Faculty and Leader Development Project (FLDP)

Project Mission :

-         Adopting and applying concepts and practices of continuous self- development for professional skills of human resources in the Egyptian universities to improve the outcome of higher education. This is done with a view to adapting to the challenges of modernity, and to harmonizing with the code of ethics adopted by those who work in higher education.

-          

   Project Goals:

The general goal of the project is to improve the professional institutional skills of the higher education institutions by developing and updating the academic and leadership skills of human resources in those institutions.

First: regarding staff members:

1-     Improving and updating development skills of staff members in the institutions of the higher education which enables them to improve the outcome of higher education.

2-     Enriching the personal experience of the staff member that supports the continuity of the project with all its different activities after 2007.

Second: regarding administrative and academic leadership:

1-     Developing and updating skills of leadership or administrative and academic leaders in ways that enable them to achieve the targeted changes successfully.

2-     Improving personal experience in the field of university management in higher education institutions to help the ongoing process of development.

 

Beneficiaries:

The project aims to improve the academic skills of the staff members and their assistance in the Egyptian institutions of higher education and also the administrative skills of the university leadership of the academics and administrators. The project (2003-2007) seeks to improve the skills of the majority of staff members and leaders "more than 60,000". The process of training and development should be continuous, and it must be supervised by the universities after establishing the infrastructure and the executive mechanism that guarantees the constancy of  training and learning processes.

Time frame and phases of the project:

The time frame of the project is five years (2003-2007), and it includes three stages:

First stage: planning and preparation (15 months)

This stage includes the following tasks:

1-     Reviewing literary works and remaining opened to the experiences of other pioneering universities.

2-      Identifying the training needs through workshops of the skills required for staff members and collecting information from universities about the actual needs.

3-     Identifying the basic skills for different classes.

4-     Transmitting skills into a set of training directed to all administrative and academic levels.

5-     Visiting universities to know their training abilities and needs.

6-     Identifying the required qualifications in the training centers submitted to the university.

7-     Setting a complete project document (general strategy and executive work plan).

8-     Specifying standards for selecting training candidates to work as training coordinators.

9-     Training candidates as coordinators of training activities in the universities.

10- Following up, establishing and equipping training centers in the universities.

11- Preparing scientific materials and training guides.

12- Preparing executive programs for training programs in coordination with universities.

Second stage: Executing, following up, and periodical evaluation (42 months)

-         This stage represents the essence of the project since it achieves the project's targets practically; this is why the great number of resources, time and effort is allocated to it. This stage is concerned with the actual execution of development programs after putting them in the final form, in addition to what may accompany the execution of following up and periodical evaluation based on comparing the actual results with the targeted ones depending on the achievement references in the project work plan.

-         National committee of project management assures that carrying out programs is the responsibility of universities according to certain criteria set by the coordination committee in the universities.

Third stage: final evaluation of the project (three months):

1-     Measuring final outcomes.

2-     Evaluating the achievements in order to keep the project going on after 2007.

3-     Identifying the effectiveness of the project (according to the follow up data accompanied with the execution).

4-     Issuing the final report of the project.

5-     Concluding the implied recommendation of the universities to guarantee that the project will continue.

Targeted skills:

-         Suggestions have been made about a set of basic skills that need development to enhance the professional standard of staff members, taking into consideration the present and future needs. Such skills can be classified in the following groups, and their assigned programs.

Firstly: skills of teaching, learning, and researching:

1-     Skills of dealing with information technology (ICDL).

2-     Linguistic skills (English language).

3-     Teaching.

4-     Researching.

Secondly: skills of human interaction:

1-     Effective communication.

2-     Skills of offering and presentation.

3-     Management of human resources.

4-     Dynamics of mass interaction.

Thirdly: Personal skills:

1-     Thinking skills.

2-     Administrative skills.

3-     Time management and work skills.

4-     Code of professional manners.

Fourthly: skills of leadership:

1-     Organizational development.

2-     Making decisions and solving problems.

3-     Legal and financial affairs in university administration.

4-     University and society.

-         Main activities of the project:

1-     Completion of  primary stages of training and development.

2-     Identifying certain criteria for selecting trainers.

3-     Designing a set of training guides for specifying both needs and skills of training (trainer guide- trainee guide- evaluation guide).

4-     Marketing of  project (media aspect).

How can universities deal with the project?

Firstly: completion of primary stage of training and development:

The role of universities in such very important field can be briefed as follows:

1-     Devoting a suitable building as a training center, or starting to establish the quarters of the center for the universities that have no buildings.

