The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with the Bahraini Cultural Attaché in Amman, Dr. Nada al-Harban, discussing ways to enhance cooperation between the two sides and a number of issues related to Bahraini students studying at the university.
During the meeting, Massad affirmed Yarmouk's keenness to address any potential obstacles faced by Bahraini students studying in the various academic majors of Yarmouk, and he expressed the university's readiness to receive more Bahraini students wishing to study in the university at undergraduate and postgraduate programs. He then referred to the role played by the Deanship of students' affairs in terms of taking care of international students by organizing various extracurricular activities that aim at refining students' personalities and developing their skills. Massad further pointed that the university is fully prepared to nominate a liaison officer from the university for the Bahrini attaché to follow up on correspondence and various common issues between the two sides.
In return, al-Harban praised the academic and scientific level of Yarmouk University, the distinguished reputation it enjoys in the State of Bahrain, and the inclination of a great number of Bahraini students to study in Jordan and join Yarmouk University. She then acknowledged the considerable attention paid by Yarmouk university to Bahraini students studying in the university, wishing such cooperation to continue and prosper.
Noteworthy here is that the number of Bahraini students studying at the university is 190 students:(186 studying BA, and 4 studying the MA).
In cooperation with researchers from local and international institutes, a research team from Yarmouk University published a scientific research on the behavioral and demographic factors associated with the Corona pandemic in Jordan. The research was conducted on a sample of 7700 participants, under the supervision of Dr. Muawiya Khatatba from the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Samir Al-Balas from the Department of Medical Services , a number of students of the Faculty of Medicine, and MA students in Health Services Administration at the University.
The study concluded that about 30% of the participants in the study sample is not committed to wearing the mask, about 18% of the participants believes that wearing the mask is not important to prevent infection, and that 35% of the participants is not fully committed to washing their hands. Such results explain the significant increase in the number of infections during the Corona pandemic in Jordan, after the remarkable success achieved by Jordan at the beginning of the pandemic.
Considering that the research was recently published in Frontiers in Public Health, the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Khaldoun Bashaira, said that the Faculty pays great attention to scientific research due to its active role in formulating public policies in various fields, especially medical ones, to curb various diseases.
In the presence of the Vice President for Administrative Affairs, Professor Riad al-Momani, the Vice President of Yarmouk University for Academic Affairs, Professor Muwaffaq al-Omoush, met with the Canadian Ambassador to Amman Donica Pottie and the accompanying delegation, discussing ways to enhance cooperation between Yarmouk University on the one hand and the Canadian Embassy as well as Canadian universities on the other.
During the meeting, al-Omoush praised the Canadian government’s support for a number of scientific and research projects implemented by Yarmouk University, stressing that the university is keen to strengthen cooperation with international sponsors in a way that supports the process of developing the scientific research at the university. He then talked about the development of Yarmouk University and its scientific, medical and humanities faculties, pointing out that 8% of its students comes from 45 different nationalities, which reflects Yarmouk University’s international reputation and its ability to meet the requirements of the labor market. Al-Omoush also referred to the university’s aspiration to start new academic programs that meet the aspirations of Jordanian youth.
For her part, Pottie praised the scientific reputation of Yarmouk University, expressing the embassy's readiness to provide more support and assistance in terms of cooperation agreements between Yarmouk and Canadian universities. She also said that the embassy, through its academic and scientific exchange team, will work to strengthen such bridges of cooperation to facilitate implementing the agreements and memoranda of understanding between Yarmouk and Canadian universities, pointing to the possibility of benefiting from the Expo 2022 program for universities in this field.
As she completed her talk, the Canadian ambassador met with those in charge of the project: “Increasing the participation of the female academics at Yarmouk University in leading international research projects through capacity building”, which is funded by the Canadian Embassy. She then met with the organizers of the Economic Development and Sustainable Energy Project in Jordan through which photovoltaic cells will be installed at Deir Alla Station for Archaeological Studies of the Faculty of Archeology and Anthropology at the university. During the two meetings, the ambassador praised Yarmouk University's excellence in implementing scientific projects supported by Canadian donors, acknowledging the university’s keenness to provide full logistical and technical support to achieve the maximum benefit from such projects.
Noteworthy is that the meeting was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Mousa Rababaa, the Dean of al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology and the Director of the Department of Networking and International Relations, Professor Mowaffaq Al-Atoom, the Dean of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research, Professor Ayman Hammouda, the Political Relations Officer at the Canadian Embassy, Nancy al-Otoom, the Counselor at the Embassy, Manon Bawakir, and the Coordinator of the Canadian Fund in the embassy, Mona Darwaza.
A specialized technical team from the Faculty of Archeology and Anthropology at Yarmouk University, under the supervision of Dr. Hussein Al-Sabbaha and Mr. Mousa Sarbel, participated in the excavations at the archaeological site of Ba’ja in Petra, as part of the project of the German mission of the Free University of Berlin.The mission of Yarmouk University's team was to rebuild a Neolithic tomb of a girl who is 8-9 years old and is named Jamila,as her corpse is found with a necklace consisting of 2,600 stones and shells around the neck. The tomb was found during the excavations of 2018 and was then moved to Petra Museum in 2019. Later, it was reconstructed in a designated space inside the new Petra Museum.
The Dean of the Faculty of Arts at Yarmouk University, Professor Musa Rababah, patronized the opening of the “Deutscher Tag Day” activities, which was organized by the Department of Modern Languages in cooperation with the German Embassy in Amman, the (DAAD), the Deanship of Students' Affairs, and the Department of Networking and International Relations.
