Under the supervision of Dr. Ahmed El-Minshawy, president of Assiut University, the Center for monitoring and studying community problems in cooperation with Al-Azhar University organized a field visit to the small, medium and Micro Enterprises Development Authority for students of Al-Azhar University, as part of a "partnership for Growth Initiative"; under the supervision of Dr. Mahmoud Abdul Alim, vice president for community service and Environmental Development, Dr. Mohammed Abdul Malik, Vice President of Al-Azhar University for the tribal face, and Dr. Ali Kamal Temple, director of the center.

The visit was coordinated by Dr. Asmaa Jaber Mehran, deputy director of the Center, Dr. Husseini Hammad, professor at the Department of history of civilization at the Faculty of Arabic language and general coordinator of human rights and social participation at Al-Azhar University, and Mr. Ihab Abdul Hamid, head of the small, medium and Micro Enterprise Development Authority in Assiut, with the participation of a group of university employees and the Enterprise Development Authority, and 25 students of Al-Azhar University.

Dr. Ahmed Al-menshawi, president of Assiut University, explained that the visit aims to strengthen communication between youth and the authority to exchange ideas on supporting small, medium and micro enterprises, and identify the actual needs to qualify young people for the labor market, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt's Vision 2030.

Dr. Mahmoud Abdel Alim stressed that the Center for monitoring and studying community problems contributes to building partnerships and direct communication with the concerned authorities to understand the needs to qualify young people for the labor market, within the framework of activating the national strategy for higher education and the sixth Region Alliance, stressing the University's quest to develop skills and transfer the necessary knowledge to entrepreneurs, and identify training and development programs that can be provided to the surrounding community.

Mr. Ihab Abdel Hamid expressed his happiness with this visit from Assiut University and Al-Azhar University to the small, medium and Microenterprise Development Authority to encourage young people to invest and qualify them for the labor market; pointing to the authority's support for entrepreneurs and start-up entrepreneurs through the provision of soft financing programs and specialized training courses, providing new job opportunities, achieving economic development, and supporting innovative projects, which contributes to promoting the growth of the small and medium enterprise sector in Egypt.

Dr. Asma Jaber Mehran stated that the initiative recommended several recommendations to enhance the initiative and increase its effectiveness, through: creating mentoring programs for students interested in establishing their own projects, providing professional consultations that help students understand the requirements of the labor market and its needs, providing electronic educational platforms that allow students to access specialized educational content in entrepreneurship, encouraging students to volunteer in local small and medium enterprises and engage in the direct work environment, where students can gain valuable practical experience and understand the challenges facing entrepreneurs, focusing on using modern technology in supporting small and medium enterprises and providing training courses for students on using digital technological tools to facilitate project management and achieve success, such as e-marketing and online project management, enhancing the role of the media in spreading awareness of the efforts of the SME Development Authority, and conducting awareness campaigns through modern means of communication to educate the community on the importance of entrepreneurship and how to support it, which contributes to creating a competitive environment that encourages innovation and growth.