Advancing 200 ranks in QS World University Rankings for 2024, compared to last year, Yarmouk University is now in the category 1001-1200, which sets Yarmouk in the fifth rank among other Jordanian universities included in QS rankings after it was in the eighth rank according to last year’s list. Additionally, Yarmouk was recently classified as one of the best 283 universities worldwide concerning the impact of alumni, as its graduates occupy advanced leadership positions in many prestigious institutions locally, regionally, and internationally. It also ranked among the top 570 universities in the field of job reputation and among the top 600 universities in terms of academic reputation.
The Vice President for Quality, Development, and Scientific Research, Professor Samer Samarah, had received, in the presence of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Professor Azmy Mahafza, the QS-classification certificate at a ceremony recently held by the QS Foundation in Dubai, UAE.
Thus, the University president, Professor Islam Massad, expressed the University’s pride in this achievement, pointing out that such a progress in the QS classification reflects the University's firm commitment to academic and research excellence. He also acknowledged Yarmouk’s constant pursuit and interest in developing a modern and advanced educational environment, strengthening international communication and academic partnerships with prestigious international institutions, and attracting more outstanding students and professors to the University's various scientific and humanities programs.
Noteworthy here is that Yarmouk University also achieved a remarkable progress in the Times World Ranking at the level of Asian universities for 2023, thus it ranked in the category (351- 400) after it was in the category (401-500) during 2022.
At the UNHCR headquarter,Yarmouk University and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) held a dialogue meeting entitled "Possibilities and Alternatives” concerning increasing the enrollment of refugees in higher education programs in Jordan with an average of 15% by 2030. The meeting took place in the presence of a delegation from Al al-Bayt University including members from Al al-Bayt Council of Trustees and Al al-Bayt’s Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of the Refugee Center. The meeting aimed at enhancing the efforts towards achieving Goal 15 by 2030, which was activated in 2022 through Yarmouk University and the UNHCR during the first national dialogue session for Goal 15 by 2030. The meeting also aimed at strengthening the national information management systems, the registration systems in universities,thus enabling them to disclose the status of international protection needed for planning, programming, and increasing the number of refugee students enrolled in higher education institutions.
During the meeting, the Director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center at Yarmouk University, Dr. Reem Al-Kharouf, reviewed the beginnings of the project which started by many sessions and meeting with the aim of figuring out the causes and obstacles that decrease the enrollment rate of refugees in higher education programs. She then reported that more than 100 students and participants from Yarmouk University and the local community participated in the project’s sessions, which reflects the significance of such meetings and gatherings for refugees’ aspirations and objectives.
In the same context, Zeina Jadaan, head of the education department at UNHCR, emphasized that higher education is essential for refugees, when it comes to providing long-term development solutions, whether in host countries or countries of origin.She then pointed to the inability of refugee students to afford university tuition fees in the international program after the end of their secondary education, promoting that as the main reason behind the low rates of enrollment in higher education institutions.
Supervised by Dr. Ahmad Klaib, the Director of the E-learning and Open Learning Resources Center at Yarmouk University, the national team including the students Yazan Al-Shanik from the Faculty of Information Technology at Yarmouk University and Aws Al-Rayyan and Hamza Al-Zubaidi from Princess Sumaya University won the second place of Huawei International Competition for Information and Communication Technology 2022/2023 in the field of Network Track, which took place in China. The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, congratulated the Jordanian team on this great achievement, expressing Yarmouk’s pride in its students and faculty members who have shown their ability of deploying skills and knowledge to compete in such international competitions and obtain distinguished job opportunities in the Arab and regional labor market.
The Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at the University, Dr. Qasim Radaydah, expressed his happiness and pride in the Faculty’s distinguished students and academic members, stressing the Faculty’s support for its students and its keenness to encourage them to participate in various technological competitions at the local, regional, and international levels. In his turn, Kleib explained that the Jordanian team achieved such a position after passing the final qualifying stages that witnessed crucial competition among 140 teams from 62 countries around the world, pointing out that the competition included several sectors in information technology, artificial intelligence, information security, computer networks, the Internet of things, cloud computing, data storage, and Mega data. He added that the competition aims mainly at developing the technological and information capabilities of young people, thus preparing a generation of talented technical cadres to contribute to building the digital economy and advancing the social and economic development by taking advantage of modern technologies.
In the presence of Yarmouk President, Professor Islam Massad, and the Australian Ambassador to Amman, Mr. Bernard Lynch, the Faculty of Fine Arts at Yarmouk University organized an exhibition of historical photographs celebrating one hundred years of friendship between Jordan and Australia. Massad acknowledged the relations of love, friendship, and cooperation between Jordan and Australia, praising Australia’s constant efforts to support Jordan and its institutions in various humanitarian and scientific fields, i.e. educational opportunities, Jordanian community support, and supporting refugees in Jordan. Massad said that this qualitative exhibition includes photo documentation that chronicles the bilateral relations between the two countries and celebrates the Australian Embassy’s publication of the book Forged Under Fire, a book that documents the permanent partnership that lasted for more than a century of bilateral participation in defense fields. He then stressed that Yarmouk University is always proactive in activating ways of partnership and networking with educational and research institutions in various countries of the world based on its philosophy of activating ties with society at the local, Arab, and international levels.
