During his official visit to a number of projects in Irbid, Ajloun, and Mafraq, the Royal Court Chief and head of the follow-up committee for the implementation of Royal initiatives, Yousef Issawi, inaugurated the “main amphitheater” located at Prince Hussein Building, Yarmouk University, which is funded by the Arab Potash Company (APC).
Interestingly, this funding complies with His Majesty King Abdullah’s vision to improve living conditions and achieve sustainable growth across the Kingdom and with the APC’s social responsibility initiatives.
Considering that the main amphitheater can host up to 500 people and has been equipped with “state-of-the-art” sound systems and digital screens during ongoing renovations, Yarmouk President, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi, expressed his gratitude to the APC for the implementation of the project, in cooperation with the Royal Court. He Further stressed that the amphitheater will enhance the educational process at Yarmouk University.
Noteworthy that the inauguration ceremony was attended by Irbid Governor, Mr. Radwan Al-Otoom, APC’s Chairman of the Board of Directors, Jamal Sarayrah, and several Yarmouk deans and academic and administrative staff members.
The President of Yarmouk University, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi, sponsored the closing ceremony of the “RIADI” project, which is implemented by the University under the framework of the scholarship of the HOPES program funded by the European Regional Trust Fund for Responding to the Syrian Crisis “Madad Fund”, which is executed by the German Scientific Exchange DAAD in partnership with the British Cultural Center, Campus France, and the Dutch Commission for International Cooperation in Nuffic Higher Education. In a speech delivered during the ceremony, Kafafi stressed the university's interest to provide a sound educational environment for its students, offer various academic programs that meet their aspirations, and include distinguished competencies in their teaching and administrative staff, thus preparing students and qualifying them with the leading skills necessary to enable them economically and socially. He then pointed out that Yarmouk University has always been able to achieve balance between its academic programs dealing with various humanities, scientific, and medical topics; simultaneously, it has always sought to develop new academic programs that keep pace with the changes in the world in various scientific fields.
He then explained that Yarmouk, as a national institution that has a social responsibility towards the local community, was the pioneer in the establishment of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center in 1992. He explained that since the beginning of the Syrian crisis, the University has implemented nearly twenty international projects to serve Syrian refugees in the northern region of Jordan attempting to qualify and prepare refugees to be productive individuals in the host communities.
In his turn, the project director, the Director of International Relations and Projects at the university; Dr. Mowaffaq Al-Atoum, explained that the number of Syrian refugees officially registered in Jordan in 2018 reached 657,628, and that a large number of them were concentrated in the northern region, especially in Irbid governorate, which caused a great pressure on the Jordanian society, especially at the educational sector and the labor market. Thus, the idea of the project focused on entrepreneurship and providing young people with the appropriate skills to build their future aspirations. He also mentioned that through the project, a business incubator was established on the campus, thus providing an opportunity for Jordanian youth and Syrian refugees to design and develop their entrepreneurial ideas.
Dr. Nasser Al Hindawi from HOPES thanked Jordan for its cooperation in the success of this project, praising the efforts of the project team who supported the students and motivated them to keep developing their entrepreneurial ideas through creating short-term projects that can enable them to build their future. He pointed out that the HOPES program received 128 requests for projects support and that just eight projects were selected. Among those eight, as he mentioned, four projects are from Yarmouk University, something that indicates the outstanding level of projects submitted by the university and the outstanding supervision devoted by the faculty members of the university to their students.
During the closing ceremony, the incubator's director, Dr. Yazan Al-Essa, briefly introduced the ideas adopted by the incubator and the stages of translating them into projects on the ground. However, the ceremony was attended by the Director of the DAAD Office in Jordan, Gabriela von Verkes, a number of deans, faculty members, university officials, students involved in the project, and some students' families.
