A new training initiative focused on developing skills in emerging tech fields, and which targets young Egyptians, is set to start taking applications from next month.

That’s the word from Egypt’s minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr Amr Talaat, who yesterday briefed the country’s president, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and prime minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly.

A statement from the Egyptian Presidency says that the initiative, called Digilians, is “intended to serve as a cornerstone in the digital transformation process and enhance digital exports as part of the strategy for national economic development.”

Covering high-demand fields – including Artificial Intelligence, programming, cybersecurity, digital design, and digital arts – the skills initiative aims to qualify and train 5 000 students per year.

Primarily targeting young people, Digilians however is open to all age groups, regardless of academic or professional background, from across Egypt.

The qualifications available through the initiative vary from the possibility to obtain a master's degree from one of several leading international universities, to other training tracks, which range in duration from four months to two years.

The initiative will also offer practical training, run in partnership with major local and international companies operating in Egypt.

Dr. Amr Talaat, minister of Communications and Information Technology (left), briefs Egypt’s prime minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly.

Also present at yesterday’s meeting was director of the Military Academy, Lieutenant-General Ashraf Zahir. The Digilians initiative will be housed in the buildings of the War College in Heliopolis, which was formerly used by the Military Academy.

The cost to create study spaces and accommodation is budgeted at approximately three billion Egyptian pounds ($59m). The ongoing cost of training courses is expected to be one billion Egyptian pounds ($19.7m), per year, the statement reveals.

Applications are set to open after the Eid Al-Fitr holiday, which finishes 31 March.

In related news, Talaat and Madbouly met on Sunday, to discuss other efforts being made by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to progress digital transformation of government services, under the ‘Digital Egypt’ platform.

Among the topics discussed was the fact that Egypt had received an award from Ookla, presented at the recent Mobile World Congress, for having the fastest fixed internet in Africa in 2024.

A progress report was also given by Talaat, on the ongoing work taking place to roll out the Unified Government Services Card, which was launched in February.

The card, which forms part of the National Digital Strategy, is designed to simplify access to government services and drive digital transformation.

It is integrated with the Universal Health Insurance System and will, in time, enable disbursements for social grants and pensions, as well as other welfare payments.

In February, it was revealed by Ghada Mostafa Labib, deputy minister for Institutional Development at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, that the card was to be rolled out nationwide following a successful pilot implementation in Port Said Governorate, covering around 200 000 citizens.