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The Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Khaled Al Omari sponsored the opening ceremony of Princess Iman bint Abdullah II building "Faculties of Medicine and Pharmacy", which was established with a financial support from Abu Dhabi Fund for Development- United Arab Emirates, in the presence of YU president Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, and the acting Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates in Jordan, Faisal al-Malik.
Al-Omari said that educational institutions are always established based on the efforts of their employees and their successive academic leadership, praising YU for the development it has witnessed since its establishment in terms of infrastructure, academic programs, and study plans, adding that this development has made Yarmouk today one of the important universities in Jordan and in the Arab region.
Al-Omari further pointed out that the base of educational institutions is the intellectual heritage that includes psychological, social and value capital, which can be achieved through arming faculty members and students with a set of values including justice, freedom of thought, making positive changes in societies, and tolerance of opinion, pointing out that the importance of the academic work lies in creating intellectual leadership. He further stressed that Yarmouk family should be a good example of the good citizenship and should pay attention to the behavioral aspects as well as students’ values to refine their personalities.
Al-Omari also expressed his appreciation for the support provided by the United Arab Emirates represented by Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, praising the efforts of the academic, administrative and technical cadres that contributed to the establishment of these two faculties, and encouraging students to seek excellence in their studies to maintain the prestigious academic reputation of Yarmouk.
In his speech, president Kafafi, thanked Abu Dhabi Fund for the generous support they provided to Yarmouk, which emphasizes the deep relationship between Jordan and the UAE that was first established between His Majesty King Abdullah II and His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates. Kafafi also expressed his appreciation to the acting Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Faisal Al-Malik for the future cooperation he looks forward to establishing a faculty of dentistry and an educational hospital, which shows UAE embassy’s interest in developing the educational process in Jordanian higher educational institutions.
Kafafi also pointed out that the building was designed in a way that suits the nature of the disciplines and the academic programs that these faculties offer. The building has classrooms that are designed according to high standards to offer good study environments for students, in addition to the well- equipped scientific labs. He added that YU has sought to attract distinguished academic members in various medical and pharmaceutical disciplines, and has sent outstanding students from Yarmouk to prestigious international universities to pursue their higher education, in addition to strengthening partnership with various medical companies and institutions to provide students with best training opportunities to ensure their readiness for the local, regional and international job markets.
The Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Wisam Shihadeh said that the building which covers an area of 21,000 square meters, cost 6.5 million Jordanian dinars, and equipped with latest teaching, training and scientific research methods, will be a strong competitor among local and regional universities.
For his part, Dr. Sayer Al-Azzam, the Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy pointed out that Yarmouk University was the first to establish a faculty of pharmacy in the kingdom in 1979, which was then moved to the Jordan University of Science and Technology in 1986, pointing out that Yarmouk is re-opening it in 2013 with qualified administrative and teaching staff who have graduated from prestigious international universities.
The opening ceremony included a video about the two faculties and the stages of their establishment in addition to a tour in the different facilities of the building.
The opening ceremony was attended by vice presidents, faculties’ deans, ex-president, Dr. Abdullah Al-Mosa, heads of departments, faculty staff and students.
The president of Yarmouk University, Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, met with a delegation from the Turkish University of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf. The delegation included Dr. Bedia Tekin and Dr. Anis Mansour from the University's Department of International Relations. Means and ways of cooperation between the two sides were discussed.
Kafafi expressed the interest of YU to strengthen cooperation with various Turkish higher education institutions to serve the educational process. He reviewed the majors of the various degrees that Yarmouk offers, pointing to the Arabic Program for the Speakers of Other Languages, offered by the Languages Center, which enjoys a good reputation and attracts many students from all over the world on annual basis.
Kafafi also stressed the importance of continuing cooperation between the two universities in terms of students and faculty exchange. He also pointed that YU students who study Turkish can benefit from the Turkish School Program, which the University of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Vakıf offers during the summer semester to improve their Turkish language.
For their part, the members of the delegation expressed their university's desire to strengthen cooperation with YU, which enjoys a distinctive academic reputation in the region, through students and faculty exchange programs in the fields of Islamic Sharia, Arabic language, among others.
The meeting was attended by Vice president, Dr. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq, dean of faculty of Sharia and Islamic studies, dean of the faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, dean of Scientific Research and Graduate studies, Director of Public Relations, and Dr. Ayman Hayajneh from the Faculty of Arts.
