now for all you guys out there, I’m sure you benefit a lot from this when the ladies get on your nerves and become a pain, when they’re unsatisfied with you or your actions.

Enjoy,

To my dearest Egyptian Pound,

Dalia El-Shiaty

I hope that you are fine regarding your health. I hope that you are not depressed that you are now a lot more worthless than you were before, considering that your value compared to mine has reached approximately L.E 5.3* for every $1.

On the contrary, I think you should be happy that people will now need a lot of you to buy their needs which means that you will be present in more amounts than before, that is of course if they can afford so, as Egypt ranks number fifty** on the world for having the highest population living under $1 a day. I also wish that you are not angry with those stock market fellows for making you cheaper than you are. You know it is just a matter of fashion, and the trend is now for the skinny and the slim and not for the fat guys like you, since a pound is approximately 0.45 kg (seriously dude you need to loose some weight).

Anyway, I hope to hear from you soon telling me your news. However, do not expect me to respond directly to you, you know I have much more important correspondents, the Euro is just blooming and it is getting very expensive, approximately $1.58*, and the English pound is now for $1.99*, It seems that the only excuse to be fat is to have money.

Well that is it for now, hope to hear from you.

Your good friend, US dollar $

*According to the exchange rate published in the Ahram News Paper on July 3, 2008.

**This information is collected from NationMaster.com and their source is from the World Bank report of 2002.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance. It also endeavours to prevent suffering by promoting and strengthening humanitarian law and universal humanitarian principles.

Established in 1863, the ICRC is at the origin of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The ICRC operates in more than 80 countries worldwide and has job opportunities for Arabic-speaking delegates.

If humanitarian missions outside your country of origin/residence interest you, please visit our website at www.icrc.org, and for job application, go to Services – jobs at the ICRC – Human Resources - skills always on demand and vacancies.

Join us!

www.icrc.org

TOP 10 Annoying Habits at Work

Beverly West

To all our GUC Management graduates 2007 and the to-be-alumni 2008, we dedicate this article, which was extracted from the internet to help you all become more effective in your first jobs and enjoy a healthier working environment.

As an admin, a big part of your job is to collaborate effectively with others. That’s tough to do if your colleagues and supervisors find you irritating. And it’s easier than you might think to rub people the wrong way, even when you’re sitting at your desk minding your own business.

Jen Star of The Jennifer Group, a New York City-based recruiting firm that specializes in placing and maintaining support staff, cites 10 ways to become a workplace annoyance:

1.You’re Unprepared: “Showing up for meetings, interviews or arranged work sessions without the equipment or data that you need demonstrates a lack of respect for your coworkers and yourself,” says Star. “And it wastes time. Get off on the right foot, make like a scout and be prepared.”

2.You’re Not a Team Player: “You have to be willing to pitch in when another member of the team needs help,” Star says. “There’s nothing more annoying than watching somebody do a crossword puzzle while you’re buried in work.” And if a coworker needs a little time off to run an important errand, be flexible and help out when you can, she suggests.

3.You’re Not Self-Reliant: Only ask for help when you really need it. “Giving up on the paper jam after only one try and expecting a coworker to fix it because you know she can, does not contribute to good team spirit” says Star. Try everything you can to solve your own problem before involving somebody else.

4.You, Umm, Smell: Your scent is important, especially when you’re working in a small, poorly ventilated space with lots of other people. Be considerate by taking care not to generate strong smells that will permeate their space.

For instance, don’t eat onions or garlic in the office, Star suggests. And if you smoke, be sure you air yourself out before you walk back in the office. The same goes for colognes. “Fragrance is a very personal choice, so it should be reserved for those who are close to you,” says Star.

5.You’re Loud on the Phone: Loud telephone conversations can be offensive to your neighbors, so try to keep your voice low and even. And keep personal calls short. “Phone fights or, worse yet, phone foreplay can really drive people crazy,” says Star. “Remember that you are not in your living room.”

6.You’re Unhealthy: If you’re sick, stay home. If you have the sniffles or must come in, cover your mouth and do whatever you can to avoid infecting your coworkers.

7.You Walk Like an Elephant: Try to move around the office quietly to avoid disturbing the people around you. And if you must speak to another colleague, keep your voice down.

8.Your Cell Phone Is Always On: Unless absolutely necessary, cell phones should be turned off while you’re in the office. If you need to keep your phone on, use a soft or silent ringer or vibrate mode.

9.Your Computer Volume Is Blasting: Nobody wants to hear somebody else’s bells and whistles when they’re trying to concentrate.

10.You Shake Hands Like a Fish and Avoid Eye Contact: “When somebody won’t look me in the eye or give me some energy in their handshake, I feel like they’re avoiding me,” Star says. “I like a firm handshake and a friendly smile.”

Dear all,

Hey, I’m Sara Mohamed Abdel-Karim, graduated from the Management Faculty last October 2007 with GPA: 1.2 and was specialized in Finance and Information Technology.

I’m currently working at Barclays Bank, as a financial analyst in the Finance department. The working environment is great and I’m so happy for joining the team. Earlier to this job, I worked for six months in an engineering consulting company in the finance department as well.

I’m so proud to be a GUC graduate!! GUC has been like an access tool to the top companies and banks in Egypt. I’ve got so many job offers since graduation and that goes back to being a GUC graduate with the qualifications that the GUC provided us and the hard work we are used to.

My upcoming plans are a post-graduate study - the CFA (Certified Financial Analyst) -, which I will start in September inshallah. I’m so grateful for everything. Thanks a lot to the SCAD Office, and a big special “Thank you” to Dr. Christian Kalhoefer (Head of Finance Department at the GUC).

Best Regards,

Sara

DMG – August 2008

A total number of ten promising GUC interns were selected after a long and thorough assessment process that was administered by both DMG (Deckel Maho Gildemeister) and GUC professionals under the supervision of the SCAD (Student Career & Alumni Development Office) to attend a technical training course at DMG Trainings-Akademie in Bielefeld (Germany) from Aug. 25th till Sept. 5th, 2008.

Staff Sohour – September 2008

On the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour, GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, invited the GUC community for a Sohour Gathering around the pool at the Intercontinental City Stars Hotel. Staff-members (academic & administrative) had the opportunity to interact, discuss subjects of mutual interest and get to know each other better.

