On behalf of the President of Yarmouk University, Prof. Anis Khasawneh, the Vice-President for Humanities and Administrative Affairs, sponsored the workshop “Forced Migration and Refugees: Stories from Jordan and Scotland” organized by the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center in cooperation with the University of Western Scotland and the University of Edinburgh.

Prof. Al-Khasawneh welcomed the participants in the workshop, and stressed the interest of Jordan in general, Yarmouk University in particular, on issues of asylum and refugees, especially as the Kingdom has been subjected to many asylum movements over the past years, which affected the various sectors of the state and caused many economic, social, and security repercussions. He pointed out that through its Refugees Center, Yarmouk has conducted many studies and researches, and organized conferences and seminars on various issues regarding refugees, which enabled researchers and specialists in this field to exchange experiences and learn about the experiences of other countries about asylum and forced migration issues.

Dr. George Balatel, a social worker at the University of Edinburgh, gave a lecture on hearing refugee voices in program activities - a journey towards empowerment, where he noted that 3% of the world's population lives outside their birthplace, and 70.8 million are forcibly displaced across their countries. He stressed the need to give affected people the opportunity to take decisions that affect them, in addition to embody the principle of partnership and co-production with refugees, so that they are transferred from passive recipients of aid and services to people who can effectively participate in the design and delivery of services.

Dr. Ayat Nashwan, the director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center, delivered a lecture on “Healing through Expression: How the Arts Transforms the Experience of Syrian Refugees in Jordan”, in light of her study on a group of young Syrian refugee artists between the ages of 17 and 27 that aims at investigating how the arts affect refugees' lives. She highlights what organizations provide to refugee so they can access to the arts. Nashwan explained that the research results show that refugees' participation in the arts can lead not only to healing but also to empowerment and that arts can give refugees a way to express their thoughts, emotions, and stories that are difficult to express in other ways.

Dr. Ayman Mansour from the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Jordan gave a lecture titled “The Effectiveness of Reproductive Health Services for Syrian Refugees in Jordan: An Overview of Achievements and Future Perspectives”, presenting some percentages and figures about refugees in Jordan, where 66.1% of the family members are in the age group of 16 years and above are married and about 51% of Syrian refugees in Jordan are women and girls: 48% of childbearing age (15-49 years). He mentioned that an assessment of the situation in the camps indicated that 23% of women are unaware of reproductive health services, 28% of unplanned pregnancies, and 17% have not receive previous care. He also stated that 88.7% of requests for family planning among refugees outside the camps were met. He concluded that regarding the forms of violence against refugees, 45% of Syrian families reported some forms of physical violence, 37% reported psychological violence, 11.4% sexual violence, and 3% economic violence.

Dr. Ruba Al-Akash, the Deputy Director of the Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies at the University, delivered a lecture on “Early Marriage among Syrian Refugees in Jordan”, which provides new knowledge and insights on barriers and enabling factors to access sexual and reproductive health information and services. It also contributes to the improvement of sexual and reproductive health policies and practices, benefiting young people, women and vulnerable groups (refugees, remote areas and persons with disabilities). Al-Akash explained that the preliminary results of the research indicate that early marriage is not a new issue among Syrians in Jordan, as it has been practiced in Syria before the war. She asserted that there has been no age limit for early marriage, but often between 14 and 16 years. The research found out there was a growing interest in health services and reproductive and family planning by the Jordanian government and local and international NGOs, although they are inadequate.

Moreover, the symposium program discussed several other topics on "Quality of Health Services for Refugees in Jordan" and "Quality of Services for Refugees in Jordan" by Dr. George Balatell, Dr. Dina Sedva of the University of West Scotland, and "Confronting and Dealing with Jordan's Forced Migrations" by Wedad Tamimi, and "early marriage "by Reem Momani. However, the workshop was attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Economics, Dr. Mona Al-Mulla, the Director of Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Women's Studies, Dr. Amna Khasawneh, and several faculty members and students.

