June 16, 2009


Cairo – U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey will bid farewell to 380 Egyptian students, including approximately 10 deaf students, who will travel to the U.S. for academic studies in the fall as part of the Community College Scholarship Initiative (CCI) with Egypt.

The CCI program is a funded by USAID and aims to provide opportunities for up to 1,000 Egyptian students over three years to earn vocational and professional certificates in fields critical to Egypt's continued economic growth. Egyptian students will attend one of 30 different community colleges in the U.S. and will study in a wide range of fields including: information technology, applied engineering, business administration, tourism and hospitality management, health professions and agriculture.

Established in 2008, this historic initiative was developed through the cooperative efforts of the Government of Egypt, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Binational Fulbright Commission in Egypt. The program will cover the expenses for all students including tuition, airfare, living allowance, English language training, and health insurance.

For further information, please contact the U.S. Embassy’s Press Office at 202-27973344.