The Center for Advancement of
Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering Sciences
Faculty of Engineering – Cairo University (CAPSCU)
Brief History
CAPSCU was established in the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University in 1974 in cooperation with UNIDO and UNESCO organizations of the United Nations. Since 1984, CAPSCU has been operating as a self-financed independent business unit within the overall scope of Cairo University strategy to render its services toward development of society and environment.
CAPSCU Main Objectives
· Conducting applied research programs in cooperation with national industry in order to assist in its technological development. This has been achieved through joint research with industry toward providing solutions to specific technical problems and supervision of implementation, project assessment, etc.
· Offering continuous education and training packages to engineers and technicians in up-to-date technological and management fields as well as conducting on-the-job training programs in areas involving new technologies.
· Performing material and product testing in accordance with international standards and quality control regulations and issuing certified test results.
· Supporting post-graduate studies and research activities taking place in the Faculty of Engineering (FECU), especially those related to industrial applications. CAPSCU provides facilities and equipment to laboratories as well as encouraging faculty staff and postgraduate students to publish the results of their research in reputable publications.
Contracting with CAPSCU
CAPSCU operates as an independent business unit within the Faculty of Engineering. Work orders or official contracts are made between CAPSCU and its clients to determine the project objectives, project principal investigator and team members, duration of the project, project budget and terms of payment etc. CAPSCU takes care of all tax deductions required by current laws of the Egyptian government. CAPSCU overheads 20 % by internal regulations and these are used to run CAPSCU administrative duties and also to support post-graduate and research activities in the various departments of the Faculty of Engineering.
CAPSCU Pool of Consultants
The center provides engineering consultation, technical services, research and development work and continuous engineering education to national and international industrial establishments and governmental organizations. CAPSCU offers consultation on contractual and work order basis in all engineering disciplines. CAPSCU main pool of consultants is the staff of the Faculty of Engineering as well as staff of other faculties at Cairo University and leading industrial experts.
Cairo University was established in 1908 and has successfully been undertaking its mission of delivering quality education, research and cultural duties over the years. Currently, Cairo University includes 23 Faculties and Institutes serving about 160,000 students with about 5,000 faculty members, 2,400 teaching and research assistants, and 12,000 administrative staff. For more details see www.cu.edu.eg
The Faculty of Engineering was established in 1816 and became part of Cairo University in 1935 and has grown since then to include at present the following fourteen scientific departments; Engineering Mathematics and Physics, Architectural Engineering, Structural Engineering, Public Works, Irrigation and Hydraulics, Mechanical Power Engineering, Mechanical Design and Production, Aeronautics and Space Engineering, Electronics and Communications Engineering, Electrical Power and Machines, Chemical Engineering, Mining, Petroleum and Metallurgical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Systems, and Computer Engineering. The number of faculty members approaches 800 and about 300 assistants. The number of under-graduate students is about 12,500. Master and Doctorate degrees awarded approach 250 per year. For more details visit the Internet site: www.eng.cu.edu.eg
CAPSCU conducts its activities and its commitments by the faculty members together with distinguished industrial experts. The expertise of the faculty professors is supported by the laboratories, computational facilities, Internet services, libraries to help promote technical studies, R & D work, industrial research, continuous education in engineering sciences, on-the-job training to practicing engineers, feasibility studies, technical and financial assessment of industrial projects, etc. Figure (1) shows income distribution for projects conducted by CAPSCU during the year 1992/2002 by staff affiliated to the different departments of FECU.
CAPSCU Organization Chart
Figure (2) shows the organizational structure of CAPSCU and how projects are managed. The work at CAPSCU is project-based. This type of business administration has proved to be quite successful for the type of services provided by CAPSCU.
Growth of CAPSCU Activities
During the past few years, CAPSCU activities have focused on the following three areas:
· Technical services to industrial and governmental organizations
· Continuous engineering education and training
· Support of post-graduate studies and research activities
CAPSCU has cooperated with many establishments since its inception in 1974. These include ministries, government authorities, public sector companies, private sector companies, and banks. About 600 projects have been successfully completed since 1980. About half of these projects were conducted for public sector companies, a quarter for government organizations and a quarter for national banks and private sector companies. During recent years (1995-2002), the percentage of clients from private sector has notably increased.
This is attributed to the privatization policy adopted by the Egyptian government. Figures 3-4 illustrates the growth of the number of projects conducted by CAPSCU over the period 1992–2002 and shows the classification of CAPSCU clients during the same period. Figure 5 illustrates the growth of CAPSCU yearly income during the period 1990–2002, which clearly shows that the average yearly income in the last few years becomes nearly ten folds that of its value in 1990.
A recent project has been contracted with the Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality Control, Ministry of Industry and Technological Development MITD, Egypt. The project objectives aim at developing Egyptian standards in the fields of telecommunication technology and equipment, information technology, and medical equipment.
One notable recent activity addresses upgrading of capabilities of underprivileged, fresh CU graduates in order to increase their chances of winning grants for postgraduate studies. A major project entitled "Pathways to Higher Education" is being implemented at present by CAPSCU in partnership with a number of NGO's: the Future Generation Foundation (FGF), The National Council for Women (NCW), Faculties of Humanities and Social Sciences at CU. The program is funded by Ford Foundation of the United States. For more details see www.Pathways-Egypt.com
Fig.4 Growth of training activities at CAPSCU during the period 1990-2002
Fig.5 Growth of CAPSCU Revenue during the period 1990-2002
Representative List of CAPSCU Clients
The following establishments are samples of the most recent clients of CAPSCU:
· Cabinet of Ministers, Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency
· Ministry of Electricity and Energy
· Ministry of Tourism
· Ministry of Industry and Technological Development - MITD
· Egyptian Organization for Standardization and Quality Control - EOS
· New Kaser El-Aini Educational Hospital, Cairo University
· Executive Authority for Industrial and Mining Complexes
· The Aluminum Company of Egypt, EgyptAlum
· Egyptian Iron and Steel Co.
· Alexandria National Iron and Steel Co.
· GMC Company for Engineering & Feeding Industries
· Delta Rice Company
· Egyptian Sugar and Integrated Industries Co.
· El-Nasr Company for Castings
· The National Research Center
· El-Ma’asara Co. for Engineering Industries
· The Arab Contractors Co.
· The National Bank of Egypt
· El-Nasr Company for Automotive, NASCO
· Shoubra Factory for Engineering Industries
· Egyptian Electricity Authority
· Electricity Departments in Upper Egypt, Suez Canal Zone, Alexandria
· The Executive Authority for Development of Northern Sinai
· The Egyptian Salts & Minerals Company, Fayoum “EMISAL”
· Al-Ezz Steel Rebars Company, Sadat City
· Suez Canal Co. for Educational Services
· Upgrading of Secondary Technical Schools Program – Ministry of Education
· Belayim Petroleum Company, Petrobel
· General Petroleum Company, Petrogen
· Badr Petroleum Company, Bapetco
· Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company (GUPCO)
· PetroJet Company
· Petroleum Pipelines Company, Mostorod
· Venus International, Free zone Loading and Unloading, Alexandria
For Further Information, Please Contact:
Tel. (202) 5716620, (202) 5703620
Fax. (202) 5703620
Internet site:
www.capscu.comE- Mail: capscu@tedata.net.eg
Prof. Mohammad M. Megahed, CAPSCU Director
Center for Advancement of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Engineering Sciences, CAPSCU,
Faculty of Engineering - Cairo University
Giza, Egypt