Sharm El-Sheikh, November 18th, 2022 — This year, the 27th annual Conference of the Parties was held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. Attending such a conference allowed us to accurately portray the academia and mindset of our international branch campus universities. We were thrilled to have Dr. Kim Critchley, UPEI Cairo Campus Provost, Dr. Rasha El Shafei, Associate Dean of the Program of Sustainable Design Engineering at UPEI Cairo Campus, Dr. Ahmed Shaker, Vice Dean of FEAS, and Dr. Robert Ott, Vice Dean of The Creative School, and Dr. Ammar Ewes, to represent UPEI Cairo Campus and TMU Cairo, respectively. With our Solar Car project, built by our very own UPEI Cairo Campus Sustainable Design Engineering students, we show how education plays a critical role in the future of climate change and sustainable development.

The climate change crisis is one that impacts all of mankind alike. We strongly believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to be liable for their own practices and contributions to climate change which is why we emphasize the value of sustainability in all that we do. During COP27, we had the privilege of presenting a panel moderated by Dr. Kim Critchley and given by none other than Dr. Aitazaz, Associate Professor at the University of Prince Edward Island and Interim Associate Dean for the School of Climate Change and Adaptation, Dr. Rasha ElShafei, Dr. Ahmed Shaker and Dr. Ammar Ewes. This panel discussed the interchangeable effect of education, research & climate change. The ideas discussed revolved around how education has impacted climate change and how it has impacted education in return. With attendees from all around the globe, people with influence, and those with a genuine passion for bettering the climate change crisis, we were thrilled to be presenting to a community so eager to both learn about and implement the insights gained from COP27.

Furthermore, we had the pleasure of having Dr. Rasha and Dr. Ammar Ewes give a presentation regarding their policy paper, “Making a Case for a Net Zero Carbon Emission Future via Innovative Technological Solutions and Community Mindset Transformation.” This presentation gained much attention from the audience as it became a back-and-forth discussion regarding the proposed framework to measure the country’s contribution to achieve zero net carbon emissions and the effect of technology and mindset transformation on such.

Long-term change comes from mentalities imparted early in the career development process. We trust that the impact that education serves in building more environmentally friendly practices. As such, we are aware that the education of our students is the know-how they will bring forth to the workplace upon graduating. It is our role as an international hosting campus to provide the knowledge required, both theoretical and practical, and to promote such a lifestyle in all that we do on campus. The Universities of Canada in Egypt and our educators’ role in contributing to the future of climate change is a step in the right direction and will continue to be a priority for us and our students.