English 
Under the auspices of Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of Alexandria University, Dr. Ali Abdelmohsen, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Acting Vice President for Education and Student Affairs, inaugurated the activities of the conference organized by the Faculty of Medicine under the title “Centres of Excellence at Alexandria Faculty of Medicine between the Present and the Future,” with the aim of Introducing the centres of excellence located at the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, and highlighting the educational, research, therapeutic, and training services provided by these centres.
The conference witnessed the presence of Dr. Iman Youssef, Vice Dean for Education and Student Affairs, Dr. Tamer Abdallah, Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development, Dr. Essam Bedeiwi, Executive Director of University Hospitals, and a group of faculty members, doctors, civil society representatives, and members of the People’s Assembly and the Shura Council.
In his speech, Dr. Ali Abdelmohsen thanked the civil society organizations for their unlimited support for Alexandria University Hospitals, noting that the conference this year has a special nature, especially since it discusses the role of the centres of excellence located in the faculty and their vital role in all therapeutic, research and training fields. Dr. Abdelmohsen pointed out that the Faculty of Medicine began establishing centres of excellence to provide distinguished medical service to the Egyptian citizens, stressing that there is a centre of excellence for heart valve implantation via catheter, which is a major medical breakthrough in university hospitals at Alexandria University, and which was established in cooperation with civil society organizations and thanks to the great efforts and cooperation among the faculty members.
Dr. Abdelmohsen also pointed out that Alexandria University Hospitals will participate in the International Conference on Health Tourism, which will be held under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, which will contribute to advancing the development process and the Egyptian economy, stressing that Alexandria University Hospitals are working in accordance with the Egyptian state’s strategy to provide medical services to individuals whether in Egypt or abroad, especially after the tremendous development witnessed recently by university hospitals at Alexandria University.
Dr. Tamer Abdallah stressed that civil society is an essential partner in all development processes witnessed by at Alexandria University hospitals. He pointed out that the role of civil society organizations was clear and evident during the previous years through their effective participation, which was reflected positively on the development of the educational and health system whether on the local level in general and the city of Alexandria in particular.
Dr. Abdallah also pointed out that the idea of establishing centres of excellence is to address the problems facing society, and he added that the Faculty of Medicine has many centres of excellence such as the Clinical Research Centre, the Medical Research Centre, the Regenerative Medicine Centre, and the Therapeutic Blood Bank Research Centre, and at the therapeutic level there is the Heart Centre in Smouha, the Children's Ophthalmology Clinic, the Alexandria Poison Centre, the Stroke Centre, and the Brain Catheterization Centre. He added that the conference looks forward to discussing the possibility of establishing other centres of excellence at the Faculty of Medicine and the university hospitals to provide distinguished medical services to citizens in cooperation with civil society organizations, such as establishing an integrated centre for brain, nerve, and spine surgeries, an integrated centre for obesity diseases, a specialized centre for sports injuries, and a post-accidents rehabilitation centre.
While Dr. Iman Youssef confirmed that the education and student sector is currently considered a centre of excellence due to the great and tremendous development that the sector is currently witnessing, as the university is graduating students who are able to compete in the local, regional and international labour markets. She stressed that the education and student sector at the Faculty of Medicine will witness a boom during the coming months, through developing all laboratories and expanding educational facilities and patient rooms, as well as increasing the number of students coming to study at the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University because of the distinguished medical reputation that the faculty enjoys.
Dr. Essam Bedeiwi also stressed that the conference reflects the great cooperation between civil society and Alexandria University hospitals, pointing out the necessity of fruitful investment in university hospitals and that everyone must cooperate in order to reduce the pressure on the Egyptian state, through developing the hospitals’ own resources, and for all departments to cooperate to rationalize expenses as a form of complete integration between departments to achieve an integrated health system in the Alexandrian society.