MBA new Director – August 2008

Echo team, GUC Staff and Students would like to congratulate Prof. Dr. Frank H. Witt for his new position as a Professor for Marketing and Director of the MBA Program at the GUC. Prof. Witt previously was founding Dean of the Merkur International University of Applied Sciences in Karlsruhe and Managing Director of iMICS Strategy and Technology Consulting Ltd. in Germany, representative Director of iMICS Ltd. Japan, incumbent of the chair for Internet Economy and Electronic Markets at the University of Wuppertal and Research Fellow/Associate Professor at the Research Center of Advanced Sciences and Technology of the University of Tokyo. Meanwhile, Dr. Michael Von Gagern – former MBA Director - will be moving to Italy to pursue his new endeavors.

On the occasion of the bestowal of the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany on Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour on October 26th, 2008; we not only shared the invitees at the German Embassy in Cairo their thoughts about the award, but we also shared with them their memories of the GUC story since its start.

“Everybody knows that the GUC now is a success; I discovered this idea already since it was brought to me! It is an amazing success story, we are proud that we accompanied and supported this idea in the very beginning and I wish Prof. Mansour, the GUC staff and students all the best for the future.”

“Well, I would like to say that Prof. Mansour has done an outstanding job in early years and I think that the German people and the German government appreciate very much the strong relations that are expressed by this great enterprise which he undertook. We want to encourage him to continue this and we will see what kind of merit he will receive when he is 65, especially that tonight’s Merit is usually given to people above the age of 65.”

“I am very proud that the vision became in a very short time a reality and I think it is an extremely interesting example how a convincing vision, careful planning and continuous effort became reality in a short time.”

“Tonight, I give Prof. Mansour my best congratulations; it is a tremendous effort he made in a very short time. And if any body should get this award, he is definitely the right person for it. Congratulations!”

“It is a great day for the GUC and for Professor Mansour. However, it is also a great day for Ulm University and Stuttgart and all the Partnership Universities.

It is also a great day for me, I am happy that he received this award from the German President.”

“It is a good chance today to be present for the celebration of giving this high sort of medal to Professor Ashraf Mansour who created the idea of starting a German University in Cairo, and I was one of the few people who started with him to construct and to start with this German University outside of Germany

Thank you and good luck.”

“I have accompanied this project since the beginning from in 2000. To be honest I still think it’s a dream because I couldn’t believe it could be really brought to reality. But I have attended the laying of the foundation stone and every year I see the progress, not only in the buildings but also in the number of students and their achievements. I am very proud of this project, its part of our family in Ulm.”

“I am very proud and grateful for this prize because Prof. Mansour really earns it. He did a very good job to realize this dream and worked very hard as we all know to plan and overcome obstacles. So I am very very glad.”

“This is a wonderful evening! Prof. Mansour has realized a miracle by founding the GUC. The idea of founding a German University was there, but no body would have ever dreamt that it would come true so soon and 5 years after the graduation there will be 6500 Students; this we owe to the effort and vision of Prof. Mansour.

And I am very happy that our Federal President has awarded the order of merit of first class to Prof. Mansour as a small recognition of the huge effort he has undertaken.”

“I am very happy with this honoring for a number of reasons. First of all, because it is honored to an Egyptian Professor: Dr. Ashraf Mansour.

Second, because he is still too young to receive such an honor which is usually awarded for people above the age of 65.

This university has achieved a lot and has a very good reputation in Egypt.

I would like to congratulate him for this high honor and I wish him the best of luck.”

“Of course Prof. Mansour is very glad that he received this honoring today, but I have to say that I am as glad as he is, if not more! I know him now more than 10 years and we have started the GUC from the very beginning and this honoring he has surely earned it.”

“This award is very valuable and appreciated specially that it is awarded from the Federal President of Germany.

Prof. Mansour is very appreciated, although he is still young, he achieved a lot by founding the German University.

I was lucky to go to Ulm to attend the 5th anniversary of the GUC and was very happy to see that the GUC graduates are on the same educational level of German Universities’ graduates. Prof. Mansour still has a lot to achieve in the future and I’m sure he will exceed our expectation.

Congratulations to Prof. Mansour, GUC staff and students, and Egypt.”

“Those pleasant words and high- flown rhetoric speeches do not make great people, yet the great people are the outcome of there meritorious works and remarkable achievements”

If this saying could be embodied in a person, we shall not find a better person than tonight’s luminary figure; he is also a Professor of physics. Being an Egyptian by birth, yet deep inside, he is also one of Ulm’s sons.

A man in his forties, able to establish the first private German University abroad, has achieved what cannot be expressed through words. What he has achieved is an unprecedented accomplishment that needs neither rhetoric speeches nor pleasant words. Nevertheless this shall not prevent me from counting the accomplishments of this young man as much as possible in the coming lines.

The Story behind the Merit

H. E. said: Ashraf Mansour was born on the 3rd of October. In the year 1962, nobody could anticipate that this date would one day have a special meaning as the German National Day. When Ashraf Mansour went to Germany on a DAAD scholarship for his Ph.D. at the University of Ulm in 1988, Germany was still a divided country. By the time he came back to Egypt in 1992, Dr. Ashraf Mansour had a dream: to establish a German University in his home country.

At the same time, Prof. Mansour did not neglect Cairo University, where he organized a number of German-Egyptian conferences and promoted scientific exchange between Germany and Egypt. In 1997 he acquired a post-doctoral degree (Dr. Habil) in Polymer Physics, again at the University in Ulm. In 1999, he received the prestigious research award by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. In the same year, he founded the DAAD Alumni Association Egypt and has presided over it ever since.

Further stays in Germany increased his close relation with the affection for German Culture and familiarized him ever more with the Humboldtian ideal of unity of research and teaching. Based on this principle, Prof. Mansour promoted his idea of founding a university in Cairo according to German standards in partnership with the universities of Ulm and Stuttgart.

With his strong commitment and power of persuasion, he succeeded in winning investors and mobilizing the necessary funds as well as political support. On the German side, his project found the support of several universities, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the German Academic Exchange Service.

In October 2003, GUC was opened by President Mubarak and Chancellor Schroeder.

Five years down the road, 6500 students are now studying at the GUC, and plans for enlarging the study programs are being underway. The German University in Cairo has become an integral part and a lighthouse of German- Egyptian cultural relations.

Cooperation in culture, education and science has proven to be the most sustainable and durable factor for solid and deep relations between our two countries. They are the backbone of German-Egyptian friendship. The cultural network is deeply rooted in the long tradition of German schools in Egypt, the oldest of which was founded 135 years ago. To enable graduates of German schools to continue their education back- ground for Germany was a logical step forward in enlarging his cultural network.

The success of the GUC and its astounding development in the last five years are inseparably linked to its founding father, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour. GUC has become a university which enjoys an excellent reputation not only in Egypt, but also beyond its boarders and has found several imitators in other countries.