2-     Setting a plan to develop the center using the required training means and supplies.

3-     The university identifies the amount of money it can contribute or what is available and what are the facilities needed to support the training process.

4-     Providing the required human resources to work in the center and its administration in addition to training them.

5-     Preparing training data base.

6-     Setting the work plan of the center till the end of the project (executing training programs).

7-     Establishing a training library in the center that corresponds to the nature of the projects and helps to achieve their targets.

8-     The center should have a clear training methodology according to a criterion set by the project management committee.

 

Secondly: standards for selecting trainees (participants):

Here are some of standards that can guide universities in selecting the participants of the training programs, but others may be suggested by universities in that field:

1-     Older and younger.

2-     Actual need of training.

3-     Desire for development and readiness for self-training.

4-     Candidates for senior higher positions.

Thirdly: standards for selecting trainers:

-         Each university selects a group of trainers to execute its training programs on different levels. Stated below are some of standards universities use to select trainers

1-     They must have a Ph.D.

2-     They should be in the same academic class of the participants or higher than them.

3-     They should have a unique experience (no less than ten years in the field of training in a certain area of specialization).

4-     They should be well known for his/her efficiency and should have skills of effectiveness and persuasion.

5-     They should have communication skills.

Fourthly: forming some of guides:

1-     A training guide includes training manners used and the methodology of executing programs according to the nature of each program.

2-     A training guide contains the general frame of the training material of the program.

3-     Evaluation guide that tackles different ways and manners used in evaluating training activities before, during and after executing the program.

Fifthly: marketing of the project:

Universities play an important role in creating a proper perception of the project and its value for staff members. Stated below is the expected role of universities:

1-     Each university should prepare an informative plan to gain its members' support.

2-     The plan should contain a set of activities that achieve awareness and gain  staff members’ support.

3-     Following up and carrying out the plan in coordination with the national committee for the project management.

4-     Each university can inform its members to create a positive perception towards the project through the following activities:

-         Holding some symposiums (3 symposiums) in the university.

-         Holding at least one symposium in each college.

-          Forming a book or printed report in each university to be printed and distributed in all faculties.

-         Issuing a monthly report in each university to announce the project's news.

-         Following up the publication of the project's news and its progress in the university magazine.

-         Forming and distributing stickers about the project in the university faculties and its centers.

-         Holding an annual conference to follow up the project and notify its achievements (The project can be marketed through scientific conferences of the university).

-         Devoting a space in the university site for the project or designing a separate site for it.

-         Training activities coordinator can play an important role in the awareness of the project and its current activities through meetings and symposiums in the universities and faculties.

Sixthly: Training centers and their accreditation:

- In order to achieve the project's targets and the successful execution of the suggested training programs to guarantee the continuity of the project, the accredited training center of each university should be established and equipped.

Therefore, universities play an important role in establishing such centers and in making them distinguished and universal so as to be accredited by the scientific institutions that have an international reputation.

The national report may contribute to support those centers with supplies and modern training means and also to help in approving them as distinguished centers.

 

 National Committee for Project Management:

-         Developing abilities of staff members and leaders:

 

Prof. Dr. Mohsen Al Mahdy Saeed	Executive Manager of the Unit of Project Management for Developing Higher Education
Prof. Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Ahmed Zamel	Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Zaqazeq University
Prof. Dr. Hamed Tolba Mohamed Abu Heeba	Dean of Faculty of Commerce in Banha, Zaqazeq university
Prof. Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Hafez Mohammed	Professor in Faculty of Sciences, Assiut University
Prof. Dr. Hanafy Mahmoud Soliman	Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Zaqazeq University
Prof. Dr. Gamal El-Dein Mohamed Almorsy	Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Menoufeyya University
Prof. Dr. Mehanna Mohamed Ibrahim Ghanaem	Professor, Faculty of Education, Mansoura University
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud Ahmed Mohamed Morsy	Professor, Faculty of Commerce, Helwan University
Prof. Dr. Abdel-Haleem Mahmoud Al Sayed	Professor, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University
Prof. Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Albadawy Albaz	Professor in Faculty of Commerce, Zaqazeq University
Prof. Dr. Fouad Khalaf  Mohamed Abdel-Meguid	Professor,  Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University
Prof. Dr. Momtaz Fahmy Sedrak Zekri	Professor, Faculty of Engineering, Matareya, Helwan University
Prof. Dr. Mustafa Kamal Mohamed	Professor, Faculty of Science, Assuit University
Prof. Dr. Mansour Hasan Abdel-Rahman