Egypt trained 10,485 university students in eight technology disciplines through a government-backed summer programme, as the country seeks to strengthen its digital workforce and prepare graduates for jobs in the information and communications technology (ICT) industry.
The 2026 programme was jointly implemented by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) and the National Telecommunication Institute (NTI), covering cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), software development, data science, digital arts, systems administration, cloud computing, and electronics.
Each participant received 120 hours of training, comprising 90 hours of technical instruction and 30 hours focused on professional skills or freelancing.
More than 40,000 students applied within seven days of registration opening, NTI President Ahmed Khattab said at a ceremony recognising outstanding participants at ITIDA’s headquarters in Smart Village.
Cybersecurity attracted the largest number of trainees, at 2,192, followed by AI with 2,001 and software development with 1,998. Data science accounted for another 1,827 participants.
The programme reached students across 27 governorates, including 3,691 in Greater Cairo, 3,941 in Lower Egypt and the Delta, 2,298 in Upper Egypt and 555 in the Canal governorates. Male students represented 58% of participants, while female students accounted for 42%.
ITIDA Chief Executive Ahmed El Zaher said the initiative combines technical instruction with practical experience and professional development to help students adapt to changing employer requirements as emerging technologies reshape the workplace.
About 1,200 trainees completed their learning pathways and progressed to advanced levels, El Zaher said. The programme also supports efforts to develop technology talent outside Cairo, helping regional centres attract businesses seeking specialised workers.
Khattab said the programme strengthened its practical component this year through graduation projects published on GitHub and opportunities to obtain international certifications.
Its top 200 graduates generated approximately $25,000 in freelancing revenue shortly after completing their training, averaging about $125 per graduate.
A total of 3,807 students enrolled in courses affiliated with international technology academies, including those of Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Fortinet, Huawei and Red Hat.
Top-performing students also visited technology companies in Smart Village, including VOIS, Valeo and Systems Egypt, to learn about workplace requirements and potential career opportunities.
Egypt produces approximately 750,000 university graduates annually, including more than 50,000 ICT and engineering graduates, according to figures cited by the programme organisers.
The country is seeking to leverage this talent pool to support its technology, professional services and business process outsourcing industries.
