Yarmouk University’s team won the first place for male teams in Al-Dhahiya race of Jordanian Universities’ Sports Federation, which was organized by the German Jordanian University, with the participation of 19 public and private universities. The student, Sanad Khaldoun Al-Hussein, came first at the individual male level, and the University team came first at the male team level for a distance of 8 km, and the university female team came third at the individual and team level for a distance of 4 km. The Dean of Student Affairs at Yarmouk University, Dr. Muhammad Thiabat, expressed Yarmouk's pride in the excellence of the team's players and their relentless pursuit of success, offering them congratulations and affirming the University administration's support for them. Noteworthy is that the University team included 7 male players and 5 female players supervised by Amr Malkawi, the athletics coach in the Department of Sports Activity at the Deanship.
The Jordanian team of Information Technology won the first place in the Huawei Regional Competition for Information and Communication Technology 2022 in its sixth edition, which took place in the Omani capital, Muscat. The team included Dr. Ahmed Kulaib, the director of the Center for E-Learning and Open Education Resources at Yarmouk University, and the students Yazan Al-Shanik from the Department of Cybersecurity in the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at Yarmouk, and Aws Al-Rayyan and Hamza Al-Zubaidi from Princess Sumaya University. This team surpassed 19300 male and female students from 472 universities from 11 countries in the Middle East and Asia, namely Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iraq, the Sultanate of Oman, the Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Kazakhstan.
Her Highness Princess Dana Firas, President of ICOMOS - Jordan and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Cultural Heritage, said that heritage with all its elements and components is a set of human values that forms identity and influences individuals’ belonging and association with homeland. This came during a dialogue session organized by Al-Hussein Bin Talal Library at Yarmouk University and the ICOMOS Jordan Office on Her Highness Princess’s book Unique and Distinguished: World Heritage Sites in Jordan. Her Highness added that heritage is directly related to growth, employment, and sustainable development, as it encourages innovation and creativity, promotes hope, positivity, and solidarity, and multiplies elements of hope and inspiration in our daily life. In addition, Her Highness said that the world attaches great importance to heritage and how to preserve and document it, which demands working hand in hand with experts, academics, and specialists to formulate history and the story of place. Her Royal Highness then thanked Yarmouk University, represented by Al-Hussein Bin Talal Library, for holding such a dialogue session, which inspires university students and acknowledges the value of heritage sites in Jordan as well as the rest of the universe.
The President of the University, Professor Islam Massad, said that holding this dialogue session complements the great efforts made by the Faculty of Archeology and Anthropology and the Faculty of Tourism in the field of archaeological excavation and scientific research. He then praised Princess Dana's initiative to transfer Her personal interest in heritage into a scientific publication, thus opening horizons of dialogue with faculty members and students on issues of the Jordanian cultural heritage and preserving it, and introducing them to international institutions working in the field of cultural heritage like the World Council of Monuments and Sites, ICOMOS.
For her part, the coordinator and director of ICOMOS Projects - Jordan, Engineer Lina Abu Salim, reviewed the emergence of ICOMOS as an international global non-governmental organization founded in 1965 and headquartered in Paris that aims at protecting and preserving cultural heritage sites and promoting the application of theory, methodology, and scientific techniques to preserve the architectural and archaeological heritage. She then noted that the Jordanian National Committee (ICOMOS- Jordan) was established in 2018 to support and promote the preservation of the Jordanian national cultural heritage through awareness programs, raising the capabilities of specialized cadres, and supporting scientific research in the fields of protection, preservation, and management of the cultural heritage.
Dr. Omar Al-Ghoul, Director of Al-Hussein Bin Talal Library at the University, stressed the importance of holding this session, as it informs students about the story of the book’s publication and its role in informing the local population about their potential contribution and participation in the process of protecting the heritage sites in Jordan. He also pointed out that the Library, through the session, celebrates the issuance of such a distinguished book, which deals with a subject very close to our identity and our national economy. Besides, Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, the former president of the University, said that students are aware of the repositories of civilization represented by archaeological sites through their stocks of archaeological remains and ancient writings, so that they may monitor the manner and extent of human civilizational development through the ages of any region. He then stressed that the book of Princess Dana Firas includes information, maps, and pictures of twenty Jordanian archaeological sites arranged in a list starting with the first site registered on the World Heritage List in 1985, namely Petra, and closing with a site nominated for the preliminary list since 2019, namely Al-Hurra Basalt.
