THE NEXT SOCIETY #NOWANDLIVE

Interviews with Ms. Hend Ismail and Ms. Randa Harb on Education in Egypt & Lebanon: Moving towards E-Learning

In line with the objective to share relevant experiences and promote best practices in the EU-Med innovative sectors, FEMISE conducted a series of interviews with key players from the region, including policy makers, private sector, civil society, academia and entrepreneurs, in the context of the NEXT SOCIETY project with the support of ANIMA and the financial support of the European Union. The main objective of this series of interviews is to bring forward the experience of key players in the region on how to promote innovation within key sectors and to highlight issues related to the challenges these sectors are facing, the types of policy support that are needed and some of the national initiatives that have been taking place.

This series is tackling the health tech, energy, green tech, education and e-commerce sectors and is bringing you experts from across the region including: Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon.

These two interviews in “THE NEXT SOCIETY: NOW AND LIVE!” series are with Ms. Hend Ismail, EduTech & Sustainability Consultant in Egypt, where she shares her knowledge and experiences of best practices in the Education sector at the National and Policy levels and Ms. Randa Harb, Founder of Green Robot Tech in Lebanon, to showcase the role of entrepreneurship in promoting e-education transition.

Context

As one of the greatest revolutions in the education sector, e-learning has reformed the learning process by offering numerous advantages such as cost-effectiveness, flexibility and accessibility, creating as such a more inclusive society. Although the Covid-19 crisis has accelerated the advent of this technological innovation and optimizing digital technology for superior academic performance, it has revealed the vulnerability of the education system in the South Med countries and deficiencies in supply and demand for e-learning. In fact, the sector is still behind with regard to accomplishing its potentials and requires further advancement to match the global trends. Significant institutional, financial, infrastructural, culture and commercialization challenges are impeding the expansion and growth of the e-learning industry.

However, despite these obstacles restraining the transformation and improvement of education systems through ICT, South Med countries such as Egypt and Lebanon have recently started to energetically advance national initiatives to implement action plans and reform strategies to stimulate e-learning by improving technology infrastructure, computers equipment and internet accessibility in schools and households. This creates potential opportunities for young entrepreneurs that are seeking to establish their start-ups in the field of digital education to embrace innovation and change by providing creative solutions in response to the e-education needs in their communities.

In these interviews, Ms. Hend Ismail is first answering our questions about the transformation of the education sector in Egypt. Then, Ms. Randa Harb is telling us more about how her start-up “Green Robot Tech” is renewing the Education sector in Lebanon while bringing new solutions:

1. What are the initiatives that are taken by the Egyptian Government to promote Education? What the main challenges that are facing this sector in the region and what are your recommendations?
2. What motivated you establish your start-up “Green Robot Tech” and what are the objectives and the innovative solutions you are implementing as a best practice? How THE NEXT SOCIETY was helpful and what recommendations you have for young entrepreneurs that are seeking to establish their start-ups in the field of digital education?

To watch the whole #NOWANDLIVE interview, click here

About the Experts

Ms Hend Ismail

Holder of a Master’s degree in Sustainable Development-Green Technology from the American University in Cairo, Ms. Hend Ismail is an EduTech & Sustainability Consultant working in Egypt. She has experienced in areas of K12, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Water Food and Energy Nexus (WEF), digital transformation, youth employment, women’s economic empowerment, and empowering marginalized communities & people in distress.

Ms. Randa Harb

Formerly a Science teacher, Randa Harb found that motivating students while teaching them scientific concepts was a great challenge. From there, she moved to serve a s an Educational Consultant in one of the region’s leading robotics centers for five years. While she could help children with working on STEM-related projects, Randa still felt that the creative, personal touch was missing, for kids could never customize the products and keep them; that was the trigger for her to decide on launching her own business, Green Robot Tech, in Lebanon which aims at helping teachers, parents, and students to be part of an easy, fun, and personal educational journey.

THE NEXT SOCIETY #NOWANDLIVE are organised by FEMISE and ANIMA with the financial support of the European Union.