First UK Russell Group branch campus announced in Egypt
The new campus will be located at Ain Shams University (ASU) in Cairo, offering accredited undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Exeter.
“The establishment of a Russell Group branch campus in Egypt – an unprecedented first for Africa – is a groundbreaking achievement that symbolises the boundless potential of collaboration in higher education,” said Egypt’s minister of higher education and scientific research, Mohamed Ayman Ashour.
“This partnership is more than an academic milestone; it is a bold commitment to tackling global challenges through research innovation and preparing future generations for success in an increasingly interconnected world,” he said.
The two institutions will also launch dual degree offerings and interdisciplinary courses to prepare students for industry employment, alongside collaborative research initiatives and faculty and student exchange programs.
ASU, which currently has seven campus across Egypt’s capital and the city of Shubra El Kheima, is home to nearly 160,000 students, including 12,000 international students. It is one of Egypt’s top public universities, ranked 592 in QS’s World University Rankings 2025.
Vice chancellor of the University of Exeter, Lisa Roberts, welcomed the initiative as a way of increasing accessibility of higher education and of “tackling the world’s most pressing challenges”.
“The University of Exeter’s reputation for cutting-edge research in fields like climate change and translational medicine perfectly aligns with the forward-thinking aspirations of Ain Shams University and Egypt’s strategic vision for higher education,” added Ayman Ashour.
The agreement was formally established by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) at a ceremony at ASU on January 19, 2025, and promises to build cross-cultural understanding and trust between the two countries.
This partnership is more than an academic milestone; it is a bold commitment to tackling global challenges through research innovation
Mohamed Ayman Ashour, Egypt’s Ministry of Education
Pioneered by the British Council’s Higher Education TNE program, the initiative has been praised by officials from both countries for enhancing Egypt’s internationalisation and strengthening ties between the UK and Egypt.
The “new and exciting” agreement will “increase access to UK education for many young Egyptians, creating new pathways for their professional future”, explained British ambassador to Egypt, Gareth Bayley, sharing his “pride” in the cooperation.
A British Council report in 2023 identified Egypt’s large youth population and expanding higher education system as a positive environment for UK TNE, under the educational reforms driven by Egypt’s current president Abdel Fattah El Sisi.
The partnership is a milestone in Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategy for education, encouraging institutions to apply for international accreditation, expanding scholarships to advance scientific research overseas and revising university regulations to facilitate faculty mobility.
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