Prof. Mansour is figurehead of German culture in Egypt and has become one of the most prominent supporters of German-Egyptian cooperation in the field of science and technology. In 2007, the GUC was one of the key partners in the framework of the “German-Egyptian Year of Science and Technology”.

I am convinced that Prof. Mansour will continue to be a pillar of our close, active and sustainable cooperation in education and research for many more years to come.

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was instituted in 1952 by Federal President Theodor Heuss. It is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for services to the nation. Congratulations to Prof. Mansour and his family.”

Dearest Prof. Mansour,

Kindly allow me to read you out the content of the Order of Merit’s document: “In appreciation of the strenuous effort and commendable services which you have rendered for the Federal Republic of Germany.

I have the honour to grant Professor Ashraf Mansour the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

The President of Federal Republic of Germany - Horst Kohler”

Congratulations!

Sharing GUC Prime Founder’s feelings after receiving the Merit…

“I’m very happy for receiving this merit, but this merit is not only for me, it’s for all the GUC staff, especially the ones who have been working with me since 1994 in all the preparations and shared with me the dream come true.

Tonight we are all getting honored. It’s a big honoring for a big group of GUC supporters.

It’s a feeling beyond description! No one can imagine how I feel tonight, especially with all the attendees who came to share this moment with me – ministers, VIPs, politicians, journalists and GUC staff – it truly feels special.

I’m happy because I believe the value of this merit.

This is a message from Germany for us as an institution to continue our mission, work harder and be motivated to go on with the same enthusiasm.

Congratulations for all of us. Let’s continue the journey, while overcoming the obstacles and difficulties, and make sure to raise generations who will represent the GUC in all careers.”

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany was instituted in 1951 by Federal President Theodor Heuss. It is the only honor that may be awarded in all fields of endeavor and is the highest tribute the Federal Republic of Germany can pay to individuals for services to the nation.

The Order of Merit may be awarded to Germans as well as foreigners for achievements in the political, economic, social or intellectual realm and for all kinds of outstanding services to the nation in the field of social, charitable or philanthropic work. No pecuniary reward is attached.

In awarding the Order of Merit the Federal President wishes to draw public attention to achievements that he believes are of particular value to society generally.

The main fields honored are:

• Social, philanthropic and church work “away from the public eye”

• Efforts to improve employment prospects as well as create jobs and training opportunities for young people

• Entrepreneurial achievement in boosting long-term growth and employment particularly in regions with structural problems

• Outstanding scientific achievement generating new momentum or resulting in innovations and inventions with strong future potential

• Efforts to foster peaceful interaction and mutual tolerance between different religions and cultures

• Contributions to enhancing Germany’s standing abroad and its relations with its European neighbors

Since the Order of Merit was instituted in 1951 awards have been made to some 210,000 people.

Recommendations for the wearing of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

The bestowal of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is a particularly high honor. The wearing of this decoration on public occasions reflects its significance and worth.

The original, full-size decoration may be worn on all occasions of special importance or celebration. There is no stipulation as to appropriate attire; one’s dress should, however, befit the occasion and the dignity of the decoration.

On all other occasions, the miniature version should be worn instead. Such occasions might include state, municipal, church, industry, union, association, club and cultural events as well as family celebrations. The miniature version may also be worn at work. On occasions of this kind it may also be worn with everyday clothing.

Decorations, whether full-size or miniature, are not worn on coats or capes.

Officer’s s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Wearing of Original

Men wear the Officer’s Cross on the lower left side of the chest.

Women wear the Officer’s Cross on the left side about a hand’s breadth above the waist.

Wearing of the Miniature

Men wear the miniature on the upper half or in the buttonhole of the left lapel.

Women wear the miniature a hand’s breadth below the left shoulder.

Students’ Achievements in Numbers

In 2008, GUC is not only celebrating the graduation of its 2nd class, but it celebrates their achievements throughout their years of study at GUC. As with the past couple of years, about 10% of GUC students had the chance to do their Bachelor projects and/or internships abroad, and mostly in Germany.

Nevertheless, because of the outstanding performance of their senior counterparts last year, we had the honor to have dozens of requests from companies to host our students for periods ranging from two to six months. Some students developed systems that are currently up and running at the companies while other students participated in prominent research work and succeeded to publish a number of publications in international conferences worldwide.

12 students who were accepted and granted scholarships at the Johannes Kepler University in Linz, Austria.

42,000 Euros is granted to one GUC student per year to pursue his/her Masters as part of Europe’s finest scholarship award, the Erasmus Mundus.

3 students will write their Master thesis at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Europe’s number one ranked Engineering university and one of the top 20 engineering universities worldwide, as part of the GUC master program.

4 is the number of times that MET (Faculty of Media Engineering & Technology) has participated in the ACM ICPC, that is organized by the world’s largest educational and scientific computing society. GUC’s first team was able to rank 3rd among the 44 participating teams, with a clear improvement of performance over the past three years.

50,000 LE was the 1st Prize won by GUC students - Aya Mourad Ghaleb, Ahmed Mohamed Badreldin, Yara Ayman Moussa, Ahmed Mahmoud Nofal – during the 5th Arab African International Bank Award. The competition had teams from seven Universities, including Cairo University, the AUC and the MIU.

5 students - Menna Hafez, Sara Shenouda, Heba Refaat, Salma Mitkees, Mai Hasan - attended the seminar of the European Banking Forum in Switzerland. The students successfully presented in front of six professors of finance and bank management, 20 assistants and consultants, as well as 50 students from Germany and Switzerland.

2nd GUC Undergraduate Research Conference was held to present and discuss the best Bachelor thesis of this year’s GUC graduates.

The presenters selected were Youstina Mohsen Mounir, Lamiaa Mohamed Eltantawi, Enas Mostafa Abosafi, Ahmed Mohamed Badreldin, Sara Mohamed Othman, Nazli El-Missiri, Monica Sami Mitri and Basma Attef Heider.

890 downloads and 2300 abstracts of the GUC Faculty of Management Technology PhD students Working Paper Series were viewed within the last 12 months (ranked second in Africa). The following have published research papers in the: Hebatallah Ghoneim, Yasmine Reda, Iman Seoudi, Nora El-Bialy Ibrahim, Noha El-Bassiouny, Rania Salem, Noha Farrag, Ronia Ahmed Hawash. These publications areinternationally visible and have generated great interest. A number of these papers are under review for international journal publication or have been accepted for international conferences. (http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/gucwpaper/)

1st & 3rd place was received by GUC Pharmacy & Biotechnology graduates in a NOVARTIS BioCamp competition held for the first time in Egypt and the Middle East. Through a very competitive application procedure, only 25 applicants were selected, 6 of them were GUC graduates. The workshop was conducted about creating a business plan. First and third place was awarded to GUC graduates Mohamed Atef and Mona AlQazzaz.

