The Vice President of Yarmouk University for Planning, Development, Scientific Research, and Quality Affairs, Professor Samer Samara, met a delegation from the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation Office in Amman, headed by the Director of the Office, Dr. Edmund Retka, accompanied by Simon Engelkes and Lianne Onis, to discuss ways to activate the existing cooperation between the University and the Office. Samara stressed that Yarmouk pays careful attention to expanding its network of cooperation with various international institutions and organizations in a way that benefits its educational progress and enhances its academic reputation. He pointed to the importance of activating the existing memorandum of cooperation between the two sides, according to which the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation trains a group of Students from Yarmouk Faculty of Business on how to submit policy papers about the economic challenges of the Jordanian society. Samara also pointed to the possibility of cooperation between the University represented by the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center and the Foundation through the establishment of programs concerned with empowering women in elections. For his part, Ratka reviewed the emergence of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation whose activities are distributed in more than 120 countries and has 16 offices in Germany and more than 80 offices in other countries, highlighting its interest in strengthening cooperation with various Jordanian institutions and organizations in the field of social and economic policies.
After the meeting, the delegation members visited the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center where the Center’s head, Prof. Reem Al-Kharouf, talked about the establishment of the center, its objectives, the services it provides in the fields of training, research and project implementation, its medium-term strategic plan for the years 2022-2024, and its future aspirations to be a national and regional research reference that supports decision-makers and researchers in asylum and migration issues.
Representing the President of Yarmouk University, the Vice President of Yarmouk University for Administrative Affairs, Professor Riyad Al-Momani, inaugurated the activities of Jusoor's first conference, "The Present Challenges and Future Prospects for Sign Language Interpreters", which was organized by the First Jordanian Association of Sign Language Interpreters in cooperation with the Deanship of Student Affairs at the university. In his opening speech of the conference, Al-Momani said that Yarmouk University has worked since its establishment to prepare qualified leaders in various fields of science and knowledge and that holding such a conference is an embodiment of the aspects of the university’s openness and support of sustainable development in Jordan. He added that sign language has become one of the important languages in the world and that it is witnessing continuous developments in light of the advances taking place in all sectors as a result of technological and communications developments. He then stated that the university’s deanship of student affairs is keen to involve the deaf in various extracurricular activities and events and to provide those in need with sign language interpreters.
For his part, the President of the First Jordanian Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Osama Tahrawi, talked about the association’s establishment and its mission in consolidating the profession of sign language interpreter and developing it in accordance with international standards in partnership with all relevant institutions inside and outside Jordan. He also reviewed a set of tasks and achievements of the association, starting with providing interpretation services in sign language for people with hearing disabilities (deaf people), spreading the culture of the deaf and teaching sign language to non-native speakers in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Civil Defense, Public Security, Civil Status, and special education students in universities.
However, the conference program included a series of scientific sessions that discussed major themes about sign language interpreters in Jordan, indicative translation for the deaf, and the role of a sign language interpreter in raising the language inventory of students with hearing disabilities.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, affirmed that Jordan is distinguished among its peers in the region by embracing a distinguished medical educational sector, which is one of the largest tributaries of the Arab and regional market of distinguished competencies in the field of medicine, nursing, and medical support services. During his meeting with a delegation from the College of Medicine at UCLA, which included Dr. Nevin Al-Farra, Dr. Cecily Gallup, Dr. Faisal Saab, and Dr. Zoe Statopoulos, Massad indicated that the Faculty of Medicine at Yarmouk University includes distinguished academic competencies pointing that the university adopts a training system for its medicine students in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and medical services hospitals. He added that the Faculty of Medicine in Yarmouk seeks to network with medical faculties of distinguished international universities to establish a solid base for student scholarships. Moreover, he pointed out Yarmouk's keenness to consolidate its cooperation with UCLA University by strengthening the student exchange program, which includes training and qualifying medicine students, stressing the importance of the Global Health Program "DGSOM" hosted by UCLA University, which aims at enhancing opportunities for improving health globally. He then emphasized that choosing the city of Irbid to be the home for implementing the DGSOM project is an ideal choice in view of the affiliation of Irbid’s hospitals with the Ministry of Health as well as the military and private sectors. In return, the members of the delegation confirmed the interest of the Faculty of Medicine at UCLA in cooperating with Yarmouk University in various fields, especially in the implementation of the DGSOM program, which focuses on training students in the countries of the Middle East including more than one stage for training students in practical terms and conducting scientific research.
