This national initiative is part of Egypt’s plans to enhance the country’s position as a centre of excellence for learning and research in the Arab region over the coming years. The agreement with the IET will, says the IET, provide every citizen of Egypt unprecedented access to world-class research through a range of IET products including IET Inspec, an A&I database containing over 15 million records, IET.tv, the large online archive of video content as well as access to the complete range of IET Research Journals and over 500 eBooks through the IET Digital Library.
Richard Hollis, IET Business Development Director, said: “The IET is delighted to be a strategic partner for this project, and as part of our agreement, we are also offering a national fee-waiver for open access publishing in IET Journals, including the Journal of Engineering, in order to facilitate the wider dissemination of research from the engineering community in Egypt.”
Dr Tarek Shawki, Chair of the Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research was tasked with organising the project which is the first of its kind. The agreement was signed with 26 of the world’s largest publishing houses, including the IET, making the Egyptian Knowledge Bank the largest digital library in the world.
Dr Shawki said: “Our goal is to provide all Egyptians with access to world-class publications; by providing these materials free of charge, the knowledge bank ensures that all Egyptians, no matter what their economic circumstances, will have the tools they need to excel in their education and research. Strengthening education and research is crucial to our country’s future and an important step towards building an Egyptian learning society. By supporting these efforts, the launch of the knowledge bank is considered a step in the right direction for all of us in Egypt.”
