8 HIGHLIGHTS CEMENT – October 2014

FEATURES

CONTACT CRISTINA HOLMARK

CRHO@FLSMIDTH.COM

World’s first
Postgraduate Cement Plant
Engineering Degree
FLSmidth and Helwan
University in Egypt
launch new education
programme, paving
the way for a cement
plant career
 HIGHLIGHTS CEMENT – October 2014 9

Operating and maintaining cement plants requires a high level of
competence, and a critical shortage of skills in some local regions
has made it difficult to operate plants at maximum efficiency.
One of those regions was Egypt, where FLSmidth has had difficulty
employing qualified engineers with the right experience and skillset.
This is a key reason behind FLSmidth’s drive for a postgraduate
cement engineering diploma degree programme in Egypt. Launched
in February 2014, the degree has been put together in partnership
with Helwan University.
During the pilot project, FLSmidth Group engineers did the student
lectures, while the university’s professors observed and learned.
We feel this process has equipped the professors well, so they
would be able to teach the course material independently following
the pilot project.”
And the pilot project was quite a success. Of its 33 graduates,
11 have been employed at three different plants operated and
maintained by FLSmidth and others have found employment in
related industries.

Cristina Holmark, General Manager of Global FLSmidth Institute,
has led FLSmidth’s development of the degree. She explains,
“The idea was to create a graduate level degree that could bridge
the educational and qualification gap for engineers and prepare
them adequately for a potential career in the cement industry.
We also saw it as a good opportunity to play a very positive role
in the local community as well as nurture loyalty among FLSmidth
Group employees.”
A world-first for the cement industry
Meanwhile, during the pilot project, extensive preparation was taking
place for the full implementation of the cement diploma degree.
This involved obtaining approval from Egypt’s Higher Counsel of
Ministry of Education, a process that took one year. With the
ministry’s blessing, the degree was sanctioned allowing 16 students
to begin their new educational venture in February 2014. >>

The degree is a combination of academic theory and practical

experience, which is designed to equip cement plant engineers
with the knowledge and hands-on experience required for
cement plant operation and maintenance. It makes effective use
of different learning styles to stimulate and motivate students.
Cristina Holmark elaborates, “Students are exposed to lectures
with professors from Helwan University, group work and plant
visits. The plants involved are Ramliya and Wadi el Nile where
students will be exposed to our high safety standards and
on-the-job challenges.”
The Helwan Postgraduate Cement
Engineering Diploma Degree
This is a diploma degree course offered by Egypt’s Helwan
University and created in partnership with FLSmidth.
The degree is taught by the University’s staff and provides
three semesters of academic teach and a practical project
supplemented by short cement-specific courses.
Sixteen students from different Egyptian cement companies
are enrolled in the programme for 2014 and 2015.

Successful knowledge transfer

The diploma degree is part of an extensive education programme
that started in late 2009 with the search for an academic partner.

Cristina Holmark says, “We looked into and spoke with several
universities in Egypt and the choice fell on Helwan University rela-
tively quickly. Apart from being located close to cement plants,
Helwan University showed the most interest and demonstrated
high commitment. The university is a large public university with
around 100,000 students and 21 faculties, so we are very pleased
to be partnering with Helwan.”

Less than a year after an agreement was reached, the first phase
of the programme was launched by the FLSmidth Helwan Cement
Institute. This involved a pilot project of two semesters that was an
essential part of developing a workable, sustainable educational
programme resulting in the diploma degree.

“We wanted to create this degree according to established

academic processes,” explains Cristina. “This involved extensive
train-the-trainer programmes, including formal training sessions
in Denmark and Egypt as well as peer-to-peer training.
10 HIGHLIGHTS CEMENT – October 2014

WORLD’S FIRST STUDENTS AFTER A

POSTGRADUATE CEMENT PLANT DAY OF CLASS ROOM
ENGINEERING DEGREE LECTURES OUTSIDE OF
THE TRAINING CENTRE

Cristina Holmark emphasises that the programme is now owned

by Helwan University, following the success of the pilot project “WE’RE NOT JUST
and handover process: “FLSmidth’s role in the future is to help
with marketing and promotion as well as training the professors.
OPERATING A PLANT, WE
We will provide any necessary support, but it is the university’s
programme now.”
ARE SUPPORTING THE
COMMUNITY AND
“We are very happy that the goal we set out to achieve in 2009
has come to fruition. Helwan is now the first university in the
WORKING ACTIVELY
world to offer a degree like this, so we are proud to be behind it,”
she adds.
WITHIN IT. TRANSFERRING
KNOWLEDGE IS A
Professor Yasser Sakr, Helwan University President, sees many
benefits for the university, claiming, “This degree provides an
FUNDAMENTAL PART
attractive value proposition for the university. Our partnership with
FLSmidth has enabled us to prepare an innovative curriculum and
OF THIS.”
a commercially viable offering to the private sector, and it has meant Cristina Holmark,
we have developed state-of-the-art facilities for our students.” General Manager of Global FLSmidth Institute