The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat and the Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy have honored students from Egypt University of Informatics (EUI) who won gold medals in world sports championships. Among the students was Olympic champion Ahmed Elgendy, a student at the Faculty of Business Informatics who not only secured a gold medal at Paris 2024 Olympics but also set a world record of 1,555 points.
The students were honored during the ceremony held at EUI campus in Knowledge City, the New Administrative Capital, to celebrate the university’s Olympic champions. The event was attended by the Vice ICT Minister for Institutional Development Ghada Labib, the Vice ICT Minister for Technological and Applied Research Planning Bakar El-Bayoumi, EUI President Reem Bahgat, the Director of the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) Ahmed Khattab, officials from the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), members of EUI Board of Trustees, the Vice President of the Egyptian Modern Pentathlon Federation (EMPF) Hazem Eldamhogy, and Vice President of the Egyptian University Sport Federation (EUSF) Moustafa Bayoumi.
During the ceremony, Talaat and Sobhy honored several EUI student-athletes: Mohamed Elgendy, who won the gold medal at the UIPM 2024 Pentathlon World Cup in Hungary; Zeina Amer, who claimed two gold medals at the 2024 FISU World University Championships Modern Pentathlon in Lithuania; and Youssef Nagy, a brilliant handball goalkeeper who secured gold medals with his team at the 2024 CAHB African Men’s Youth Handball Championship in Tunisia, whose award was received by his father on his behalf.
The ceremony also recognized Ahmed and Mohamed Elgendy’s parents, Osama Elgendy and Mona Shafik, in appreciation of their invaluable support and encouragement. Their unwavering dedication has profoundly influenced their children’s athletic journeys, contributing to their remarkable achievements in Egyptian sports. Furthermore, Eldamhogy and the athletic staff were honored.
In his remarks, the ICT Minister emphasized that success is not a matter of chance; it requires a huge effort within a comprehensive system that follows a scientific approach prioritizing perseverance, planning, hard work, unwavering determination, willpower, and collaborative action. He underlined that the Olympic champion Ahmed Elgendy exemplifies an inspiring role model demonstrating that success is not mere coincidence but rather the culmination of various essential factors. These factors encompass relentless dedication, knowledge, planning, organization, time management, prioritization skills, teamwork, social intelligence, and the capacity to choose a supportive team.
Talaat also commended the remarkable achievements of EUI student-athletes, who were honored during the celebration. He noted that EUI is committed to providing its outstanding student-athletes with a comprehensive system that enables them to balance their academic pursuits while excelling in their athletic performance. He underscored that MCIT and EUI will unwaveringly provide necessary support and assistance to help and empower EUI student-athletes in achieving greater sports milestones.
For his part, the Minister of Youth thanked the ICT Minister for his dedicated efforts in supporting sports and his pivotal role in advancing ICT education. He pointed to his Ministry’s commitment to implementing President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s directives focusing on collaboration with various universities and educational institutions to secure additional scholarships for Egyptian student-athletes, including Ahmed Elgendy, the gold medalist from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Sobhy highlighted the steadfast backing from political leadership for the sports sector across all aspects. He underlined the commitment to analyzing timelines, conducting technical studies, and addressing the specific needs of athletes. This comprehensive approach aims to forge robust connections between the government and athletes, facilitating the provision of essential resources to elevate sports in Egypt and attain international sporting success.
The Minister of Youth emphasized the ongoing commitment of the Egyptian government to support sports and athletes, promoting the vital role that Egyptian athletes play in securing podium finishes and raising Egypt’s flag in all international events.
During the ceremony, Bahgat expressed her gratitude to EUI student-athletes as well as the supporting entities whose diverse contributions played a significant role in the global achievements of EUI champions.
In her speech, EUI President mentioned that the board strongly believe in the abilities of EUI students across all fields, including sports. She highlighted how the university’s students have showcased their exceptional talents and capabilities on the global stage, overcoming every obstacle through strong determination, thus becoming an inspiring model for all youth.
EUI President affirmed that the impressive achievement attained by Ahmed Elgendy and his peers represents a meaningful contribution to the cultural and developmental progress of the new republic. The exceptional victory secured at the Paris 2024 Olympics will remain etched in the hearts and minds of Egyptian society, earning profound appreciation. This triumph embodies a compelling success story characterized by unwavering determination and fueled by a steadfast commitment to excellence.
Bahgat pointed out that the Board of Trustees has approved the EUI initiative to offer incentives aimed at supporting student-athletes in maintaining their athletic excellence, thus ensuring that Egypt’s flag is raised on global podiums.
Elgendy expressed his happiness to be honored by the Ministers. He thanked them for the recognition and praised EUI role in helping him balance academia and athletic commitments, especially since modern pentathlon is a demanding sport requiring up to ten hours of training each day. Elgendy also expressed his gratitude to the coaching and medical staff, his professors, and colleagues for their steadfast support throughout his journey. Moreover, he expressed his determination to secure greater championships in the future.
It is worth mentioning that EUI stands as one of the pioneering specialized universities in the Middle East and Africa, particularly in ICT and related sciences. Established by MCIT in collaboration with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, EUI aims to emerge as a leading academic institution offering specialized educational programs tailored to fulfill the evolving demands of the labor market in cutting-edge ICT fields.
The university comprises four faculties: Computing and Information Sciences, Engineering, Business Informatics, and Digital Arts and Design. It offers a total of 16 specialized educational programs designed to address the labor market’s needs in the latest ICT domains such as AI, data science, data engineering, electronics and communications engineering, business analytics, digital marketing, animation, UX, and electronic game design.