The Australian Ambassador, Mr. Bernard Lynch, affirmed the interest of the Australian embassy in empowering the existing relations between the two friendly countries, which contributes to enhancing opportunities for cooperation and cultural, scientific, and economic exchange between Jordan and Australia. Lynch then pointed out that the cooperation between the two countries is present in form of a close defense and security partnership based on the many common interests and the strong bilateral diplomatic and trade relations. Such ties, he said, help in strengthening ways of cooperation in the fields of technology, water management, agriculture, education, and culture, etc.
Moreover, during their tour of the exhibition, the Australian ambassador valued the Jordanian-Australian relations that stem from ancient cultural ties, explaining that the historical photos included in the exhibition document the contribution of the Australian forces in the Great Arab Revolt where the Australian Infantry, the Australian Air Force, and other units entered Jordan in support of the Great Arab Revolt against the Ottoman rule.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with the Regional Director of the QS Institute for Evaluating the Performance of Universities in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, Dr. Ashwin Fernandes, and the Regional Officer in the Middle East and Africa, Rami Awwad, where a five-star evaluation certificate was awarded to the University. Massad expressed his pride and happiness for this achievement, which would not have been possible without the efforts of all its academic and administrative staff. He explained that the certificate indicates that the University is moving in the right direction, stressing that Yarmouk is distinguished and pioneering in its academic mission. He added that Yarmouk seeks to strengthen its scientific status and develop and update its educational programs to enhance the quality of the outputs of the educational process and prepare its graduates to achieve excellence and be creative.
For his part, Fernandes congratulated Yarmouk University for obtaining this certificate, which came in appreciation of the excellence of the work carried out by the University, pointing to the importance of working and networking with Faculty members and graduates in terms of scientific research, which reflects positively on the performance of the University and its ranking in global assessments.
The meeting was attended by the vice-presidents of the University, the dean of Al-Hijjawi Faculty for Technological Engineering, the director of the Accreditation and Quality Assurance Center, and a number of university officials.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with the Malaysian Ambassador to Jordan, Muhammad Nasri bin Abdul Rahman, accompanied by the Minister Counselor at the Embassy, Dr. Radzuwan Ab Rashid, to discuss ways of academic and cultural cooperation between the two sides. Massad said, at the beginning of the meeting, that Yarmouk University pays much attention to its international students who are viewed as ambassadors of the University in their countries after their graduation. He then reviewed the University’s establishment and the specializations it offers in various humanitarian, scientific, and health fields. Massad also referred to the depth of academic and scientific relations between Yarmouk and various Malaysian institutions of higher education, calling on the Malaysian embassy to expand the horizons of this cooperation by supporting more Malaysian students to complete their studies at the University and enhancing student exchange programs between Yarmouk and various Malaysian universities. This, he said, provides an opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge among the two sides in the various fields of knowledge and science. Moreover, he praised the distinguished academic level of the 698 Malaysian students studying at Yarmouk, emphasizing their commitment to the University’s regulations and instructions.
In return, the Malaysian ambassador referred to the depth of the strong relations between the two brotherly countries and the academic and scientific cooperation between the various Jordanian and Malaysian universities, praising the high academic reputation of Yarmouk University and the distinguished level of its Malaysian graduates. He then stressed the readiness of the embassy to build bridges of academic cooperation between Yarmouk and Malaysian universities in areas of common interest, which may contribute to increasing student exchange opportunities between the two sides.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met the Turkish Ambassador to Amman, Erdem Ozan, and the accompanying delegation to discuss ways of possible cooperation between Yarmouk University and the Turkish Embassy as well as the various Turkish educational and research institutions. During the meeting, Massad stressed the depth of cooperation and friendship relations between Jordan and Turkey, remarking that Yarmouk is one of the leading national institutions in the field of higher education. He then stated that Yarmouk is keen on networking and cooperating with various Turkish educational and research institutions in areas of common interest, pointing out that Yarmouk is one of the pioneer universities that have taken great strides in the field of teaching foreign languages, as part of its study plans, in form of language course packages, which include among many others the Turkish language. Moreover, he stressed the importance of mastering the skill of communicating in international languages, other than Arabic and English, for medical, engineering, nursing, business, and information technology graduates, as this opens up more job opportunities for graduates in regional and international markets.