The Vice President of Yarmouk University for Scientific Faculties and Financial Affairs, Prof. Ahmad Al-Ajlouni, has met with Huang Chessy, the Public Relations Manager at Huawei in Jordan, and they discussed possible cooperation between the two sides in areas of mutual interest. Al-Ajlouni affirmed Yarmouk's devotion to extend cooperation with Huawei, considering it as one of the leading companies at the international level in the ICT sector. Also, he pointed out the widespread achievement of the company in Jordan through its cooperation with Jordanian telecommunications companies. Then he expressed his hope that the cooperation between Yarmouk and Huawei will be framed to establish the "Huawei Academy" at the university, which is a platform for training and developing human resources in the ICT sector. Prof. Al-Ajlouni explained that such an academy supports the plans and visions of the university to train students and qualify them with modern scientific skills and knowledge and that it may direct all vital sectors to advanced technological solutions. Moreover, Prof. Al-Ajlouni emphasized the high scientific level of graduates of Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at the University, who have proven their competence in the labor market and received multiple scientific awards at the local, regional and international level. He added that the university seeks to engage its students in various methodological and extracurricular competitions, believing in the importance of these participations to develop the participants' skills and enrich their knowledge, thus raising the level of competitiveness in the labor market.
In his turn, Chessey praised the outstanding scientific reputation of Yarmouk University, especially in the fields of engineering and information technology, and he expressed his hope that a huge number of university students would participate in Huawei ICT competition for the Middle East this year. He explained that the competition aims at developing the talents in the ICT industry. However, Chessey pointed out the possibility of working by both sides and framing future cooperation between Huawei and Yarmouk in areas of common interest. He also emphasized the possibility of opening the Hawai Academy at Yarmouk University to provide training and rehabilitation services for university students and community members in the northern region.
The meeting was attended by the Dean of Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Technology Engineering, Dr. Ahmed Al-Shamali, the dean of the faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science; Dr. Samer Samara, the Director of the Computer Center, Mr. Ishaq Matalqa, the Director of Public Relations and Media, Mr. Mukhlis Al-Abini, and the Public Relations Coordinator at Huawei in Jordan, Nouran Abu Rabie.
The Vice President of Yarmouk University for Student Affairs and External Relations, Prof. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq, met the Dean of the Faculty of Islamic Studies and Arabic Language of the Pahang Foundation in Malaysia, Prof. Muhammad Rasheemy, and they discussed ways to enhance cooperation between Yarmouk and Pahang. At the beginning of the meeting, Prof. Al-Abed Al-Haq stressed Yarmouk University's keenness to expand its cooperation with various international educational institutions, as doing this complies with the university's vision to become universal and exchange experiences and ideas with different partners to reflect positively on the educational process and the level of the university graduates. Also, Prof. Al-Abed Al-Haq praised the depth of the academic relations between Yarmouk University and Pahang Foundation and expressed Yarmouk’s readiness to expand the fields of cooperation and activate them in areas of common interest, especially in the field of holding lectures, and participating in scientific events and seminars through video communication. Moreover, Prof. Al-Abed Al-Haq pointed out that Yarmouk is keen to take care of its new students from various Arab, Western, and Islamic nationalities and emphasized Yarmouk’s strategy to involve the Malaysian arrivals into the various extracurricular activities organized by the Deanship of Student Affairs at the University, thus sharpening their skills and enhancing cultural exchange among university students. He then proceeded to praising the outstanding level of the Malaysian students studying in Yarmouk in various academic disciplines and acknowledged their commitment to the regulations and laws of the University.
In his turn, Prof. Rashimi thanked Yarmouk University for its unwavering care for Malaysian students and stressed the keenness of his own faculty supported by the Pahang Foundation to send more students to Yarmouk University. He praised the scientific reputation of Yarmouk and the outstanding level of the university graduates of Malaysian students who proved their competence in many different job positions back home. He also expressed his hope to benefit from the experiences of Yarmouk University in developing and updating the study plans for several academic programs at Pahang Foundation University and to renew the agreement between the two sides and expand the fields of cooperation between the two parties.
However, the meeting was attended by the Vice President for Humanities Faculties and Administrative Affairs, Prof. Anis Khasawneh, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Prof. Mohammad Bani Doumi, the Head of the Department of Usul-Addin at the Faculty of Sharia and Islamic Studies, Prof. Mohammad Zuhair, the Head of Student Welfare Department at the Malaysian Embassy in Amman, Dr. Ziad Al Azzam, and the Director of the Department of Public Relations and Media, Mr. Mukhlis Al-Abini.
Yarmouk University signed a cooperation agreement with the ‘Sport for Regional Development’ program of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), which aims at supporting the cooperation between the two sides in sports related issues at the national level, and at developing and widening sports and physical activities field in Jordan. The cooperation agreement was signed by the president of the university, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi and by the Director of the ‘Sport for Development’ Project in Jordan, Mr. Henning Schick.