The delegation also met with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Manar Al-Luama, who reviewed the establishment of the faculty and its departments and accompanied the delegation on a tour in the various facilities and laboratories of the faculty. Besides, the delegation met with the Director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center, Dr. Reem Al-Kharouf, who indicated that the center seeks to achieve the university's vision of becoming a global center for research programs on asylum and forced migration.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, affirmed Yarmouk's interest in being an active partner in the planning and implementation of various projects supported by the European Union Mission to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, given the distinguished academic competencies that Yarmouk embraces in the various scientific fields. During his meeting with a delegation of the European Union to the Kingdom, which included the Vice President of Cooperation and Director of the Department of Economy, Infrastructure, and Trade, Dr. Tiboh Moyer, and Director of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change Programs, Dr. Omar Abu Obaid, Massad pointed out the importance of integrating the academic sector with the various activities and programs of both the public and private sectors, as this contributes to advancing the sustainable development in the local community. He added that the university, through the Department of International Relations and Projects, has prepared two draft projects in the field of sustainable development and circular economy.
In return, the Vice President for Academic Affairs, Professor Muwaffaq Omoush, stressed the need to bridge the gap between the academic sector, the industrial sector, and the public sector, which opens many prospects for cooperation between the various institutions affiliated with those sectors, stressing Yarmouk’s keenness to participate in the Green-Revolution projects supported by the Mission during next year.
For his part, Moyer said that Jordan is a key partner of the European Union at the global and regional levels, as the vision of the European Union Mission in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is to ensure the implementation and follow-up of bilateral relations in the political, economic, trade, security, and foreign aid fields. He stressed the interest of the European Union Mission to cooperate with Yarmouk to implement a set of scientific and research projects supported by the Erasmus Plus program, especially in the field of responding to the Syrian crisis, in addition to the possibility of cooperation to conduct scientific research and joint projects in the field of agriculture and resource management.
The program of Arabic for speakers of other languages at the Language Center of Yarmouk University received 313 male and female students from 17 western and Islamic countries, including the United States of America, Britain, Belgium, France, Russia, Lithuania, Bosnia, Thailand, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Peru, Turkey, Senegal, and Sweden. The center held an exam to determine the level of new students in the Arabic language for non-native speakers, where the director of the center, Professor Lamia Hammad, said that the exam measures students’ skills of reading, listening, speaking, writing, and grammar. Students who pass the exam, she explained, at an average of (60%) or above are exempted from registering “one level for the Arabic language course for non-native speakers”, and they get directly registered for the courses of their study plan. As for students with an average below than (60%), they get categorized into three levels according to their skills and are accordingly registered in “a one-level course of Arabic language for non-native speakers”. She then added that the center has recently computerized the placement test for non-Arabic students through the university’s e-learning and open education resources center, emphasizing that the computerized exam got effective in this first semester 2022/2023.
Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology at Yarmouk University introduced three projects in the SOFEX Military Exhibition 2022, which was launched in Aqaba under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein as part of the SOFEX 2022 Conference and Exhibition with the participation of 38 countries and more than 300 companies specialized in defense equipment and weapons. The President of the University, Professor Islam Massad, stressed the University’s pride in the ability of its students to link their projects with the needs of different knowledge economies. In his turn, the Dean of Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology, Dr. Muwaffaq Otoom, explained that the stages of selecting the three projects began with the nomination of 13 projects from the different departments of the Faculty. Seven projects were selected by the Research and Scientific Cooperation Department at the Jordanian Center for Design and Development for the official interview. The first project, he explained, was for students, Iyas Abu Mousa and Razan Mashalji, supervised by Dr. Yousra Obeidat from the Department of Electronics Engineering, the second was for students Mahmoud Fayyad and Mohamed Jawabreh, supervised by Engineer Mamoun El-Tantawy from the Department of Electronics Engineering, and the third project was for students Salsabil Al-Hussainat, Sarah Al-Momani, and Nour Nasir, supervised by Dr. Sherif Abdel Razek from the Department of Communications Engineering.
- Hanandeh: “Securing the future of Jordan is the prosperity of our children and youth”.
- Massad: “The King's thought constitutes the compass of the University’s strategies and action plans”.
- German Ambassador: “We support the efforts of the Jordanian government in terms of developing and enhancing the public administration”.
The Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Ahmed Hanandeh, stressed that securing the future of Jordan is the prosperity of Jordanian children and youth and that Jordan always deserves our best efforts to secure the future of growing generations. This came during the minister’s sponsorship of the opening of the activities of the first international conference entitled "The Future of Public Administration: Global Experiences" organized by the Department of Public Administration at Yarmouk's Faculty of Business in the Fairmont Amman Hotel, with the participation of researchers from 20 Arab and foreign countries. During the opening of the conference, Hanandeh stressed that the government must develop itself (i.e. systems, policies and tools) and adopt creativity and innovation as well as concepts of flexibility and agility in responding to the changes taking place. Hanandeh also pointed that there is a great burden on educational institutions in terms of developing the skills of graduates by guiding university students to the right path in all fields and providing them with digital skills, which have become the basic requirement for all disciplines and sectors of work.
