NAID Hosts Graduation Ceremony for 2026 Assistive Technologies Summer Internship Program
The National Academy of Information Technology for Persons with Disabilities (NAID) has hosted the graduation ceremony for university students who participated in the 2026 Assistive Technologies Summer Internship Program. The eight-week training was organized at the Academy’s headquarters in Knowledge City, the New Capital.
The program brought together more than 140 senior-year students specializing in computer science, engineering, and various technological fields, from 11 Egyptian universities. These include Egypt University of Informatics (EUI), Cairo University, Ain Shams University, Benha University, Benha National University, Egypt-Japan University of Science and Technology (E-JUST), Nile University, Egyptian Russian University (ERU); Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Higher Future Institute for Specialized Technological Studies, and ElSewedy University of Technology (SUTech).
The summer program featured four main tracks: mechanical design and manufacturing, biomedical engineering, mixed reality, and computer vision and computational algorithms. It offered a comprehensive framework combining lectures with workshops and hands-on training in NAID’s specialized laboratories, helping students prepare their graduation project proposals.
As part of the program, a competition was held, during which trainees showcased 35 proposals, evaluated by a panel of more than 20 faculty members from Egyptian universities, alongside several experts from local tech companies.
During the ceremony, winning teams were honored in recognition of their efforts and the outstanding innovations and projects they presented in assistive technologies. Students also received certificates of completion. In addition, lecturers, trainers, and judges from several academic, industrial, and community organizations, whose active contributions were instrumental to the program's success, were honored.
The Assistive Technology Summer Internship Program aligns with NAID’s vision to advance the local development of assistive technology. The program adopts a comprehensive framework built on two pillars: academic programs and industry. Implemented in cooperation with partner universities, the program introduces undergraduates to assistive technologies and the required technical tools, as well as project planning and the various stages of development in this field. It also provides students with opportunities to develop and transform their ideas into practical solutions that empower persons with disabilities (PwDs) across Egypt.
The Assistive Technology Summer Internship Program supports NAID's vision to advance local assistive technology development through a comprehensive framework built on two pillars: academic and industrial. The program, delivered in partnership with universities, introduces undergraduates to assistive technology tools, guiding them through project planning and development, while giving them the opportunity to turn their ideas into practical solutions that benefit persons with disabilities (PwDs) across Egypt.
NAID is a national initiative under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), working to advance the technological empowerment of PwDs. It supports the local development of assistive technology by incubating startups, SMEs, and entrepreneurs in the field, and encouraging them to develop tech-driven solutions that empower people with special abilities and make everyday life easier.