Mohamed Rochdi, president of the French University in Egypt, says an Egyptian government policy of attracting francophone African students fits his university.
Speaking in a special episode of Al-Fanar Media Podcast, Rochdi said it was amazing how many francophone African students wanted to study at French universities but couldn’t because of financial or other constraints, so many were coming to Egypt instead. The French University in Egypt teaches in both French and English, depending on the subject, he said.
Rochdi’s conversation with Mohammad El-Hawary, executive director and editor-in-chief of Al-Fanar Media, took place Rochdi’s office in El-Shorouk City, east of Cairo, where construction is underway on the university’s new campus. It came just days before the first anniversary of his taking up the post.
Rochdi, who is French of Moroccan descent, and El-Hawary discussed numerous topics, including growth in educational relations between France and Egypt, marked by French President Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit to Egypt, and how the French University in Egypt had been a model of cooperation between the two countries since being established in 2002.
Rochdi has held numerous positions in France, including serving as a regional coordinator for research and technology, deputy minister of higher education and scientific research, and president of the Technological City of La Réunion, in the Indian Ocean French Overseas Territory. He has been an academic and scientific cooperation attaché at the French Embassy in Greece (2018–2022) and in Qatar (2022–2024). He has also run Campus France, the French agency that promotes higher education in France and oversees student exchange programmes.
