Competing for places in prestigious educational institutions across the globe has become a nightmare for many students. We sat with Abdelrahman Ayman, Co-Founder of Educatly, to learn what solutions are at hand.
What services does Educatly offer?
Educatly is making educational opportunities accessible and transparent for everyone, everywhere. We are building for education what LinkedIn built for jobs; the world’s largest educational network with over 160,000 educational programs and +100,000 scholarships across the globe.
Students can search, apply and find support for educational opportunities worldwide. Our SaaS model benefits both students and educational institutions in a multitude of ways.
For students, Educatly
- Is an AI-powered smart recommendations engine for better decision-making and higher acceptance rates.
- Verify their academic history, leveraging blockchain technology.
- Connects students with professors, student ambassadors and agents.
For Educational institutions, Educatly
- Provides program-listing and application management all-in-one.
- Showcases the learning environment of the various institutions and promotes their programs.
- Accesses an international student pool from 80+ countries, at minimum cost.
- Ensure credible student academic records and expands their gain from student academic record verifications.
What difference can professional assistance make to a student in terms of finding university placement?
Students are overwhelmed and lack easily accessible information on the opportunities relevant to them. In worldwide research conducted by UNESCO, 90% of students said they don’t know which school to go to, or search online for while pursuing higher education.
While 93% find it difficult to access all the needed information to reach a decision. Our job is to streamline and facilitate that process.
What advice would you give any student aiming to study overseas?
Earning a graduate degree abroad is an exciting journey, but requires proper planning. If you determine that this route is right for you after weighing the pros and cons, make sure to do your research before selecting the perfect course of study. Once the wheels of your graduate education are in motion, you are guaranteed a wild and seriously fulfilling ride!
Does holding a foreign degree improve someone’s chances in the job market?
It does if done right, and I’ll list below some of the potential upsides for holding a foreign degree:
- You’ll have a perfect opportunity for language learning.
- Your degree could come at a lower cost.
- You can engage in international networking by studying your subject at the source.
- Higher education abroad can help amplify personal growth.
- In today’s globalized world, international work and study experiences are great assets to get noticed on the global job market. As a result, HR managers actually scan CVs for international experiences.
- The skills developed while studying abroad are usually helpful in landing a job. You will stand out from the crowd and get ahead of other applicants on the international job market.
Which courses and subjects are trending at present?
Our most popular subject over the last year has been computer science and information systems, which is perhaps to be expected given its status as one of the fastest-growing subjects around the world. If you want to work on technology that has the potential to change the world, from artificial intelligence to big data, then this is the subject for you.
It wasn’t too surprising to see Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the top of last year’s subject ranking, one of six North American universities in the top 10.
This was followed by engineering and technology subject area, which covers six different branches of engineering as well as computer science. The full list of engineering and technology subjects is as follows:
- Computer Science & Information Systems
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil & Structural Engineering
- Electrical & Electronic Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mineral & Mining Engineering
- Petroleum Engineering
Last into the top three is business and management studies, which generated a lot of interest among our students as a potential subject to study.
How much has Covid-19 affected your operations? Do you anticipate a surge in online learning options?
Universities and college campuses are places where students live and study in close proximity to each other. They are also buzzing cultural hubs where students are brought together from nations around the world. Recently, the foundations of this unique ecosystem have been impacted significantly by the rapid spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak, creating uncertainty regarding the implications for higher education.
The most effective tool in keeping student retention and maintaining access to learning has been online courses. Universities across the world, have adjusted their programs in response to the spread of the coronavirus.
We helped a lot of schools navigate the crisis by digitally enabling and streamlining their admissions operations, so from our side, we’ve seen an actual increased demand for our services. We anticipate that this trend will become an integral part of our new norm beyond this covid crisis. Virtual classrooms, online learning solutions, and hybrid learning experiences are here to stay with massive growth expectations.
What are your thoughts on the upsurge in new universities being established across Egypt?
We are extremely excited about this. Building a state-of-the-art educational eco-system sits currently at a high priority within the country’s 2030 direction, making it an emerging attractive destination for overseas students as well as local students pursuing high-quality higher education degrees.
For overseas students, studying in Egypt provides them with the opportunity to learn about different facets of Middle Eastern culture, including political, historical, and economic. Students studying in Egypt get to explore a culture very distinct to their own. Bridging north-east Africa and the Middle Eastern region, and with a Mediterranean coastline, Egypt provides a unique blend of African, Arabic and Mediterranean cultures and traditions.