According to the agreement, the ‘Sport for Regional Development’ program will provide an intensive and integrated workshop for students of the Faculty of Physical Education at the university focusing on the skills necessary to prepare them to be trainers and teachers to train school students and children in sports and explore the skills of the talented to develop them.
During the signing ceremony, Prof. Kafafi stressed that Yarmouk is keen on preparing its students and equipping them with the necessary scientific and practical skills and raising their academic and professional level in order to qualify them to enter the labor market. Thus, they can play their role in developing national institutions and supporting the sustainable development process in all sectors. He also pointed out the university's relentless devotion to update and develop the plans and curricula of the Faculty of Physical Education to keep pace with the developments witnessed in the world in all fields. In addition, Prof. Kafafi stressed the need to support Jordanian athletes and local sports clubs by developing their athletic skills, thus elevating them in sports competitions enrollment at the local, regional, and international levels.
Prof. Kafafi then proceeded to talk about the depth of relations that link Yarmouk with various German educational institutions. Yarmouk, he stated, is willing to welcome and attract as many experts, specialists, and academics as possible from various German educational institutions to spend a semester or more in the various faculties of the university. He also confirmed that activating the exchange programs of students and faculty members between Yarmouk and German educational institutions are to achieve the followings: to contribute to the exchange of experiences and knowledge, to reflect the University's endeavor to provide outstanding education among students, to provide a stimulating educational environment for creativity, and to inject the local community with youth energies capable of creativity and entrepreneurship.
For his part, Mr. Schick praised the distinguished scientific reputation of Yarmouk University in the region, emphasizing the depth of the cooperation relations between the German Agency for International Cooperation and Yarmouk University and pointing out that ‘Sport for Development’ is a regional program implemented in both Jordan and Iraq. He explained that the program seeks to harness sport and use it as a tool to support social cohesion and prevent violence between children and youth. The program, through the application of a sports methodology specifically designed for school students and members of the community, allows the targeted members to properly engage in sports and develop the skills of the talented, and support them to achieve their ambitions and dreams.
The signing ceremony was attended by the Vice President for Humanities Faculties and Administrative Affairs, Prof. Anis Khasawneh, the Vice President for Student Affairs and Foreign Relations, Prof. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq, the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education, Prof. Nabil Shamroukh, and a number of officials from the University and the German Agency for International Cooperation.
The Faculty of Medicine at Yarmouk University, in partnership with its counterparts from the faculties of medicine in the Jordanian public universities and with the support of the European Union in the Erasmus Plus program, received a fund to developing teaching plans in the medical major. The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University, Dr. Wissam Shehadeh, expressed his gratitude to the project team members who came from the different Jordanian universities and who contributed to the preparation of the project. He emphasized that the project will lead to a qualitative leap in the study plans of medical faculties as well as medical education in Jordan. In addition, he appreciated the efforts made by Erasmus+ staff and their continuous contribution to various universities and educational institutions in Jordan.
The President of Yarmouk University Prof. Zeidan Kafafi met with a delegation from the American Embassy in Amman among whom were a number of cultural affairs officials and the regional office of the English language at the embassy. The two parties discussed many ways of enhancing cooperation between the university and the embassy in a number of areas of common interest.
During the meeting, Kafafi stressed Yarmouk University's keenness to strengthen the ties of cooperation with the American Embassy on the one hand and the various American universities, institutions, and educational institutes on the other. He also expressed his hope to expand the base of cooperation with the Embassy in the fields of cultural exchange and to attract American students wishing to learn Arabic in the University's Language Center, which has a distinguished academic reputation at the international level. He pointed out that the Center includes a number of lecturers who are capable of teaching Arabic language in modern methods to ensure students master the basic skills of the Arabic language. In addition, Prof. Kafafi emphasized the possibility of cooperation between the university and the embassy through a number of developmental projects that contribute to the revitalization of tourism in the northern region of Jordan, Irbid governorate in particular. He then expressed the willingness of Yarmouk to cooperate with the embassy in the field of establishing a training program for students and those wishing to complete their graduate studies at American universities. Kafafi then proceeded to talk about the willingness of Yarmouk to become a center for holding qualifying courses to pass the GRE test in the region and probably be a place for holding the test itself in the future.
On their behalf, the delegation praised the distinguished scientific reputation of Yarmouk University, which called on the embassy to choose Yarmouk University to establish a training program for qualifying students to pass the international ability test GRE. The embassy expressed its devotion to support the links of scientific and cultural cooperation with Yarmouk University in various fields, considering it as one of the pioneering educational institutions in Jordan.