Yarmouk University is unique among its counterparts in the Kingdom by offering the specialization of "Biomedical Informatics Engineering" with multiple functional areas, in the Department of Biomedical Systems and Informatics Engineering, Hijjawi Faculty of Technology Engineering. This program aims at providing the local and Arab market with qualified and trained competencies according to the latest developments in the world in this field. It is launched with the support of the European Tempus Foundation, which is concerned with the development of education and training around the world.

Prof. Ahmed Al-Omari, from the Department of Systems Engineering and Biomedical Informatics, explained that this specialization will be a pioneer in the computerization of biomedical and medical information as it enables the transfer from the traditional stage to the computerized phase. The student studies the use of computer and various software languages ​​in the analysis and processing of medical information, which will be in the service of human beings and organisms in general.

He pointed out that the specialization combines four integrated and different disciplines, which increase the level of competitiveness of graduates in the labor market, so that any prospective employer can appoint one person characterized by multiple knowledge and skills. He also says that within the study plan for this specialization, students are trained to use advanced computer programming technology and languages ​​such as C ++, C-sharp, Oracle, UNIX, Matlab, and other modern programming languages. He added that the student studies within the program plan incurable diseases using computers instead of traditional laboratories, something saves considerable time and money, and leads to the accuracy of the results. In addition, the student studies courses on how to manage hospitals, health centers and laboratories, by devising computer programs to organize the work of hospitals and laboratories, and the basic maintenance of medical devices.

The President of Yarmouk University, Prof. Zeidan Kafafi, met with the Cultural Attaché at the Omani Embassy in Amman Ismail Al-Balushi in a meeting where they discussed some of the issues of Omani students studying at the University.

Prof. Kafafi affirmed that Yarmouk is paying close attention to students from other countries. Yarmouk tries its best to provide them with various skills and knowledge in their field to prove their competence and efficiency. He pointed out that Yarmouk is keen to facilitate the procedures of registration of Omani students and solve any problems that may face during their studies at the university He also pointed out that Yarmouk is keen to qualify its students with language, communication and computer skills during the first and second years.

For his part, Al Baloushi thanked Yarmouk University for the great attention it paid to Omani students, pointing out the importance of enhancing cooperation between Yarmouk and the various educational institutions in Oman due to the distinguished scientific reputation enjoyed by Yarmouk University at the local and regional levels.

The meeting was attended by the Vice-Presidents Prof. Anis Khasawneh, Prof. Fawwaz Al-Abed Al-Haq, and a number of officials at the University and the Omani embassy in Amman.

Prof. Ahmed Al-Ajlouni, the Vice President of Yarmouk University for scientific and financial faculties, discussed with Dr. Dana Krestman of the Faculty of Education at the University of Austin, USA, the means of possible academic cooperation.

During the meeting, they discussed a draft agreement for scientific, academic, and research cooperation between the two universities, which will involve the exchange of faculty members between the two sides. Additionally, the agreement states that Austin University welcomes Yarmouk students who wish to complete their doctoral studies in the various disciplines of education or conduct a joint scientific research in the field of education. Yarmouk University gets benefitted from Austin University's experiences in the field of modern teaching and learning methods and in participation in conferences and seminars held by both parties.

Prof. Al-Ajlouni pointed out Yarmouk's keenness to enhance its scientific and research cooperation with prestigious international universities in various fields, which positively reflects on the educational process at the university and the level of its students and faculty members. He stressed that the Faculty of Education at Yarmouk University is one of the centers of excellence, as it involves many scholars who have a clear footprint in the various disciplines of education. Also, Prof. Al-Ajlouni pointed out that cooperation with Austin would open new horizons to students and faculty members through the experience of Austin in the areas of curriculum development, special education, and teaching methods.

In her turn, Kristman emphasized the readiness of the University of Austin to cooperate with Yarmouk in the field of education, which contributes to the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the two sides. She reviewed the emergence of the university and its faculties and emphasized her university's vision to establish an integrated cooperative educational community and provide support programs for university students and graduates to strengthen critical thinking, communication skills, creativity, leadership, research, and service delivery that contribute significantly to the quality of life, learning, and workforce development needs.

The meeting was attended by the dean of the Faculty of Education Dr. Nawaf Shatnawi, and Dr. Amna Rawashdeh (a faculty member from the College).