2nd place in the 53rd IPSF Congress: GUC Pharmacy & Biotechnology student Mohamed Atef received 2nd place in the annual poster competition on the 53rd IPSF Congress in Taipei, Taiwan-China with the theme “Financing in Health Care”.

2 Biotechnology graduates - Doaa Mugahid & Aya Helal - and one Pharmacy graduate - Amira Abdel Satar - received a scholarship to pursue their Masters at Ruprecht-Karls-Universität, Heidelberg, Germany.

1 Biotechnology graduate - Omnia Sabry - received a scholarship to pursue her Masters at Exeter University, Biological Sciences Department, United Kingdom.

20 students participated in the “Drug Design Summer Course” in Tuebingen.

12 students participated in research labs at the University of Ulm and Stuttgart.

16 DAAD-stipends were given to GUC students.

BIG numbers of GUC students received internships abroad:

- Molecular Oncology, Ludwig Maximilian Universtaet, Munich, Germany

- Head and Neck oncology, Cancer Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA

- Pharmacology Department, Heidelberg University, Germany

- Oncology Department, Oxford University

GUC is proud to observe its students approaching market leading companies and enterprises, impressing their interviewers and out performing their counterparts throughout their astounding outcome.

More than 650 students were crowned on October 27th, 2008 at the “Cheops” Hall of the Cairo International Conference Center (CICC) on the occasion of the 2nd GUC Graduation Ceremony.

GUC Graduates celebrated their success along with their families, GUC Staff and eminent guests who came from Germany to attend this special moment.

Applauses and tears of happiness of proud attendees filled the hall with happiness and joy, crowning GUC Pharmacists, Engineers, Financial Analysts, Economists and Marketers who will be out there shining like stars - representing successfully the GUC community in various career fields.

Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour

GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all, on behalf of the German University of Cairo and myself, and I express my thanks to all those present who filled this occasion with joy and charm. We are today celebrating the first graduation of our students from all the faculties opened in 2003 in an international ceremony, which was crowned by the presence of his Excellency President Muhammad Hosny Mubarak and his Excellency the German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. We were also honored by the presence of a great number of eminent guests, ministers, members of the parliamentary councils, executives from the industrial and economic sectors, members of the diplomatic corps, and partners from the Egyptian and German universities.

This highly esteemed presence does not only reflect the warmth of the Egyptian-German relationships, but also expresses many hopes and aspirations for the opening of the German University in Cairo, and its long-term effect upon the scientific, educational, economic, cultural life. Veritably, the most important asset any country treasures are highly qualified human powers. This appropriate outlook had been adopted by all our pioneers who joined us in October 2003, in addition to those who began working with me since 1994.

So, as we are gathered today, in October 2008, after 14 years of strenuous efforts exerted for developing the German university project, and 5 years subsequent to its opening, we are here to reap the rewards of the widely expressed wishes to establish the German university in Cairo, with the aim to qualify scientific graduates at an international level, using the distinctive German education system. We can now feel pride in the outstanding level of education our sons and daughters attained, upon their graduation from the GUC.

Our sons and daughters – students of the GUC – have been harvesting the best of the German education, which is distinguished worldwide from other systems by the unity of education and scientific research in the undergraduate stage, based upon practical, applied and training exercises, as a complementary means and a value to comprehend the study programs.

They studied rare fields of specialization required by the local and international market. The partner universities in Baden-Wuerttemberg, led by Ulm, Stuttgart and Tübingen universities, as well as other universities, developed the study programs, selected the teaching staff and assisting bodies, planned the educational facilities, and followed up the work progress and achievement, starting from the premises construction, lab facilities, and examinations, and ending up with the certificates’ validation granted by these universities and the national recognition of such certificates.”

Prof.Dr. Mahmoud H. Abdel-Kader

GUC President

I am very delighted to welcome you all to GUC’s 2008 graduation ceremony, and to express my warm congratulations to our graduates and their parents as well as to the GUC family.

Today is one of the most exciting days of my life, and I think it must be for most of you. For me and for all the GUC family members, it is exciting because it is the day where the dream came true. Today we witness the First Grand Graduation in the history of GUC that includes 625 students from 5 different faculties.

I remember now the first day at the university exactly 5 years ago and how I met many of the parents then. They were worried about everything, the university life, and so on. I also remember the worries of some of my German colleagues doubting the ability of our secondary school graduates averaging 17 years old compared to the German Abitur graduates who are usually above 20. Thanks God, together we have proven that they were up to the challenge and now, our German colleagues are looking forward to receiving them as Master and PhD students. Actually in that short period, we succeeded to establish the GUC as one of the top ranked private universities in Egypt, if not already the top university as ranked by some organizations. Our last year graduates, are already working in reputable institutions, even today’s graduates have very promising offers from multinational organizations, even before graduation, or have already started their master programs either at the GUC or in top international universities abroad.

Figures would even give you a better picture of our achievements:

• Over 1300 students visited our patron universities in the frame of students exchange programs, to do their graduation project, to take courses, or in the frame of language and cultural exchange.

• 91 of the top GUC students did their Bachelor thesis abroad

• 110 graduates have been appointed as Teaching Assistants at the different faculties of the university

• And believe it or not, some of our students published research papers in reputable international periodicals and journals and actually all graduation Bachelor theses are really outstanding research work.

These great achievements are the result of the top quality education and the world class facilities that the GUC granted. They came after long years of professional planning since 1994, implementation of total quality management concepts, an advanced sophisticated IT system, and efforts exerted by eminent professors in all fields supported by very qualified and professional staff. However, all of these capabilities are not enough if we do not fit you -our today’s graduates- in the equation, best students chosen through a very comprehensive selection process.

In that context, I would like to express my sincere gratefulness to all of those who helped us throughout this 5 years journey: to our BOT Chairman and Members for their constant backing, to the university council members, my colleagues, the faculties’ deans and the academic staff, as well as all staff members for their dedication and efforts, to the Egyptian and German governments and their ministries of higher education and research for their continuous support. I am also grateful to our partners, the universities of ULM, Stuttgart, Mannheim, and Tuebingen, the DAAD, for their cooperation.