Noteworthy that the meeting was attended by two Vice Presidents of the University, the Deans of the Faculty of Education and the Faculty of Scientific Research and Graduate Studies, the Director of the Language Center, the Director of the Department of International Relations and Projects, the CEO of the National Center for Curriculum Development, and a number of officials from the University and Embassy.
An academic research team from Yarmouk University, in partnership with the Spanish University of Granada and a number of Palestinian and European universities, has received support from the European Union, within the Erasmus + program, to implement a project that aims at establishing and developing a training diploma program on the neurological development of refugee children in the host communities.
The project, entitled NeuCaRe, is based on learning outcomes and the use of ICTs and integrated education, and it includes educational tools, methodologies, and pedagogical and social methods. Through the project, new and innovative curricula and teaching methodologies will be developed and a variety of courses on care and neurological development of refugee children will be introduced.
The team from Yarmouk University includes Dr. Ayat Nashwan of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Anas Al-Subuh of the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science, Dr. Muawiya Al-Khatatbeh from the Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Ibtisam Rababaa from the Faculty of Education.
The president of Yarmouk University, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi, recently met with the director of the Intellectual Property Trade Office of the Scientific Association (Ipark). The meeting was part of congregation of the International Initiative Committee, which aims at supporting the universal innovation environment, ‘The Next Society’, strengthening the values of creativity, pushing development efforts, and developing scientific research in which Yarmouk University is pioneering among other Jordanian institutions.
During the meeting, the two parties discussed possible cooperation between Yarmouk University and the Intellectual Property Trading Office in the fields of training and consultation, which should result in exchanging experiences and knowledge among the two parties. Prof. Kafafi confirmed Yarmouk’s interest in participating in international projects of all fields as such participation benefits the university as well as the teaching board, contributes to exchanging experiences and scientific skills among participants of the project, provides an idea about other pioneering educational associations’ experiences, and enables the deployment of such experiences for developing the educational process at Yarmouk University. This eventually, as Prof. Kafafi stated, reflects on the level of Yarmouk’s graduates who will help to renew national associations and push the sustainable development process in all sectors.
Pointing out the need to activate cooperation between the different scientific, research, and academic institutions with the university, Prof. Kafafi stressed the depth of relations between Yarmouk University and the Royal Scientific Society, which is considered an incubator of creativity and innovation. He confirmed that the cooperation always leads to exchanging experiences and joint work, which results in advancing Jordan's academic institutions and keeping pace with the tremendous developments witnessed by the world in the fields of information and technology transfer and intellectual property. He also noted that knowledge is no longer exclusive to any party and does belong to all people and that the great overlap between multiple sciences opens great prospects for creativity and innovation, considering the inevitable need for basic sciences despite the huge developments and major changes in all scientific fields. Prof. Kafafi added that Yarmouk, as one of the leading Jordanian universities, is keen to expand bridges of cooperation with the various scientific and research institutions to pelletizing scientific research along with encouraging creativity and innovation, considering that Yarmouk was established to be an incubator of science and academic research that contributes to the development of the society.
In return, Jaafari stressed the keenness of the Royal Scientific Society to institutionalize cooperation relations with the various Jordanian universities, pointing out the readiness of the Intellectual Property Trade Office to provide all training and consultation services to Yarmouk University, as one of the pillars of scientific research in Jordan. He mentioned that Yarmouk was the first university in Jordan to compose intellectual property instructions, which took place in 1978. He then reviewed the services of the Intellectual Property Trade Office, which seeks to support technology transfer offices in the national institutions, and emphasized their role in achieving development, entrepreneurship, and supporting innovation.
All in all, the meeting was highly productive and was attended by the University Vice President for Humanities Faculties and Administrative Affairs, Prof. Anis Khassawneh, the Dean of the Faculty of Tourism, Prof. Mohammed Al-Shannaq, the Director of the Department of International Relations and Projects, Dr. Mwaffaq Otoom, the Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Dr. Mahmoud Al-Mestrihi, the Dean Assistant of the Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Sciences, Dr. Yazan Al-Shboul, the Chair of the Scientific Research Department in the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research Mr. Mahmoud Alsouki, and the Director of the Department of Public Relations and Media, Mr. Mukhles Al-Ibbeni.
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.