For her part, the Dean of the Faculty of Archeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University, Dr. Lamia Khoury, reviewed the role of the University through the Faculty in raising the society's awareness of the importance of its cultural heritage and encouraging its participation in the process of appreciating and preserving that heritage. She added that the Faculty was established in 1984 as an academic and research institute specialized in the fields of archeology, anthropology, and inscriptions, after which it was transformed into a Faculty that grants bachelor and master degrees in archeology, anthropology, preservation and management of heritage resources, and ancient inscriptions and writings.
The Former Prime Minister, Dr. Hani Al-Mulqi, sponsored Yarmouk University’s honoring ceremony of the top students of the 43rd cohort, which was organized by the university’s Alumni Club in the presence of the Vice President of Yarmouk, Professor Muwaffaq Alomoush, at Al-Kindi Auditorium of the Faculty of Arts. Al-Mulqi mentioned that Yarmouk University is a Jordanian scientific edifice that has always been providing Jordan with educated youth and creative cadres and graduates. He then addressed honored students saying: “Today you are entering the stage of manhood, challenge, and hope to achieve aspirations of a decent life. The coming days are the most difficult experience, but if you handle it with sincerity and dedication, you will definitely reach your goals and hopes”. Moreover, Al-Mulqi pointed out that achieving goals needs not only aspirations, good intentions, or slogans, but also faith in God, the homeland, and the King, as well as hard work.
For his part, Alomoush affirmed the University's interest in its distinguished students and graduates through investing in their creativity and empowering them in all fields for their benefit and in favor of their University. He also pointed out that His Majesty King Abdullah II emphasizes the importance of activating the role of youth in public life, especially in university environments, advancing the process of youth empowerment, providing them with the necessary skills and knowledge to be a beneficial tributary for the labor market. He finally expressed the University's pride in its graduates whose number exceeds two hundred thousand individuals, including more than 14 thousand international graduates from 82 countries around the world.
The head of Yarmouk University’s Alumni Club, Dr. Essam Al-Azzam, said that Jordan should give the category of creative and outstanding students the majority of its attention and care, so that their achievements contribute to its renaissance and development. Doing this, he added, would be achieved through setting legislations to take care of such category and providing them with all necessary materials, capabilities, and scientific and research facilities.
Dr. Amal Al-Malkawi, who obtained the first place in the doctoral program in Arabic Language and Literature, delivered the speech of the honored graduates, in which she said: “we are fully aware that science is the base for constructing and developing civilizations and that the future of nations is associated with scientific prosperity and development. Malkawi also thanked Yarmouk University’s acknowledgment of the efforts of its faculty members and students, stressing that Yarmouk graduates, especially the top ones, need to get supported to fulfill their aspirations and continue the path of excellence and success.
A team of students from the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at Yarmouk University won the second place in the "Jordanian Cyber Warriors / (Capture the Flag)" competition, which was held by the National Center for Cybersecurity in cooperation with Al-Hussein Technical University under the auspices of the Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Mr. Ahmed Al-Hananda. The winning Super Nova team consisted of students Abdul Rahman Daknash, Osama Al-Omari, and Osama Abu Sara, while the Smoked Shells team consisted of students Ahmed Al-Alawneh, Ghaith Al-Quraan, Muhammad Al-Mansi, and Ghaith Al-Khatib who won the fourth place out of 30 student teams that qualified for the final rounds. Interestingly, thirteen student teams from the Faculty of Information Technology at Yarmouk University participated in the competition under the supervision and training of Eng. Muhammad Al-Jaafra, and all participating teams from Yarmouk University qualified for the final rounds out of 200 teams at the championship level. It is noteworthy that the competition is held in two stages: the first stage is the qualifying stage, which is held via the Internet, and the final stage is held at Al-Hussein Technical University at two levels, “beginner” and “intermediate and advanced”.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with Martin Gastal, the CERN advisor for the Middle East and North Africa, to discuss possible ways of cooperation between the two sides. At the beginning of the meeting, Massad stressed Yarmouk's interest in cooperating with the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in the fields of physics, engineering, and information technology by participating in the organization's research network membership, which enables the faculty members at the University to conduct scientific research in many innovative fields such as large data, artificial intelligence, physical sciences, and engineering. He also pointed out the possibility of cooperation with the organization to establish a joint doctoral program in the field of physics.