But for you my dear graduates, today is exciting because of completely different reasons; it is exciting because it is the day where your dreams are born. The day representing your first step into your future. I look at you now my dear sons and daughters, and I remember how I felt on my graduation day more than 30 years ago. It was a mixture of feelings; happiness, excitement, hope and uncertainty about what the future would bring and how the real World would look like?

I found the World full of opportunities and rosy promises, but also full of competition and obstacles. Your World is even more challenging. You now have the whole World as your job market, but you are competing over jobs with youth from all over the World. This means that you need a much higher level of competency and skills than we did. Your World is changing at an accelerating rate which means that you need to constantly update yourselves and acquire new skills and knowledge. Over and above, you will have to deal with a variety of cultures, accept and handle their differences while retaining your own identity.

But I am sure that you are going to deal with all these difficulties. I believe you can because I have strong faith in you. With all the knowledge you have acquired; all the skills you have learned, and all the different experiences you have been through, no doubt you are among the best educated, most talented, and top qualified candidates to meet such challenges. Actually I know that if anybody could ever deal with them, it would be you, GUC graduates.

The last message I want to convey to you tonight, my sons and daughters, is that you have to create the highest vision possible for your life. Believe in yourselves. Believe in your abilities and talents because you become what you believe. Set no limits for your dreams and convert them to reality. Turn your mistakes into wisdom. You’ll make mistakes, we all do. Some people will call them failures but you have to learn to call them new learning experiences. Remember that the best way to predict the future is to invent it and that all the achievements of great men started with a dream. So, do like what Bernard Show used to do when he said “You see things; and you say “Why?” But I dream things that never were; and I say “Why not?”

With these words, I leave you for the rest of your ceremony. Again, Cordial

Congratulations.

Prof. Dr. Slim Abdennadher

Study Dean, Faculties of Engineering

Dean of Faculty of Media Engineering

“Dear parents.. Thank you so much for your support and for your trust.

I would also like to thank all staff members of the Faculties of Engineering who have made a tremendous effort to be able to reach the quality we are actually enjoying today.

One final quick thought: Dear graduates, Don’t let fear of failure cause you to hold anything back..don’t be afraid to try something new..have the courage to take risks…go where there are no guarantees.. get out of your comfort zones..the road is full of obstacles but it is on that road where your character is truly tested and your personal growth realized..”

Prof. Dr. Ralf Klischewski

Dean of the GUC Faculty of Management Technology

“You should be confident to master all the management challenges ahead of you..to find your best way in relation to everyone around you and everything around you. You should be confident to lead others, but also to seek guidance when needed because you have studied hard to know now the ingredients of good management.

In the name of all Management Faculty Management, dear students..dear parents.. be proud of what has been achieved, celebrate merely and may God be with you.. Alf Mabrouk!”

Prof. Dr. Laila G. Mahran

Dean of the GUC Faculty of Pharmacy & Biotechnology

“You had the benefit of receiving a very special education following both the Egyptian and the German models, tying together teaching and research with state of the art laboratories.

This has certainly enhanced your knowledge and skills, while exposing you -- through internships and “track to Germany” -- to a unique environment.

Your solid background can be considered a primary stepping stone towards your career and will pave your way to success in any field you endeavor. The strong education you have received is noticed by the great job opportunities you have been offered. You are now ready to fit in any national or international work environment. ”

Dr. Christian Bode

Secretary General of the DAAD

“It’s indeed a great honor and pleasure to be part of this wonderful ceremony to celebrate with you the Graduation of more than 600 graduate of the German University in Cairo, no doubt an important event and milestone not only in the life of you graduates but also in the excellent and exceptionally dynamic history of the GUC; My cordial Congratulations to both of you.”

“As some one who has accompanied and actively supported that development from the very beginning, I am every time surprised about what has been achieved since then, I think some seven or eight years ago, when we laid the foundation stone in a piece of land that was just a desert. I am sure that at that time, not many of the audience were convinced that the GUC would become such a success story.”

“The secret of that success story is easy to discover: it’s the idealism, the energy and drive of the prime founder “Dr. Ashraf Mansour” and the enthusiasm and commitment of his team and his partners who firmly believed in that dream to come true. Success as a result of strong visions and hard work; this -I think - is the first and not last important message that the graduates of this university might take home into their future life.”

“Dear Graduates, I do hope of course that some of you will make use of these new opportunities and that we can meet with you again in Ulm, Stuttgart or any other German university; quite a number of you have already been to Germany and got a taste of the country, the language and the culture. The DAAD has supported approximately 500 students during these trips and exchanges and will continue to do so. You should know that you are welcomed in Germany and that we appreciate and admire your efforts to learn the German language. I know this language is not too easy. Although it’s not so difficult as Mark Twain once complained “I never knew what eternity was made for, now I know, it was to give some of us the chance to learn German.”

The truth is the German language is like a beautiful young lady, you need to fight for her and even then you will not get her love until you love her even more, but once she is yours she will never leave you for the rest of your life”

“Dear Graduates, this is your day, and I not only congratulate you, I also envy you a little bit. I can imagine, I can even remember the feeling of pride, satisfaction and relief mixed with curiosity and impatience for the future. The future is yours and the doors are open, you have worked hard, you have done well, you have got excellent education and training and your competences are of international standard. We expect many of you to show up one day in leading positions in business, politics, science and society of this country or wherever.”

“Another message you graduates might take home from this ceremony: you have already started to realize and implement the intercultural understanding and the international commitment which we need in our globalizing world as urgent as water, energy and food. This is also the central message, vision and mission of my organization “DAAD”. It’s in this sense that we feel it deeply routed and therefore long lasting partnership with a German University in Cairo; its leaders, professors and students.

In this sense I wish you and your families - which have sponsored you so long - the best for your personal future and for the future of your country, and since you are graduates of the German University in Cairo, also for the future of the Egyptian German Co-operation and friendship. Now enjoy the Ceremony and enjoy your success.

Shokran!”

H.E. Minister Helmut Rau

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport - Baden-Wuerttemberg

“I am proud to be here today amongst you. I would like to convey the greetings of the Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg on this great day.

We have listened to the Egyptian and the German anthems; there is a part in the German national anthem that says: “Bloom in the glow of happiness’’ and now I could see happiness overwhelming those youth today.

I would like to congratulate our graduates; furthermore I would also like to congratulate your parents for this great achievement on your graduation day.”

“The German University does not only offer technology, but also intercultural communication. It is a worldwide international university. I was pleased to talk with Professor Ashraf Mansour on different intercultural communication issues.

I have noticed that you are fluent in different languages; English and Deutsch. I encourage you to continue learning, to expand your knowledge of Deutsch language, and to continue communicating with partner universities cooperating with the GUC as well as other universities. You also should communicate with these universities in Germany and benefit your country and ours.

