The Supreme Council for Graduate Studies and Research held its regular meeting under the chairmanship of Prof. Mostafa Refaat, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Universities, in the presence of a number of university presidents and vice presidents for graduate studies and research, at the headquarters of the Supreme Council of Universities.
At the beginning of the meeting, the Council received a presentation by Ms. Ola Lawrence, Advisor to the Egyptian Knowledge Bank (EKB), together with members of the National Technical Committee for International Rankings. The presentation highlighted the Egyptian Knowledge Bank’s key initiatives and achievements in supporting international scientific publishing, developing Egyptian scholarly journals, and advancing the work of the National Technical Committee for International Rankings, as part of the state's efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of Egypt’s higher education and research institutions at both the regional and international levels.
The presentation also reviewed the continuous training programs organized by the Egyptian Knowledge Bank for editors of Egyptian scientific journals in collaboration with leading international publishing houses. These programs aim to enhance editorial expertise, improve journal quality, and increase opportunities for inclusion in major international indexing databases.
The Council was informed that the Egyptian Knowledge Bank platform currently hosts 1,154 scientific journals, including 620 English-language journals and 534 Arabic-language journals, comprising a total of 486,600 published scientific articles across more than 39,050 journal issues.
The meeting also reviewed the Egyptian Knowledge Bank’s efforts to support the international indexing of Egyptian journals. As a result of these efforts, 36 journals have been indexed in Scopus, 17 journals in the Web of Science, and 335 journals in the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), reflecting the continuous improvement in the quality and international visibility of Egyptian scientific journals.
The presentation further highlighted the expansion of international publishing partnerships, noting that Egyptian journals are currently published through several leading global publishing houses, including 30 journals with Springer, 16 with Medknow, 12 with Digital Commons, 8 with Elsevier, 2 with Taylor & Francis, and 1 with Emerald.
The Council also reviewed the latest developments regarding the Arabic Citation Index, including ongoing updates and the addition of new scientific journals, contributing to greater visibility, dissemination, and impact of Arab scientific research at both regional and international levels.
During the meeting, the National Technical Committee for International Rankings outlined its role in supporting Egypt’s higher education system by promoting a culture of international rankings within universities. The Committee emphasized its efforts to transform domestic competition among higher education institutions into national and international collaboration that enhances the global reputation and competitiveness of Egyptian universities.
The presentation highlighted the Committee’s achievements over the past year, including the organization of 12 workshops and training programs attended by more than 700 faculty members and university ranking officers from universities across Egypt. These initiatives focused on building institutional capacity and strengthening expertise in international university rankings.
The Committee also presented its action plan for the 2026/2027 academic year, which aims to enhance the capabilities of ranking teams at public, national, and private universities through several key initiatives. These include strengthening global academic, employer, and research reputation; improving the management of international ranking data; advancing research performance analysis; enhancing the management of global ranking indicators; and promoting integrity and transparency in institutional data management.
The meeting also announced the selection of the National Technical Committee for International Rankings to join the Global Alliance for Inter & Transdisciplinarity Science (ITD), as well as its membership in the Global Higher Education Interdisciplinary Network, implemented through a partnership between Times Higher Education and Schmidt Science Fellows. These memberships further strengthen Egypt's participation in international initiatives dedicated to advancing higher education and global university rankings.
In the same context, the Council discussed the establishment of a Technical Committee for the International Indexing of Egyptian Scientific Journals, modeled after the National Technical Committee for University Rankings. The proposed committee will coordinate national efforts and facilitate the transfer of expertise in archiving and indexing Egyptian journals in major international databases, including Scopus and the Web of Science, with the aim of internationalizing Egyptian research publications and maximizing the global impact of Egyptian scientific output.
The Council also reviewed the recommendations of the committee established to examine challenges related to scientific research, particularly academic integrity risk indicators and their implications for Egyptian universities, in addition to proposed mechanisms for addressing violations of academic integrity.
Finally, the Council followed up on universities’ progress in uploading sustainability-related research to the dedicated national electronic platform established for publishing research data addressing environmental sustainability, green transformation, and sustainable development initiatives across Egyptian universities.