In return, Gastal reviewed the establishment of the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which appeared in 1952 at Switzerland as the largest laboratory in the world for particle physics research including 23 members and providing particle accelerators and other infrastructure necessary for high energy physics research. He then mentioned that the organization cooperates with various countries in the Middle East, such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Qatar, stressing the organization's interest in consolidating its cooperation with Jordanian universities in general. Also, he explained the types of membership in the organization’s research network, the mechanism for joining it, and the extent to which researchers at universities benefit from such a membership.
Yarmouk University is ranked third among top ten Arab universities concerning the number of citations obtained by its affiliated authors according to ARCIF 2022 report, which makes it the first Jordanian university in this field. According to the report of the Arab Impact and Citations Factor "ARCIF" for the year 2022, Dr. Zuhair Al-Tahat from the Department of Journalism at the Faculty of Mass Communication ranked second in the Arab world in the field of journalism and communication, Dr. Moawiya Abu Ghazal from the Department of Educational and psychological Counseling ranked third in the Arab world in the field of educational sciences, and Dr. Faisal Al-Rabee from the Department of Educational and Psychological Counseling ranked sixth in the Arab world in the field of educational sciences. In the same context, the Jordanian Journal of Art issued by Yarmouk University ranked third out of 14 scientific journals in the Arab world in the field of arts. Thus, the distinguished researchers were honored by the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the Minister of Education, Dr. Azmi Mahafatha, as part of the activities of the Scientific Forum honoring universities, journals, and authors who obtained advanced positions from Jordan and Palestine.
The Republic of Iraq named Yarmouk University and other official Jordanian universities as recognized institutes for the study of Iraqi students whether sponsored or at their own expenses. This confirmation, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, followed the visit of a Jordanian academic delegation to Iraq and the Kurdistan region. The Jordanian delegation, which was headed by the Chairman of the Commission for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Higher Education Institutions, Dr. Dhafer Al-Sarayrah, included the President of the University, Dr. Islam Massad, Dr. Mamoun Al-Deba’i, Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Dr. Sari Hamdan, President of Al-Ahliyya Amman University, and Dr. Anis Mansour, Member of the Higher Education Council.
Deputizing the President of Yarmouk University, the Vice President for Planning, Development, Scientific Research, and Quality Affairs, Professor Samer Samara, sponsored the activities of the symposium "Refugees and Human Rights: The Right to Education", which was organized by the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center in cooperation with the ALECSO Chair for Asylum, Displacement and Forced Migration, on the occasion of the Human Rights Day. The Director of the Center, Dr. Reem Al-Kharouf, delivered a speech in which she indicated that the convening of the symposium comes on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day, which takes place on the tenth of December of each year pointing out that emphasizing refugees’ right of education stems from the strategic plan of the Center that demands conducting a number of studies and policy papers on the challenges and problems facing the Jordanian youth and refugees in the field of education.
In his turn, Benjamin Schmalij talked about the role of the DAAD organization in the education sector in Jordan, the training opportunities and scholarships it provides to Jordanian and refugee students in various disciplines and scientific fields, and the support provided by the organization for researchers to implement different scientific projects, conduct research studies, and promote German language programs. He also reviewed the programs implemented by the DAAD in Jordan and the number of Jordanian students benefiting from them, calling on university students and faculty members to view all information about the various training and education programs provided by the organization.
Lara Nassar from the regional office of Nuffic's office in Jordan talked about Nuffic's endeavor to transfer educational expertise from the Netherlands to Jordan, considering that Nuffic offers many programs that target students and graduates to enhance their basic skills in a way that bridges the gap between education and the labor market. She then stressed the importance of cooperation in promoting the educational rights of all refugees.
In return, Tamara Bakis, from the Learning Department at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), explained that education is one of the pillars of protecting the future of refugees, pointing out that Jordan hosts 12% of the number of refugees in the world. Compared to the number of its population, she noted that Jordan shows great cooperation in overcoming the obstacles and challenges facing education for refugees at the school and higher education levels, stressing the need to develop vocational training programs to enable young people to engage in the labor market.
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.
