Prof. Dr. Mona Mahmoud Abdel Latif, Director of the City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, announced the outcomes of the city’s activities during the period from July 2024 to June 2025. She emphasized that the city continues to implement the strategies of the state and the orientations of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, focusing on developing innovative solutions to the challenges facing the country in various fields (education, health, energy, agriculture, water, environmental protection, information technology, and food security).

The city also works on preparing specialized cadres through training programs and workshops to build a new generation of researchers and scientists capable of contributing to sustainable development. In addition, it strengthens cooperation between different research institutions inside Egypt and internationally to exchange expertise and knowledge, advance scientific research, and provide consultancy services to government institutions, the private sector, and industry in diverse fields, thereby improving their performance and efficiency.

SRTA-City further encourages innovation and entrepreneurship by providing an incubating environment for startups and offering technical and financial support to researchers and entrepreneurs to create new job opportunities, thus boosting economic growth. The city also launches initiatives to raise awareness of societal issues, enhancing public scientific knowledge and ensuring that science plays an active role in improving quality of life.

The city seeks to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in line with the pillars of Egypt’s National Strategy for Science, Technology, and Innovation 2030, focusing on several key areas, most notably increasing both the quantity and quality of international scientific publications. The city’s scientific research outputs published in high-impact international journals have attracted wide readership and citations, improving SRTA-City’s ranking in global indices.

Between July 2024 and June 2025, SRTA-City published 507 international scientific papers, bringing the total number of its international publications to 4,404.

Scientific Publications by QS Quartile Classification (507 papers total):

• Q1: 307 papers (60.55%)
• Q2: 95 papers (18.73%)
• Q3: 36 papers (7.10%)
• Q4: 13 papers (2.56%)
• Others: 56 papers (11.04%)

Scientific Publications by National Strategy Pillars (507 papers total):

• Health and Population: 165 (32.5%)
• Agriculture and Food: 124 (24.5%)
• Environment and Natural Resources Protection: 61 (12%)
• Energy: 58 (11.5%)
• Technological Applications and Future Sciences: 51 (10%)
• Water: 29 (5.5%)
• ICT and Space: 19 (3.5%)

The city has also improved the overall research ecosystem, not only in terms of international publications but also in citation counts, which reached 34,670 citations from 2021 until now. This reflects the effectiveness of the strategic plan designed to raise the quality of applied research outputs and improve Egypt’s indicators in global research rankings.

International Rankings of SRTA-City

1. Scimago Institutions Rankings (SIR) – 2025

• Global Position: 4,629 (47.4%) compared to 4,977 in 2024, marking a 7.6% improvement.
• Number of institutions increased from 9,054 (2024) to 9,756 (2025), intensifying global competition.
• SRTA-City was ranked within Q1 (top 25%) worldwide.
• Four institutes of the city were individually ranked in Q1:
  • Institute of Arid Land Agriculture Research (3724 – 38.1%)
  • Institute of Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology (5094 – 52.2%)
  • Institute of Environmental & Natural Materials Research (5457 – 55.9%)
  • Institute of Advanced Technology & New Materials Research (5719 – 58.6%)

2. Scimago MENA Ranking – 2024

• Ranked 6th among 322 research institutions from 22 countries in the 3rd edition of the SIR-MENA 2024 ranking.
• Ranked 3rd in Egypt, and 2nd among research institutions of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.
• Total Score: 0.1664 (improved from 0.1367 in 2023, when the city ranked 7th regionally and 4th nationally).

3. Stanford University Ranking – 2024/2025

• 12 researchers from SRTA-City were listed among the world’s top 2% most influential scientists across more than 50 scientific disciplines.

Research Projects and Patents

• Ongoing Research Projects (2024–2025):
  5 projects funded by local and international organizations, bringing the cumulative total to 154 projects.
• Patents (2024–2025):
  • 2 granted patents
  • 3 patents under review
  • Bringing the cumulative total to 25 granted patents and 61 patents under examination.

SRTA-City researchers also supervised numerous MSc and PhD theses across Egyptian universities, participated in local and international conferences, and conducted training programs and workshops.

Key Scientific Achievements (2024–2025)

1. Three New Thermoelectric Nanomaterials Registered in the ICDD Database
   A joint Egyptian-Italian team identified and officially registered three new nanostructured thermoelectric compounds in May 2025 in the International Centre for Diffraction Data (ICDD). These materials hold high scientific importance in renewable energy and thermoelectric applications.
2. Discovery of a New Fungus Species – Trichoderma egyptiacum
   A research team at SRTA-City, in collaboration with Egyptian and international partners, discovered a new Trichoderma species (Harzianum group), officially named Trichoderma egyptiacum.
   • Approved by the German Mycological Society (DGfM).
   • Published in Mycological Progress (June 2025).
   • Registered in MycoBank and included in global fungal databases.
   • Potential applications: biocontrol of plant pathogens, biofertilization, sustainable agriculture, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.

Awards and Competitions

• Environmental Research Award (2023):
  Dr. Rehab Mohamed Ali, Assistant Research Professor at the Institute of Advanced Technology & New Materials, won the late Prof. Dr. Mostafa Kamal Tolba Award for the best applied work in environmental protection (Academy of Scientific Research & Technology).
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation Competitions:
  • 1st Place (Alexandria Region) – Egyptian Entrepreneurship League 2024.
  • Multiple awards in the Startups Olympics 2024, including 1st and 2nd places in the researchers’ track.
  • 1st Prize – Best Poster (Project “MD Plast”) at Alexandria University’s Innovation Across Generations Forum.

Cooperation Protocols & Agreements (2024–2025)

SRTA-City signed 9 cooperation protocols, including:

• 6 new agreements with Galala University, Theodore Bilharz Research Institute, Arab Academy for Science & Technology, Alamein International University, Robex Plastic Co., and Youthinkgreen-Egypt.
• 3 renewals with Egyptian Petroleum Research Institute, Alexandria Water Company, and Alexandria Wastewater Company.

Community Services

Since its establishment, SRTA-City has provided consultancy and analytical services through its central laboratories and data center to universities, research centers, and industry.

It has also:

• Trained and hosted 1,352 students from universities, schools, and STEM schools.
• Organized Winter and Summer Schools in 2024–2025, benefiting:
  • 515 students (on-site training)
  • 1,533 students (online training)

Scientific Journal – SRTA-City

The city’s peer-reviewed journal Future Prospectives of Medical, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Biotechnology was included in the Primo system.

• Published Issues: No. 2 (July 2024), No. 3 (Nov 2024), No. 4 (Feb 2025).
• Journal website: https://fpmpeb.journals.ekb.eg

Awareness Initiative – “Science and Society”

Launched a series of short awareness videos presented by city researchers, addressing everyday life issues in simple, engaging language to raise public scientific awareness.

Entrepreneurship & Innovation (2024–2025)

Through its Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club), SRTA-City expanded efforts to foster entrepreneurship culture in line with Egypt’s Vision 2030.

Key Achievements:

1. Training & Awareness:
   • 4 design thinking boot camps
   • 2 annual Ideation Camps for students
   • 2 Entrepreneurship Weeks (workshops, exhibitions, interactive sessions)
2. Startup Support:
   • 4 “Startup Weekend” events to transform ideas into prototypes
   • Inspirational lectures by successful entrepreneurs
   • 5 teams qualified for technology incubators
3. Institutional & Societal Impact:
   • Strengthened entrepreneurship as a professional and societal choice
   • Linked research to economic feasibility and commercialization
   • Integrated entrepreneurship within student and research activities