Prof. Dr. Ahmed Akkawy, President of South Valley University, announced the creation of the “Research Chairs” project under the slogan “Scientific Research at South Valley University is directed at serving the community,” explaining that the Scientific Research Chair is an academic unit established at the university with the aim of creating a scientific research environment to develop a specialized scientific field through project-oriented funding by an individual, group or institution that provides a cash or in-kind grant for the establishment of the scientific chair bearing the name of the financier.
The university president emphasized that the research chair is a rank assigned to distinguished scientists and researchers whose research is full of high quality and quantitative contributions to a particular discipline. Research chair programs also work to create a culture of innovation and creativity, adapt scientific research to serve development and the economy, and strengthen ways of cooperation between the university’s competencies, including researchers, administrators, students, and various community institutions by preparing a regulation for the mechanism of action of research chairs.
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Akkawy added that among the issues that the research chairs will focus on are intellectual security, water, future challenges, digitization, golden triangle, revenge in Upper Egypt, Egyptian identity and preservation of heritage. He also stressed the importance of these research chairs in supporting sustainable development and local industries, noting that the reference universities for this project are the University of Waterloo, Concordia University, Victoria University, and the University of Saskatchewan.