Furthermore, I have noticed that there were delegates from the industrial field who had come from Germany, such as Trumpf and FESTO companies. You should benefit from these relations.”

“In Germany there are universities based on cooperation with other universities. I usually encourage them to go ahead in this path, as it is for the welfare of both universities and the youth in both countries. May all the dreams and wishes come true, as Professor Ashraf Mansour’s dreams and wishes have come true.”

“Dearest students and graduates, I now see that you have reached the end of the path studying at the German University. You are proud and you have the right to be proud of your university. I recommend you to carry on strengthening the relation with your German fellows, especially those who have been to Germany and have established cordial friendships. I hope it continues.

“Graduate students of 2008, I would like to congratulate you on your achievements. May all your dreams come true. You have been highly qualified in the German University and now you are one of the finest qualified students. I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.

Avail yourselves of the opportunity of your outstanding qualification in the German University. Bare the burden of responsibility and may you have a promising gleaming future.”

ties, and followed up the work progress and achievement, starting from the premises construction, lab facilities, and examinations, and ending up with the certificates’ validation granted by these universities and the national recognition of such certificates.”

(Echo 8th Issue – Spring 2008, Page:18)

Up to the present moment, many pioneers have been standing behind the idea of establishing the university, developing its project and completing the execution. Insha’Allah, new contributors will join GUC in the near future.

Prof. Mansour’s vision was to transfer Ulm University to his home country, so that it becomes a distinctive sanctuary for education and research, reaching a high and prestigious level, where the young generation of his country could benefit from learning as he fortunately did in Germany, through a scholarship conferred by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), when he was an Associate Professor in Cairo University.

By establishing the GUC, the founders sought to develop centres for generating, enhancing and entrenching knowledge through GUC graduates. In order to make GUC dream come true, it needed a real scientific base of specialized expertise.

This was not difficult to accomplish, having this unique type of individuals who would surpass the boundaries of traditional way of thinking, to contribute to humanity, to think positively and plan for the future. When you talked to them, they listened, discussed and understood.

Then when they became enthusiastic, they assumed the responsibility to transfer such an enthusiasm into a real vintage, while committed to their goals whatever the difficulties they face. These are GUC pioneers, from the universities of Ulm, Stuttgart, Tübingen, and Mannheim, as well as from various ministries. They are unique figures from Egypt and Germany.

A tribute was paid to a limited number of pioneers last year, and GUC commend on the day of graduation another group. Next year another group will be praised.

As GUC did last year, special attention is paid this year that none of the praised members has a direct authority which would influence the university. GUC, therefore, is thanking all of those who helped, and GUC shall – in the right time - pay tribute to them at a later stage.

Prof. Mansour, GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees words and acknowledgements: 2008 Awards go to

Prof. Dr. Moufid Shehab

Let us praise a person with a distinctive vision, for his respect for work and his remarkable achievements. He did not want to work as a Minister for Education and Scientific Research and Arts in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, but rather set up a timeline to leave his post in a maximum period of two years. Although he was sure that he would not make it to attend the inauguration of the GUC in 2003, he gave us the starting signal in 2000, and has been since providing us with support, ensuring that the promises were fulfilled and the support reached us.

He believed in the idea and its significance. He fostered it and helped realizing it. He is Dr Von Trotha, the former Minister of Education, Scientific Research and Arts. Please let us all welcome him with applause.

Apart from being the former Minister of High Education and Scientific Research in Egypt, he is an Egyptian public figure who is loved by the ordinary citizen for his own person and merits. He valued the GUC project and the difficulties attached to it, at a time where no approvals were issued to establish new universities. He met the founding delegates, including the presidents of Ulm and Stuttgart Universities, the German ambassador, and myself. He has been providing the university with support so that it opened on time. He followed up the construction stages by paying numerous site visits, from the application date on 18 March 2001, until the opening, which was an international ceremony in 2003. He is still offering us his support. He is Dr. Moufid Shehab, the State Minister of Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils.

Dr. Christian Bode

Secretary General of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)

He is a creative person who believes in great ideas. He has an unyielding will and desire to explore. He opened up new horizons for the scientific exchange between Germany and the rest of the world. He attended the preparatory meetings, contributed with his views, ideas and relations to support the idea of establishing the university.

He was one of the few officials who participated in the announcement meeting of establishing the GUC in December 2003.

Since that time, he kept providing the GUC with support, for the exchange of students and researchers. He was so generous by supporting the outstanding students. He assisted and contributed to set up the department of the German Language which is the biggest centre worldwide for teaching German, where over 3500 students are learning at the same time. He supported setting up the materials analytical lab and the language labs. He participated in the University Board of Trustees and came periodically to Egypt despite his busy schedule.

Mr. Karl-Heinz Kammerlohr

Former Head of the Unit of International Affairs

Ministry of Science of Baden-Wuerttemberg A positive man – he knows what is useful and what is not – he values achievement and is always optimistic – he generates hopes and provides solutions. He is the man for the impossible missions, who works away from the limelight and seeks no public appearance. He was always there, as a sincere friend, when you needed him. Isn’t he indeed the real friend?

He was the Permanent Representative for the International Affairs in the Ministry of High Education in the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, and he is the direct partner for the cooperation with the state. He helped us achieving many difficult missions, such as the exchange of the teaching staff and students, equipping the laboratories of material sciences, and offered us other valued assistance.

Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grossmann

GUC Founding Dean, Faculty of Media Engineering & Technology

A dear friend, I know him for 20 years. He was one of the first contributors who participated in developing the study programmes and setting up the list of equipment for the university. He had never lost interest to drive forward the GUC progress, whether by providing support or by allowing the university students – here in Cairo - to access the electronic libraries in the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg.

He is the founding dean of Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology: A zealous person who tries to advance the scientific research. He came regularly, met with the students, and sent his assistants to set up the labs. He was an examiner of the master students, selected the teaching staff, supervised the masters and PhDs, received our sons and daughters in Ulm and devoted all his efforts to support the university.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Paul J. Kuehn

GUC Founding Dean, Faculty of Information Engineering & Technology

An honest and sincere person – he yearns for excellence and perseveres to attain it – He cherished the university students, tried to help them, and designed timetables and topics for the scientific researches for our GUC students in Stuttgart. He is the founding dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.

Despite his enormous responsibilities, he developed the study programmes, personally interviewed and selected the teaching staff, and was a main actor in setting up the post graduates studies programmes. He is the driving engine for the students exchange between Faculty of Engineering and Stuttgart University. He personally teaches some rare specialized subjects and conducted the scientific supervision on the masters and PhDs. He is a token of quality and an exemplary role model.