For his part, the Turkish Ambassador to Amman praised the distinguished scientific reputation of Yarmouk University, especially in the field of teaching the Turkish language, expressing the embassy's continuous support of this program. He then valued Yarmouk’s interest in building bridges of cooperation with the embassy and Turkish and research universities, confirming that the embassy attaches great importance to supporting events and cultural exchange programs organized by Yarmouk. After the meeting, the Turkish Ambassador met the Turkish students studying at Yarmouk and Yarmouk students of the Turkish language program, where a group of activities were presented in the Turkish language.
The Vice President of Yarmouk University for Academic Affairs, Professor Muwaffaq Alomoush, met with Eran Williams, the Director of Regional English Language Office (RELO) at the US Embassy in Amman, in the presence of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Musa Rababa’a, to discuss ways of enhancing possible cooperation between the two sides. Alomoush expressed the University’s appreciation of the support it receives from the US Embassy in Amman through the fellowship program of teaching English in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University. He explained that such support enabled the department of English to hold events and workshops for its students as well as those of other departments of modern languages and translation. He then pointed out the keenness of Yarmouk University to enhance this cooperation through attracting more academics to teach in the various faculties and academic programs offered by Yarmouk for a semester or more.
For his part, Williams praised the outstanding status of Yarmouk University and the efforts made by the Faculty of Arts to benefit from the fellowship program in teaching English, expressing the embassy's readiness to continue cooperation in this field and network with interested academics from the different American universities participating in the program so that they come to Jordan and join the teaching staff in the different majors involved in the fellowship program.
Noteworthy is that the meeting was attended by the Head of the Department of English Language and Literature, Dr. Hussein Obeidat, Dr. Sean Adam Hughes from Columbia University in New York, the representative of the Fellowship Program in Teaching English at the Embassy, Natalie Moret, and the Assistant Dean of the Faculty, Dr. Nancy Al-Daghmi.
The activities of the second language week began at Yarmouk University under the slogan “Learn a language, find an opportunity”, which was organized by the Faculty of Arts at the University, with the aim of spreading interest in the German, French, Turkish, Spanish, Italian and Chinese languages. The activities of the week began with the Spanish Language Day, which took place in the presence of the Mexican Ambassador to Amman, Roberto Rodriguez Arnandez, Venezuelan Ambassador, Omar Bilma Osuna, Panama Ambassador, Mr. Jose Ulises Lusori, Chilean Consul, Chelsea Rene Rojas, and Spanish Deputy Ambassador, Ms. Estpalez López Rodriguez.
The Dean of the Faculty, Professor Musa Rababa, emphasized the interest that the Faculty of Arts attaches to holding a week for international languages to increase students' awareness of the need to learn such languages, which opens doors for them towards the future. Rababa then pointed out that the interest in international languages falls within the framework of the vision adopted by Yarmouk University at the beginning of the academic year 2022-2023, which is represented by providing University students with Language Packages as part of their study plans. The University offers, he explains, students of some faculties with the option to choose four courses from a specific international language to qualify them for success and empower their hopes and aspirations.
The Mexican Ambassador, Roberto Rodriguez Arnandez, thanked Yarmouk University for organizing this week, which included many activities that motivated students to learn languages and get acquainted with them, calling on students to be more diligent to learn the Spanish language and culture. In his turn, the Venezuelan Ambassador, Omar Bilma Osuna, spoke about the history of the establishment of Venezuela, its geography, and its population, appreciating the efforts of Yarmouk University to communicate with the embassies of different countries and for organizing such event. The Ambassador of Panama, Mr. Jose Ulises Lusori, said that Panama is a small country, but it has great historical contact with Jordan, stressing the Embassy's endeavor to enhance its cooperation with various Jordanian universities in various cultural, literary, and educational fields. He then pointed out that there are many common interests between Jordan and Panama in the cultural aspect, which represents an opportunity for cooperation between the embassy and Yarmouk University in the field of student exchange. He then emphasized the importance of learning more than one language, which enables people to communicate with others and learn about different cultures.
For his part, the Chilean Consul, Chelsea Rene Rojas, affirmed that the difference in languages between peoples and their different cultures opens up prospects for cooperation in the field of education between different countries, pointing out that the Spanish language brings together many countries. The Deputy Ambassador of Spain, Mrs. Estepalez López Rodriguez, said that the Spanish language is the second language spoken in the world and that there are more than 23 million students learning Spanish as a second language, which makes learning Spanish a way out for a better future. She pointed out that the 21st century is the time of the Spanish language, highlighting the Spanish embassy's endeavor to support the teaching of the Spanish language for students and members of the local community.
Noteworthy here is that the Spanish Language day included a variety of student activities, including the performance of some songs in the Spanish language, telepatia, and a Spanish choir resistire. Some students also recited poems in Spanish and performed some games in the Spanish language, such as the game of colors and kahoot, besides showing a video presentation about the visit to the Spanish Center.
The preparation of scientific competencies in various fields of knowledge, and the production of innovative scientific research aims to serve society by providing exemplary education in an intellectually stimulating university environment.