The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, under the patronage of the Minister / Professor Dr. Ayman Ashour, and under the supervision of the Supreme Council of Universities, launched “The Best University in Student Activities” competition” for the academic year 2024/2025. The competition came out of the ministry’s firm belief in the significance of the pivotal role of student activities in building an integrated personality, developing leadership and teamwork skills, and fostering a sense of national belonging among the students. It aimed at documenting the harvest of activities and encouraging universities to excel and innovate in serving their students.

     In this context, Dr. Sherif Fakhry Mohamed Abd-el-Naby, President of the Egyptian Russian University, announced that the Egyptian Russian University (ERU) was ranked in the “gold category” among private universities in the competition. He pinpointed that this achievement was made possible with the support and sponsorship of Dr. Mohamed Kamal Al-Sayed Mustafa, Chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees. It reflects the university’s unwavering commitment to developing the educational process, enhancing the skills of its students, and honing their leadership and creative abilities.

     The ERU President pointed out that this achievement emphasized the university’s commitment to its strategy, which aims at developing the educational process, developing students’ capacities and honing their skills, in addition to integrating them into activities parallel to academic study that enhance their spirit of cooperation, teamwork, and leadership, support their sense of national belonging, and motivate them to innovate. This contributes to preparing an integrated generation that is capable of interacting positively with the challenges of the era and participating effectively in community development.

     Dr. Sherif Fahkry Mohamed Abd-el-Naby added that the university’s participation in the “Best University in Student Activities” competition came as an integral part of the continuous improvement system. It was based on a careful analysis of the real situation, whereas the efficiency and effectiveness of the offered activities, the students’ interest in them, and their compatibility with the objectives of the university’s strategic plan were all reviewed and analyzed. In addition, the university’s commitment to implementing the pillars of the National Strategy for Higher Education and Scientific Research and Egypt’s Vision 2030, were also taken into consideration. Dr. Sherif also noted that the participation in the competition was a good opportunity for monitoring the efforts made in planning, implementing, documenting, and continually evaluating activities.

     The ERU President explained that the university is making steady progress toward supporting and activating student activities in a comprehensive and diverse manner, contributing to achieving the goals of integrated student development and enhancing the university’s academic and societal standing. He called for the continuation and integration of these efforts so that they become an integral part of the university’s institutional identity.

     In the same context, Dr. Hanaa Abd-el-Rahman, Advisor to the ERU President for Student Activities, stated that the university is participating for the first time in the student activities competition, which is organized by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. Thus, winning the gold category is an indication of the university’s success in implementing a strategy that conforms to national standards. She added that an integrated working team had been formed to prepare the university’s file for the competition in accordance with the student activities evaluation criteria issued by the Student Activities Sector of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and to meet the conditions for each criterion.

     On his part, Dr. Said Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence at the ERU and Technical Support Advisor for Student Activities, pointed out that the work team collected and analyzed quantitative and qualitative data and information related to all areas of student activities. He stated that this was achieved through by reviewing documents and reports on activities and events, attendance records, student activities plan, and analysis of students’ surveys and observations on their satisfaction levels, participation in activities, and the extent of their response to them. He highlighted that interviews and coordination meetings were held with relevant entities, the most important of whom are student representatives. This is in order to analyze gaps, identify strengths and weaknesses, and propose practical, implementable recommendations which enable the university to make informed decisions for developing its student activities system. Dr. Said paid tribute to the dedicated efforts of the University’s Youth Care Department in supervising the activities, and also to the students participating in all areas of activity. He said they are a fundamental pillar of this achievement, which reflects their enthusiasm and awareness.

     On the same topic, Captain/ Mohamed Abdullah Mustafa, Director of Student Services and Activities at the ERU, stated that the university administration is keen to support all forms of student activities on and off campus, and to provide a suitable environment for highlighting students’ energies and talents. He expressed his happiness with this great achievement, and emphasized that the university’s winning of the Gold Category Award for Student Activities is a proof of the university’s commitment to its vision, which considers student activities as an essential part of students’ university journey and an incentive for continuing their academic success.

     It is worth mentioning that the statistics of student activities for the academic year 2024-2025 showed that the university is making steady progress towards supporting and activating student activities in a comprehensive and diverse manner. It also showed the strong presence of the ERU in various governmental and official forums. Furthermore, it manifested the digitization of activities, as the activities were documented through the platform of the Supreme Council of Universities, in addition to the university’s official website and its official Facebook page. This enhances transparency, heightens the engagement level of parents and community with the university’s activities, and provides a solid foundation for future planning.

     Statistics on student activities reflect the ERU’s commitment to its social and national responsibility, employing student activities as an effective tool for serving the community and promoting values ​​and national belonging. The results showed that the university has achieved remarkable progress in implementing qualitative and effective activities that contribute to building the students’ leadership and initiative skills, enabling them to positively interact with their surroundings. Through its continued efforts to improve and develop organizational and documentation processes, the university is steadily moving toward maximizing the impact of these activities and achieving comprehensive quality standards across the higher education system.

     It’s worth noting that the competition witnessed the participation of 48 Egyptian universities, which presented more than 40,000 diverse activities in the fields of sports, culture, art, society, science, and technology. These activities were evaluated according to precise and transparent criteria, with the participation of an elite group of experts, who classified the universities into three categories: gold, silver, and bronze. It is also worth mentioning that the executive team preparing the university’s profile includes:

– Professor/ Dr. Hanaa Mohamed Abd-el-Rahman, Advisor to the University President for Student Activities.

– Professor/ Dr. Said Hassan Ibrahim, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence and Technical Support Advisor for Student Activities.

– Dr. Mohamed Beheiry, Faculty Member at the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence.

– Engineer/ Nadeem Mohamed, Assistant Faculty Member at the Faculty of Fine Arts.

– Captain/ Mohamed Abdullah, Director of the Youth Care Department.

– Basma Abd-el-Latif, University Marketing Officer.

– Mohamed Antar, Office Manager of the University President’s Advisor for Student Activities.

– Zainab Haggag, Quality Coordinator at the Faculty of Artificial Intelligence.

– Hany Afify, Representative of the Information Technology Department.