Prof. Dr. Erberhard Roos

GUC Founding Dean, Faculty Engineering & Materials Science

He is like a gentle breeze, yet he has a will of iron that he tests. He is the founding dean of Faculty of Engineering and Materials Science. He is also the head of the largest worldwide analysis institute in Stuttgart University.

He developed the study programmes with his assistants, participated in selecting the teaching staff, set up lists of equipment and specifications, negotiated with companies, solicited fundraising, and tested the equipment before shipping them from their factories. Not only he was there, but he also invited professors and experts from all over Germany and the world, generating an academic spirit that nobody could provide but someone like him and in his position.

Prof. Dr. Stefan Laufer

GUC Founding Dean, Pharmacy

An esteemed scholar - the dean of the oldest faculty of Pharmacy in Germany. He knows the meaning of scientific research, as well as the importance of equipment and facilities for the pharmaceutical industry. He is acquainted with the universities as a professor, and with the industry as a scientist.

He offered us his expertise, gave us access to relationships, and devoted time and effort with the aim to found the faculty of pharmacy and develop its universal study programmes. With perseverance and endeavours, he worked with us, for you, students of Faculty of Pharmacy. He set up lists of equipment and sought help from all of the experts, so that you become what you are today. He is a man who delivers his promise and ascertains that it is accurately carried out.

Prof. Dr. Helmut Seliger

GUC Founding Dean, Biotechnology

I know him for 20 years. He is a pioneer in biotechnology. With love and dedication, he set up the biotechnology study programmes and conducted workshops. He is always friendly, loving and helpful to everyone. He is never tired of achieving the objectives and always exerts laborious efforts to deliver all what is useful to our sons and daughters. He received our students in Germany and selected the teaching staff. He believes in the future and the importance of the scientific cooperation.

Prof. Dr. Erich Zahn

GUC Founding Dean, Faculty of Management Technology

A quiet, achieving, understanding and ever-positive person. He is the founding dean of Faculty of Business Administration Technology.

He developed the study programmes, took part in teaching, delegated experts to train our students on multiple activities and various skills, supervised masters and PhDs to form the scientific graduates in the GUC, selected the teaching staff and strongly supported the foundation of MBA program.

He supervised the first PhD conferred by Stuttgart University upon members of staff at the GUC. He is the man who made, out of Faculty of Business Administration Technology, the first university in the whole region indeed. He devoted time and efforts, and still is. He worked arduously and sincerely.

Special Thanks to:

GUC expresses special thanks to:

• Ulm University Presided by Dr. Karl Joachim Ebeling and its Former President Dr. Hans Wolff;

• Stuttgart University presided by Dr. Wolfram Ressel and its Former President Dr. Dieter Fritsch;

• Tübingen University;

• Mannheim University;

• Leipzig Arts Academy, represented by Prof. Rayan.

Sincere Thanks to the following Ministries and Authorities for their cooperation:

• Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research headed by Dr. Hany Helal, and the former Ministers Dr. Mufid Shehab and Dr. Amr Ezzat Salama;

• The Private Universities Council headed by Dr. Hatem Elbolok, and the Former Presidents Dr. Abdelhay Ebeid, Dr. Abdallah Barakat & Dr. Fouad Elnawawy;

• Ministry for Science, Research and the Art in the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, headed by Dr. Peter Frankenberg, the Former Minister Mr. Klaus Von Trotha and the Former State Minister, Mr. Wolfgang Fröhlich;

• Ministry of Federal Education headed by Mrs. Annette Schavan, and the Former Minister Mrs. Edelgard Bulmahn, Mr. Ulrich Wahl, Mr. Manfred Diehl, Dr. Frieder Meyer-Krahmer and Mr. Klaus Luther

• The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), The Secretary-General Dr. Christian Bode, the Former Directors of the Cairo Office, Dr. Heinz-L. Nastansky, Dr. Matthias Petzold Betsold and Mr. Alexander Haridi

• The German Foreign Ministry and the German Embassy in Cairo headed by the Present Ambassador, H.E. Bernd Erbel, the Former Ambassadors Mr. Baron Paul Von Maltzahn and Mr. Marten Kobler

• The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Mr. Matthias Weiter

• CIM and Mr. Oliver Auge, Mrs. Annette Riccius and Mrs. Barbara Hatour

• Goethe Institute and the Director Mrs. Jutta Limbach and the Former Director of the Egyptian Branch, Mr. Johannes Ebert

• The German Society for Academic Research and the Secretary-General Mr. Gruenwald and Mr. Jost-Gert Glombitza

• The Arab German Chamber of Commerce and Industry and its Former Director Dr. Peter Goepfrich

• Trumpf Company and its Director Prof. Dr. Eng. E.h. Berthold Leibinger

• Deckel Maho Gildemeister Company and its Directors Dr. Thorsten Schmidt and Dr. Thomas Bone

• Walter Company and its Director

• Festo Company and its Director Eng. Theodor Niehaus

Thanks is extended to as well:

• The Egyptian and German Ministries of Industry and Trade and Ministry of Electricity.

• The Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Dr. Tarek Kamel and Dr. Amr Badawy

• Deutsche Welle & its Director General Dr. Erik Bettermann

• The Radio and Television Union chaired by Mr Ahmad Anees

• Fraunhofer Institute presided by Prof. Dr. Eng. Heinz Gerhaezer

• The Foreign Correspondents Society presided by Mr. Volkhard Windfur

• Also thank you for all of the media

Special Thanks & Deep Appreciation are extended to supporters of GUC mission:

• Excellency President Muhammad Hosny Mubarak andhis Excellency the President of the German Federal Republic, Mr. Horst Kohler

• Her Excellency First Lady Suzan Mubarak

• The former and present Minister Presidents of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg

• Dr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister

• Dr. Annette Schavan, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, for forming a board sponsoring the GUC

We thank them all for the exceptional endorsement and their continuous interest in supporting the progression of the GUC.

Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mansour

GUC Prime Founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees

“I have very confusing feelings tonight! I feel as if my own children grew, they are getting married and now they are leaving the house. I am worried, yet very eager to see where they will be and what they will achieve.

I am preparing for an appointment with the first GUC graduates - class of 2007 - to know what they are doing, listen to them, listen to their problems and understand what they are thinking of and even just see them because I already miss them.

“I have very confusing feelings tonight!...”

