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.

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.

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 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.