In 2010/11 the Liaison Office of Freie Universität Berlin in Cairo will start a tutorial program for master and doctoral students working on Middle East-related topics in the social sciences and humanities. Our goal is to provide academic and administrative support to students attending universities or conducting research in Cairo, ideally in the form of two tutors, one European and one Egyptian.

The Liaison Office will put students in contact with members of the Cairo branch of a German or European institution, such as the DAAD, the German Archaeological Institute, the GTZ, the CEDEJ or the Netherlands-Flemish Institute. This person will act as a tutor and arrange for a second tutor to be available at one of the Egyptian universities or research institutes.

We select tutors whose skills and knowledge match students’ needs and who can thus provide competent advice. They will help students with administrative issues (access to Egyptian universities, etc.) as well as academic issues (literature research, interview contacts, etc.).

The reason for arranging two tutors, using a kind of snowball system, is to secure better access both to Egyptian universities and research institutes and to German and European institutes in Cairo. The two-advisor approach also aims to ensure a certain continuity.

In addition to coordinating the tutorial program, the Cairo Liaison Office of Freie Universität Berlin regularly organizes a research seminar within the premises of  the DAAD. During these events, which takes place every four to six weeks, graduate and postgraduate students can discuss their research projects and their initial research results with the group of tutors.

Masters and doctoral students who are planning on studying or doing research in Cairo and who would like to participate in the tutorial program should submit a short summary of their research together with their CV to cairo@zedat.fu-berlin.de before they arrive in Egypt.