The research institutes associated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research have witnessed a great leap of development in various fields, on top of which is the Electronics Research Center, which was awarded the best website among the research institutes by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

"Echo of the Country" interviewed Dr. Sherine Abdel Qader, Acting Director of the Electronics Research Institute, who explained the institute's plan for digital transformation and the extent of the state's support for it.

Tell us about the institute and its fields of work...

The institute is an institute established by a presidential decree in 1989. It is one of the research institutes affiliated to the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. It specializes in research and industry of electronics and communications and information technology. It includes 7 research departments, namely “Computers and Systems Department, Informatics Research Department, High Energy Department, and Photovoltaic Department.” Department of Ribbon Circuit, Department of Microwave Engineering, and Department of Microelectronics.

Does it depend within the institute on the departments mentioned that there are other fields and specializations that fall under them?

There are many research laboratories, and there are also specialized laboratories and central laboratories in the institute, for example, the cloud computing laboratory, the nanotechnology applications laboratory, the specific competence laboratory, the electronic waste laboratory, and the modeling laboratory, where there are many specialized laboratories serving researchers within the institute and various researchers in the laboratory, research centers and universities.

We can also consider it serving the industry and private companies, and the institute has a scientific city that has been established, which is the scientific city for research and the electronics technology industry, which will include start-up companies, technology incubators and all entrepreneurs in the institute’s field of specialization, and serious steps are being taken to establish a clean room for the industry electronic chips.

How is research within the institute and industry linked?

The institute works in the field of basic and applied research and works on various applied projects with all government and private agencies and actually serves the industry, but the scientific city is a bridge to market all research innovations and achieves an economic return and the research outputs continue, whether they are outputs specific to the institute or outputs specific to young researchers and entrepreneurs, as it is the bridge that will connect The Institute and the youth to cooperate with the industry and invest these ideas and research outputs, as they return a research return on the Institute, the youth, and the researchers in general.

How are researchers supported within the institute?

Researchers are generally supported. The institute supports researchers in international publishing, helps them with publishing costs, and helps with research costs and prototypes. All of this is supported by the Electronics Research Institute, while the youth are external. We provide them with cadres to help them in the marketing process, and it is a place where they incubate for more than two years and open He has the door of our existing laboratories so that he is able to work on measurements of his research outputs, and thus young researchers from abroad are embraced so that they can stand on their feet and be able to compete in the commercial market.

Is there cooperation between the institute and other bodies?

The past period focused on cooperation agreements with all parties working in the same field, for example, the Arab Organization for Industrialization. What we are working with is the largest arm of this field. There is also sincere cooperation with the Military Production Authority and cooperation with research institutes and centers, the Petroleum Research Institute and Remote Sensing. Cooperation is not just a written protocol but cooperation on the ground, and there is cooperation with other parties such as the State of Korea and the Institute of Development In South Korea, to develop a vision for the scientific city as well as to cooperate with one of the organizations in the environment in the field of e-waste.

We are currently holding a protocol of cooperation with the Ministry of Communications and a commercial center to work on the file related to electronic waste. In addition, there is cooperation in private companies in the field of textile products, companies in the lighting sector, a consultancy for us, and an accreditation for their outputs.

Is there cooperation with universities?

Our last cooperation protocol was with the University of Alexandria, as it is the first university to establish technology incubators. We have technology incubators and startup companies, but they are supported by the Research Academy. There is also a protocol that will be signed with the British University and students will be exchanged during them, as there are students who graduate projects that students carry out at the Institute.

What about cooperation with parties outside Egypt?

There has also been cooperation with universities outside Egypt, as the last training is from Yemen, and they were trained in laboratories and produced outputs for graduation projects in addition to Jordan. Therefore, we cooperate with internal and external universities. There is also cooperation with foreign countries, in addition to the presence of students completing their master’s and doctoral studies abroad. through these relationships.

What about the institute's participation in the digital transformation plan?

The researchers who used to work at the institute are currently leaders and advisors to ministries in the field of digital transformation. The institute has started digital transformation from a good period of time, as it has 16 departments, and the workload in each department was considered on paper, and the automation of departments was started. There is an integration between each department so that we reach Within 3 years, a complete reduction in paperwork.

Also, the sections that were explained at the beginning include the specializations of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where they come to us in various disciplines and some courses are free for summer training and some are with a financial return, in addition to starting with the child through the Children’s University program with the support of the Academy of Scientific Research.

Tell us about the interest in the political leadership of the institute?

We are in a golden age when scientific research in Egypt is currently witnessing interest from the political authorities, and there is an interest from the Minister personally in the Electronics Research Institute. Not a month passes by the Minister of Higher Education without being present at the Institute for students to receive all reports related to the Institute’s activities.

And the matter does not stop with that, for the mere new legislation that has emerged is a great interest from the political leadership and from the minister in order for the science and innovation incentives law to appear, which facilitates research centers to establish companies and incubate researchers from inside and outside. general .

The issuance and support of legislation from the Ministry is very important, and the follow-up and solution to all the challenges that confront us is happening on a permanent basis, as they are facilities on the ground and not just reports from the political leadership, and the Ministry is doing its role to the fullest and the last award that the Ministry turns to as the best site, this is an incentive from the Ministry for the centers. Research, and it shows interest within our ability to digital transformation.