On 23 October, Prof. Dr. Gregor Majdič, Rector of the University of Ljubljana, met with a high-profile Egyptian delegation: Prof. Dr. Mohamed Diaa Zein El-Abedin, President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Dr. Gina El-Feky, President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology in Egypt, and Prof. Dr. Mamdouh Eldamaty, former Minister of Antiquities in Egypt. The meeting was also attended by Prof. Dr. Matija Strlič, Chairman of the Slovenian National Node of the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS.SI), Prof. Dr. Andreja Žgajnar Gotvajn, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Prof. Dr. Abdelrazek Elnaggar, Coordinator of the Slovenian-Egyptian Heritage Science Platform (SloveNile) and other members of the SloveNile research group from Egypt and Slovenia.

The meeting highlighted the importance of existing academic cooperation in the fields of medicine, engineering, and chemical sciences evidenced through recent mobilities and consultations regarding the development of the national node research infrastructure E-RIHS.EGY and strengthening the resilience of cultural heritage to climate change, including the co-organisation of a conference at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt in April 2025. The last two years have been an excellent demonstration of academic collaboration through the joint publication of academic articles by UL/ASU and the funding of the RSUL SloveNile interdisciplinary platform, which promotes collaboration and the development of EU funding proposals.

The meeting also discussed possible collaboration through GUILD, a joint UL/ASU archaeological expedition to Egypt, enrolling PhD students in UL through Egyptian and Slovenian funding programmes and Erasmus mobility/Erasmus Mundus for joint capacity building and educational initiatives, e.g. future joint academic programmes in heritage science, egyptology, archaeology and coptology.