Yarmouk University achieved the third place in Queen Rania National Award for Entrepreneurship, which was organized by Queen Rania Center for Entrepreneurship at Princess Sumaya University as part of the activities of the Global Entrepreneurship Week. This achievement was accomplished by a team of students established by the Leadership and Innovation Center at the university. The students are Yasser Al-Shakhshir, Abdul-Hamid Al-Dalkamouni, and Anas Al-Far from the Department of Computer Science in the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science. These students launched an electronic platform called "e-tollab" that aims at explaining and simplifying all university subjects for scientific, engineering, medical, and human faculties.
Yazan Al-Shanik, a student from the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at Yarmouk University, won the first place in the Huawei ICT Practice 2022 Competition at the level of Jordanian universities. The Huawei competition included challenges in the latest topics related to information security, networks, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, wireless networks, and the Internet of Things.
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.
In the Fourth International Student Media Forum organized by Al Qasimia University in the United Arab Emirates under the title "Digital Media and National Identity", Yarmouk University achieved first place in the master's category for the second year in a row. Yarmouk University won this research award for a study entitled "The Relationship between Media Education and the Consolidation of Citizenship Values in Terms of Behavioral Theory". The study is composed by student Suhaib Bodour from the Radio and Television Department at the Faculty of Mass Communication under the supervision of Dr. Muhammad Habis. However, noteworthy is that this edition of the forum, which came under the slogan "Our identity is our responsibility", hosted 568 student participations from 12 countries representing 32 universities and research institutions.
The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, participated the students of the Arabic for Speakers of Other Languages Program a breakfast banquet organized by the University's Language Center. During the gathering, Massad stressed that Yarmouk is an attractive academic environment for students from different countries due to the academic programs it offers and the pioneering scientific reputation it enjoys as well as the various nationalities it includes, pointing out that the university represented by the Language Center pays a great attention to students studying in the Arabic Language program for Non-Arabic Speakers. In return, the Director of the Center, Professor Lamia Hammad, affirmed the Center's belief in the importance of cultural openness and awareness of customs and traditions as they embody the meanings of respect and dialogue between different Arab, Islamic, and international nations. She pointed out that organizing such activity aims at involving students of the Arabic Language Program for Speakers of Other Languages into university life, consolidating relations between them, and introducing them to Jordanian traditional food.
For their part, the students of the program thanked the university and the Language Center for organizing the activity, appreciating, at the same time, the attention paid by Yarmouk University to its international students as well as the keenness of the center’s management and staff to create all the conditions that ensure a sound learning environment for them.
It is noteworthy that the number of students of the Arabic for Speakers of Other Languages Program at Yarmouk University is 162 students coming from 10 countries around the world: China, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, America, Peru, Britain, India and Bosnia.
- 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 former minister of Social Development, Reem Abu Hassan, sponsored the activities of the "Hand in Hand to Stop Violence against Women" ceremony, which was organized by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies at Yarmouk University in cooperation with the International Relief Committee and the Lutheran Charitable Union as part of the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women. Abu Hassan said that Jordan recognizes the importance of promoting women's political, economic, and social participation as evident in amending the Jordanian constitution by adding the phrase “Jordanian women” for the first time, thus recording a regional democratic precedent in women's rights. She pointed out that violence against women is not a Jordanian case, but rather a global phenomenon that not only includes physical violence, but incorporates also economic, sexual, and political violence.
In his turn, Professor Massad stressed the keenness of Yarmouk University represented by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies to participate in the 16-day campaign to combat violence against women. Such keenness, he explained, stems from the fact that women's issues including their protection and the guarantee of their full and undiminished rights are among the main concerns of the whole Jordanian society. Besides, the university is interested in supporting and empowering women in line with the thought and directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II.
In her turn, Susan Borden, Executive Director of the International Relief Committee in Jordan, delivered a speech in which she said that gender-based violence, whether physical, sexual, emotional or economic, is universally recognized as a widespread and persistent violation of the rights of women and girls. She indicated that despite the passage of nearly 30 years since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, women are still subjected to violence, indicating that in 2020, 21 cases of murder of women were recorded in Jordan, and about 7,000 women were subjected to violence. She also expressed her appreciation that the need to eliminate violence against women in Jordan had been recognized and that the government had put in place laws and regulations to protect women, listen to their complaints, and guarantee their rights.
The Director of Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies, Dr. Nadia Hayasat, indicated that the slogan of the international campaign for this year is "stop violence against women" and it reflects the steady increase in the number of cases of domestic violence for the year (2022) compared to the previous years. She pointed out that the reasons behind domestic violence are the weakness of family ties, the rift in parental relationships, the lack of religious faith, and the low standard of living. She then explained that Princess Basma Center is concerned with studying the conditions of Jordanian women, organizing counseling courses, training workshops, and family therapy sessions to contribute to combating violence against women and similar phenomena.
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 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.