The first class were only 160 or 170, tonight we are talking about almost 700, so I am very proud. I should also state, that this group is full of pioneers because they started the hope at this university and now they are graduating… they are strong, targeted and eager to learn and that means that nothing can stop them to reach the sky, there is no limit for their ambitions.

My message today to ‘08 Grads: Work, Be Honest, Compete and don’t give up! Never be disappointed. Success is the outcome of several trials; it will never come from the first time. You are equipped with all necessary tools that can help you achieve your goals.”

Prof. Dr. Dieter Fritsch

Former President, University of Stuttgart

“It was a great graduation ceremony. I feel very proud for GUC and for the graduates. They have got very good education, they are well prepared for their career and shouldn’t have any fears, they can solve any problem - I am absolutely sure. Congratulations…Alf Mabrouk!”

Prof. Dr. Erich Zahn,

University of Stuttgart

GUC Founding Dean

Faculty of Management Technology

“It’s quite an experience tonight and I liked it very much. I would like to tell the graduates: Be proud to be GUCians, work hard and you will have a great career.”

Prof. Dr. Helmut Seliger

GUC Founding Dean – Faculty of Biotechnology

“Follow your Dreams!!!”

Prof. Dr. Erbelrad Ross

GUC Founding Dean

Faculty of Engineering & Material Science

“It was a very nice event and I was very impressed about the huge number of graduates today. The atmosphere was very positive and I am confident that the GUC has a very good education. Graduates will have a good chance in the future in the industry, as well as the scientific field.

I ask the graduates to do the same good job as they did at GUC to be successful also in the industry and in the scientific filed”

Prof. Klaus Von Trotha

Former Minister of Science, Research and Arts in Baden-Wuerttemberg

“It was an excellent ceremony, very impressive for the foreign guests. I didn’t see this before in Germany, we don’t do it. But I think it’s an excellent idea. Everybody was participating and happy, proud parents, proud graduates. Very, very, very impressive!

My message for the graduates tonight: I hope that they all get the jobs they want, they are now well educated. The challenge is now to find a profession that equals the quality of education that they have. They have all the things you need for a good profession. So they have good chances to pursue promising careers in Egypt.”

Prof. Dr. Hans Peter Grossman

GUC Founding Dean

Faculty of Media Engineering & Technology

“First of all, I think we aren’t used to that - in Germany you won’t find such a grand ceremony. So it was a surprise for me! What I like very much is that the students are so enthusiastic and you can see how much they are happy. As for me I got my PHD certificate by mail, so that’s the difference!

By the way, I had in my institute in ULM a lot of GUC Bachelor Thesis students and I was very happy with their education. They did very well and they are totally competitive and used to intercultural contacts. These students are ambassadors! I wish all of them to find a good place to work and benefit their country nationally and internationally.

My message to the students: “Take any challenge you will get because I feel you can make it”.”

“Be proud to be GUCian, work hard and you will have a great career.”

The DMC team was glad to invite German eminent guests who visited Egypt in October 2008 to attend the GUC Grand Graduation Ceremony (2nd Graduating Class), to visit the DMC Studios and know more about how the DMC functions.
After having a campus tour and visiting the labs, lecture halls, sports area, industrial park and material testing lab, the guests were interviewed in the GUC TV Studio.

Prof. Klaus Von Trotha

Former Minister of Science,

Research and Arts in Baden-Wuerttemberg

You have blessed the GUC and gave it your full support although you knew you will not be able to attend the inauguration of the GUC.

Why were you motivated to support GUC project?

First of all, I must say that my support was only for some years, because I met Prof. Mansour in my last year in government, I thought it was an excellent idea and I wanted to support it.

I came back to Egypt and together with Prof. Mansour we went to the Minister and did what we could do from the German side.

And now I am very impressed with what happened in the last 8 years. I wish the university good luck for the development; it is really excellent what you have done.

What are the major differences you found during your first visit in the first German Open Days 2004 and now in October 2008?

During my first visit, the location was sand and desert. Now you can see very impressive buildings and I thought it is a great chance for Germany to have a university in Cairo which teaches German. That is not usual allover the world.

It was a great idea and it is a beginning, and I am so happy that the idea is realized in a wonderful way.

Mr. Karl-Heinz Kammerlohr

Former Head of the Unit of International Affairs

Ministry of Science of Baden-Wuerttemberg

After the campus tour in the GUC, what is your impression about the GUC?

The most impressive thing is the very fast development of the GUC during the last 8 years. First we came here in the year 2000 and Prof. Mansour presented his idea to build up a private German university in Cairo.

In the year 2002, we set the foundation stone here on this premises. Then in 2003, the university opened and within 3 years which was the realization of the idea and that was a very short time and this was the most impressive fact I realized.

Then I came here every year to the GUC and I am very impressed with the fast progress, one building after the other, more and more students came to the GUC and more professors teaching.

It is really a pleasure to accompany this idea allover the past 8 years.

So, did what you see at GUC meet your expectations?

I am really overwhelmed. Oh yes! My expectations were not only met, but the reality exceeded my expectations. I wouldn’t have thought 8 years ago, that the success would be as it is today. I would like to congratulate Prof. Mansour and his team for the realization of this great project.

Prof. Mansour often highlighted your role in the GUC establishment and described what you did as “Magical”.

Tell us more about your role and your magic touches!

My role was in the first line to convince our state authorities and our politicians in Germany and in Baden-Wuerttemberg to accompany and to foster this project up to the stage we have now realized.

Not only was the financial support needed, but also the political support was very important to bring forward this project. So my task was in the first line a political one.

The commencement of the 2nd GUC class is taking place, what would you like to say to the GUC students and especially Prof. Mansour on this occasion?

First, I would like to tell them step forward, one step after the other, not too fast but steadily. Always put on eye on the solid progress of this university. I wish everybody involved in this project all the success. And personally I hope to be again in Cairo the next year.

Prof. Monika Haeussler-Sczepan

Vice President of the University of Applied Science Mittweida

What did you like the most in the GUC during your campus tour?

I would like to have such a wonderful university in my town because it is a modern campus and it is really the realization of a big vision of education.

I think it is not only a German and Egyptian university, but it is an international campus.

We know that there is always mutual cooperation between Mittweida University and the GUC. I myself, and the DMC team, had a chance to attend a summer course in Mittweida University in the field of Mass Communication.

How do you see this cooperation between the two universities?

I am lucky that you were in Mittweida University and benefited from the course. I am very interested to have cooperation in laser technology and I have some contacts for research in this field.

With the commencement of the 2nd GUC class, what would you like to say to the GUC students and Prof. Mansour on this special occasion?

I wish you all the good and I hope that you go further with your great vision “The GUC”.