Fresno State will help design and implement a teacher education program in Egypt focusing on science, technology, engineering and math as part of a $24.2 million award from the United States Agency for International Development.

Deans and faculty from Fresno State’s Kremen School of Education and Human Development, the College of Science and Mathematics and the Lyles College of Engineering will collaborate with the Ministry of Egypt to train teachers on the strategies involved in student-centered research and active learning teaching.

The goal of the STEM Teacher Education and School Strengthening Activity (STESSA) project is to produce a STEM workforce and future STEM leaders who can further the public good in Egypt. The 21st Century Partnership for STEM Education (also known as 21 PSTEM), a nonprofit near Philadelphia, is leading the project with help from several U.S. universities.

“Fresno State is taking the lead in this critical initiative to improve science education to meet pressing global challenges,” said Dr. Robert Harper, Fresno State’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “Fresno State is the primary university partner because of its excellence in teacher education and in water research and issues also of serious concern in Egypt.”

The STESSA project will help develop new STEM teacher preparatory programs in five Egyptian universities. It will also support the expansion of Egyptian STEM schools and will work to include and support the success of female students.

The project-based curriculum under development will have students conduct scientific experiments in the classroom to solve the country’s “Grand Challenges” such as disease prevention, water use and traffic congestion. Students will also participate in semester-long capstone projects.

Since January, Fresno State professors Fred Nelson, Emily Walter, Lina Obeid and Rohit Mehta have traveled to Egypt to meet with faculty members and high school students.

This press release is made possible by the support of the American people through the United

States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this press release are

the sole responsibility of Fresno State and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the

United States government.