In his turn, Yarmouk University President, professor Islam Massad, affirmed that Yarmouk University takes the thought of His Majesty King Abdullah II as a compass for its strategies and action plans, noting that His Majesty’s royal messages and directives urge the need to make a qualitative leap in the performance of the public sector, which is considered as one of the most important fields of development. He also said that Yarmouk University has always been initiative to follow up on local affairs and work to keep pace with them through its faculties and scientific centers, as evident in the sincere efforts of the Department of Public Administration at the Faculty of Business to prepare for such an international conference, which reviews important issues like excellence and innovation, the future of artificial intelligence, and the management tools of the future.
The German Ambassador in Amman, Bernhard Kampmann, expressed the interest and support of the Federal Republic of Germany for the reforms that the Jordanian government is working on with regard to the public administration, which embodies the keenness of His Majesty King Abdullah II and his permanent directives to the government to implement such reforms towards improving the services provided to citizens. Kampman then stressed the important role of citizens in developing the public administration sector, indicating that the quality of public administration is linked to human resources, especially women and people with disabilities. Besides, the Regional Director of the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ) in Jordan, Elisabeth Gerbach, expressed the agency's support for this academic conference, which is part of GIZ's support for scientific activities related to the new administration with reference to the speed that has become an essential feature to our world today. She added that countries should support, develop, and motivate public administration to encounter the challenges of the century, praising the efforts of Jordan to keep pace with the process of modernization in various areas of administration.
The Dean of the Faculty of Business, Dr. Michael Sweidan, indicated that the issue of public administration in all its dimensions and entitlements has constituted a national concern and a priority in the comprehensive development policies of countries as the public sector has been leading the sustainable development process across the world. He explained that this sector emphasizes using an important part of manpower, regulating different markets, and controlling the pace of partnership with the private sector and its institutions. He added that the royal interest in developing the public sector through well-defined initiatives is present in the royal discussion papers as well as His Majesty the King’s continuous directives to the government to make the best use of all means to raise the efficiency of the government performance and investment. Sweidan pointed out that holding such a conference is to explore the prospects and future of public administration in the countries of the world and to deepen our understanding of the experiences governments and countries have gone through.
Dr. Shaker Al-Adwan, Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference, said in his speech that holding the conference came in response to the transformation witnessed by the world and the region at all economic, political and social levels. Al-Adwan reviewed the main themes of the conference that focus on the future of digital transformation and artificial intelligence, the future of government innovation, government excellence, institutional reputation in the public sector, the future of human resources in the public sector, and the future of the public sector, highlighting that the future of the food security management and the future of public transport are among the conference’s most significant topics.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with a delegation from Spain that included the Director of the Spanish Cultural Center in Amman, Juan Becente Bequeiras Salinas, the Education Coordinator at the Center, Dr. Almudena Hassan Bosque, and the Training Coordinator, Christina Thagri. During the meeting, Massad stressed Yarmouk University's constant endeavor to expand its network of cooperation with various prestigious international universities and centers adding that the university offers courses in the Spanish language through the Department of Modern Languages in the Faculty of Arts and the Spanish language package offered by the University's Language Center.
In response, the delegation members praised the university’s distinguished academic reputation, appreciating the active role of the Department of Modern Languages at the university, which has been organizing many cultural activities concerned with the Spanish language, which always supports the educational process and students’ love of Spanish culture and language. Thus, the Spanish delegation participated in the activities of the Spanish Language Day, which included a series of Spanish language and cultural presentations introduced by Spanish language students and some other activities including a video presentation about Spanish proverbs, and the famous traditional foods and tourist sites in Spain.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with a delegation from Leiden University in the Netherlands, which included the advisor for educational grants and international projects, Kathleen Smits, and the director of the International Mobility Program in the Dutch office of Erasmus Plus, Alexandra Rimmekers, to discuss ways of enhancing scientific and research cooperation between the two sides. Massad stressed that Yarmouk is always interested in scientific and research cooperation with various international educational institutions, pointing out that Yarmouk has many cooperation agreements with universities and international educational institutions, according to which the university implements projects and scientific research, and exchanges students and faculty members, especially through the Erasmus Plus program. He also praised the prestigious scientific reputation of the Dutch University of Leiden, especially in the field of archeology and anthropology. In return, the delegation members acknowledged Yarmouk University for its successful cooperation with international universities and institutions of higher education attributing such success to the diversity and uniqueness of the specializations offered by Yarmouk. They then reviewed the development of Leiden University where more than 150 study programs are offered and more than 40 national and international research institutes are found.
Besides, Massad met Dr. Philippe Moreau from the Office of International Relations at Saint Louis University in Belgium to strengthen the existing cooperation between the two universities. Massad stressed the importance of continuing cooperation with Saint Louis University, mentioning that 6 students, two faculty members, and a member of the administrative staff were sent to Saint Louis University through Erasmus Plus to benefit from its expertise in the French language. He also mentioned that Yarmouk received 4 students from Saint Louis in its program of Arabic for speakers of other languages. In response, Moreau stressed the importance of continuing the effective academic cooperation between the two sides in a way that enhances the educational and cultural process in both universities.
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.