The president of YU, Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, met with the vice presidents of the German-Jordanian University, Dr. Atef Kharabsheh and Dr. Dorit Schumann. Means and ways of cooperation between the two universities were discussed.
During the meeting, Kafafi stressed the importance of cooperation among Jordanian universities to establish qualitative academic programs for various degrees to meet students' aspirations and to keep up with the job market's requirements, which in turn, positively impacts the educational process and promotes higher education. He added that YU has strong relationships with various German educational institutions, and that YU is keen to activate cooperation that benefits the university and the students.
Kafafi pointed to the possibility of cooperation in terms of faculty exchange, and students' scientific visits. He also pointed to the possibility of sending students from the Hijjawi Faculty to receive training in German institutions with the German-Jordanian University performing as a link. The president added that cooperation can, further, be in terms of conducting joint scientific research, as well as experience's exchange to improve the teaching process in the two universities, and to prepare students with necessary skills to enter local and Arab job market, praising the academic reputation that the German- Jordanian University enjoys.
For their part, Kharabsheh and Schumann expressed the readiness of the German-Jordanian University to cooperate with YU, which enjoys a distinguished academic reputation in various academic fields, and the possibility of establishing joint programs for the master's degree, particularly in engineering and information technology. They added that cooperation between various Jordanian universities is necessary as it contributes to improving the quality of higher education outcomes in Jordan.
The meeting was attended by Vice president, Dr. Ahmad Al-Ajlouni, dean of the Faculty of Archaeology and Anthropology, Dr. Hani Hayajneh, and officials from the university.
President of YU, Dr. Zeidan Kafafi, met with the country director of the Office of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Jordan, Ms. Hyo Jin Kim and the accompanying delegate. During the meeting, the two sides discussed means and ways of cooperation and the possibility of creating a sub-major in Korean language at the modern Languages department.
Kafafi stressed the keenness of Yarmouk to strengthen cooperation with the Korean Agency in various fields, pointing to the possibility of receiving specialists and academics to teach or train in various academic disciplines, especially in communications at the Hijjawi Faculty for Engineering. Kafafi, also, praised the agency's support through providing a Korean instructor to teach Korean language courses offered by Modern Languages Department, pointing to the possibility of creating a sub-major in Korean language.
The president stressed the importance of activating cooperation between the two sides, and increasing opportunities for students and faculty exchange, which enriches students’ knowledge and encourages experience’s exchange. He also added that YU may send students to be trained in distinguished Korean institutes, particularly in communications, and thanked the agency for the collection of books they gave to Al Hussein Library.
For her part, Kim praised the outstanding academic reputation of YU and expressed their readiness to support the university and take necessary measures to activate cooperation between them, and between Yarmouk and various Korean educational institutions.
The meeting was attended by Vice presidents, Dr. Ahmed Al Ajlouni and Dr. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al- Haq, vice dean of the Faculty of Arts, Dr. Yousef Bader, head of the Dept. of Modern Languages, Dr. Batoul Al-Muheisen, and the director of Public Relations and Media department, Mr. Mukhles Al-Ibbeni.
The Faculty of Information Technology and Computer Science at YU represented by the dean of the faculty Prof. Samer Samara organized a lecture on E-Learning Programs that was given by Dr. Jeff Bordes and Dr. Maja Zelihic of Astria Learning from the USA.
At the beginning of the lecture, Bordes stated that Astria Learning is concerned with providing online educational needs to help educational institutions that offer e-learning programs achieve education quality and competitiveness. He added that they have already cooperated with 231 educational institutions in more than nine countries, and that Astria is working on examining the customers' needs and developing strategies to help them achieve their institutional goals, particularly with the increased focus on non-traditional programs, such as technical and training certificates, as well as online non-profit programs.
Bordes stressed Astria’s keenness to collaborate with YU to offer online programs and courses to help Yarmouk enter the diversified e-learning world with minimum requirements, through marketing, registration, curricula and courses development, and student support and evaluation.
Samara confirmed that YU have sought to activate e-learning programs in line with its plans to establish a specialized center to keep up with technological developments in various fields, noting to the possibility of cooperating with Astria Learning in e-learning programs and courses’ management, which helps develop the educational process and enrich students cultural and scientific outcomes through the use of modern teaching methods.
At the end of the lecture, which was attended by the director of the Computer and Information Center, and faculty members, Dr. Bordes answered questions and inquiries from the audience.