The celebration included a variety of cultural activities presented by a group of students from the department of Modern Languages, and it focused on acknowledging cultural cooperation between Jordan and Germany, especially in the field of education. Thus, the event included displaying a set of photographs, pamphlets, and cultural books about Germany and its universities, institutes, and educational as well as cultural bodies. The event also included a meeting between the cultural attaché at the German Embassy in Amman, Ms. Leonie Lorenz, and a representative of the DAAD , Dr. Abd al-Nasser Al-Hindawi, with the students of the department. During the meeting, Lorenz and Al-Hindawi answered students' questions and inquiries about studying in Germany and the scholarships provided by the German authorities for Jordanian students. Furthermore, Lorenz and Al-Hindawi valued the role of the Department of Modern Languages in spreading the German language and culture, which reflected positively on strengthening the cultural and academic cooperation between the two countries.
The President of Yarmouk University, Dr. Islam Massad, met with the U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Henry T. Wooster, during his visit to the university to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Yarmouk and various American higher education institutions.
At the beginning of the meeting, Massad affirmed Yarmouk's keenness to strengthen the prospects for joint cooperation between Yarmouk and the U.S. Embassy in Amman, which would create opportunities for scientific, research and academic cooperation with American universities and educational institutes in various fields, pointing to the deep interest of the university administration in consolidating ways of cooperation with the American educational authorities, given the university students' interest to complete their academic studies in prestigious American universities, noting that a large percentage of the university's faculty members are graduates of the United States of America.
He pointed out that Yarmouk is ready to receive students from the United States of America who wish to learn Arabic for non-native speakers, through a program dedicated to that offered by the Language Center at the university, which includes competencies capable of teaching Arabic using modern methods that ensure students' mastery of the basic skills of the Arabic language.
The U.S. Ambassador Wooster stressed the Embassy's keenness to strengthen the ties of American-Jordanian cooperation in many fields, the most important of which are scientific, academic, and cultural, pointing out that cooperation and communication with Yarmouk University would provide opportunities for students and faculty members at the university to obtain scholarships to complete their academic studies or make scientific visits to various American universities and institutes, in addition to the possibility of cooperation between the embassy and Yarmouk in implementing a range of cultural and linguistic activities inside the university campus.
As part of its plan to strengthen resources and develop capacity, Yarmouk University supported by the Canadian Government recently accomplished a project to install a solar cell power generation system at Deir-Ala Archaeological Research Station. Thus, in the presence of Canadian Ambassador to Amman Donica Pottie, the University represented by the Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, Dr. Lamia Khoury, signed the agreement of receiving the project from the Canadian sponsor, the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Project in Jordan, represented by Engineer Mohammed Ramadan. Khoury stressed the importance of the project for the Archaeological station of Deir-Ala concerning the teaching process and scientific research in the Faculty, as the archaeological teams concerned with archaeological monuments work in the surrounding archaeological sites for days and weeks. She added that the size of the system installed in the station is five kilowatts, which can provide the station with the electricity needed for various loads, especially air conditioning. This, as she explained, contributes to reducing the high cost of electricity charge on the university budget, especially in summer, as the station is located in Deir-Ala - Central Valleys, an area known for high temperatures in summer.
A Student exchange Agreement has been signed with the French University of Sciences Po as part of the collaborative endeavors of both parties, noting that this agreement builds on existing relationships between both universities. The agreement puts in place an exchange program of students of both institutions in the humanities, social sciences with emphasis on linguistic, artistic, and digital education, aiming at strengthening mutual understanding and cooperation between both universities. It also seeks to enhance the exchange of faculty members, develop intensive language programs, and conduct joint research programs as well as organize joint conferences.
In this context, Yarmouk University participated in “Choose France Jordan 2021” event which was organized at the French Institute in Jordan in collaboration with Campus France and the French Embassy in Amman. The event included Institutional Meetings between representatives from Jordanian Universities and a number of higher education institutions in France to discuss possible collaboration in terms of student and staff exchange, summer courses, internship opportunities and to boost new partnerships. A Student fair for French higher education institutions was also organized where presentations and meetings were conducted for interested students.
As part of the University’s celebrations of the centenary of Jordan, Professor Islam Massad patronized the University’s celebrations of the return of face-to-face education on the university campus after about two years of distance learning due to the Corona pandemic and its repercussions on the whole world. Thus, in the reading hall at the Faculty of Medicine, Massad inaugurated the Fine Arts exhibition “Representations of the Mask in the Time of Corona” prepared and designed by students of the Faculty of Fine Arts under the supervision of Professor Muhammad Salem Bani Hamad.
Furthermore, Massad patronized the celebration of the Deanship of Students’ Affairs for students’ return to the university campus, as he attended a flag-raising ceremony by the rovers. Massad stated, “this day is one of the most beautiful days as we see our students returning to the University campus after their long absence due to the repercussions of the Corona pandemic”. He then stated that the University has developed a tight plan for face-to-face education, which guarantees a safe environment for all students wishing an uninterrupted academic year, calling on them to exert effort in their lectures and courses and inviting them to engage in the extracurricular activities that the Deanship of Students’ Affairs supervises and implements in various cultural, artistic and sports fields.
Developing competencies in various fields of science and knowledge through providing distinguished education and producing of innovative scientific research that serves the community and contributes to building a knowledge economy by creating a university environment that stimulates creativity, through freedom of expression and responding to the demands of society and scientific development.
