English
On Sunday the 21st of May 2023, Dr. Ashraf El-Ghandour, Vice President of Alexandria University for Postgraduate Studies and Research Affairs, inaugurated the program of the training course organized by the Faculty of Agriculture, under the title “Developing the Rumi Cheese Industry to Compete in Global Markets”, in the presence of Dr. Mohamed Bahey El-Din, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, Dr. Heba Sabri Salama, Vice Dean for Community Service and Environmental Development, Dr. Aisha Abdelmaqsoud, Head of the Department of Dairy Science and Technology, Dr. Morsi Abulseoud El-Souda, Emeritus Professor of the Department of Dairy Science and Technology, and a group of industrialists, experts, faculty members and graduates.
In his speech, Dr. Ashraf El-Ghandour stressed that this program is one of the most important strategic goals of Alexandria University headed by Professor Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, President of the University, which is to enhance cooperation between scientific research and industry, with the aim of achieving economic growth, assisting the state in reducing the import bill, enhancing the competitiveness of the national industry, and supporting local manufacturing. El-Ghandour indicated that this training course emphasizes the importance of integration and cooperation between the university’s research centres and bodies and industrialists, in order to achieve the country’s sustainable development goals (Egypt’s Vision 2030). He also expressed his hope that the training course will come out with recommendations that help provide a competitive local product In global markets, and contribute to transforming the innovative research produced by Alexandria University into industrial products that meet current and future needs.
While Dr. Mohamed Bahey El-Din confirmed that Alexandria University spares no effort in supporting applicable scientific research, indicating that this practical training course will be conducted at the biochemistry laboratories of dairy microbes under the supervision of Dr. Morsi El-Souda, former dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and a global expert in the production and processing of Dairy. Dr. Bahey El-Din thanked the Department of Dairy Science and Technology for its efforts in providing applicable scientific research, and obtaining a number of research projects capable of achieving global competitiveness.
Dr. Heba Salama indicated that this training course aims to link scientific research with the industrial community, to benefit from the results of research and studies produced by the dairy department at the faculty, and provide all scientific services and advice to the industrial community, noting that this course will follow up and evaluate the best research proposals that provide practical and applied solutions to the challenges in the cheese and dairy industry.
Dr. Aisha Abdelmaksoud confirmed that holding this training course was due to the large consumption of different types of cheese, as data issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development indicate that the volume of cheese consumed in Egypt will reach 734 thousand tons by 2028, as the demand for cheese increases, which It is one of the most popular foods all over the world, in addition to the announcement by the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology to open the door to receiving proposals for applied research projects and economic technological solutions to meet the challenges facing the local industry (Apple 2 initiative), which was launched in July 2022. She announced that the dairy department has obtained four research projects with this initiative in cooperation between the Academy of Scientific Research and Alexandria University, and they are: a project to produce starter cultures for the Rumi cheese industry (white cheese, Damietta cheese, and speeding up the maturity of Rumi cheese), a project to manufacture Rumi cheese with a starter with the best salting method, and a project to produce a natural preservative for milk and study its effect on the components of milk, and a project to fortify yogurt with sweet potatoes for patients with diabetes and high cholesterol.
