EU funds capacity building projects of higher education in Jordan

Alanbatnews - The European Commission has announced a list of capacity building projects in the field of Higher Education that have been selected for funding under the 2020 Erasmus+ programme. This year, Jordan has won eight projects in the field of capacity building in higher education, with funding of nearly €4 million.

In a statement on Tuesday, Director of the National Erasmus+ Office in Jordan, Ahmad Abu-El-Haija, said that six public universities are involved in these projects, namely: the University of Jordan, Mutah University, Jordan University of Science & Technology, the Hashemite University, Al-Balqa Applied University, and Tafila Technical University, in addition to eight private universities, including the Applied Sciences University, University of Petra, Irbid National University, Al-Zaytouneh University of Jordan, Jadara University, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Talal Abu-Ghazaleh University College for Innovation, and Al-Hussein Technical University.

"In these projects, Jordan will cooperate with 12 European and four Arab countries, including Algeria, Palestine, Lebanon and Egypt to work together in developing curricula and study plans, exchanging visits of staff and students and working on the development of the higher education sector in these countries," he added.

"This year, Jordan will manage three of these capacity building projects. The University of Jordan will lead two projects, while the Hashemite University will - for the first time - lead one project. This confirms that Jordanian institutions are well developed and able to coordinate and manage these projects," Abu-El-Haija noted.

He also pointed out that three of the remaining projects will be managed by European institutions, while Lebanon and Palestine will lead one project each.

The projects cover important topics and priorities for the Jordanian higher education sector, including Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, Vocational Training Diploma on Electrical and Hybrid Vehicles, Master programme in Global Supply Chain Management, Family Medicine Diploma, Tools for the promotion of Digital Economy; Disability as diversity: inclusion of students with disabilities in higher education; University Student Capacity Building: Towards Readiness for Sustainable Development-Oriented Regional Job Market, and Academic Alliance for Reconciliation in the Field of Higher Education in Peace, Conflict Transformation, and Reconciliation Studies.

Erasmus+ is a European Union (EU) programme to support education, training, youth and sport for the period 2014-2020, it funds academic and youth mobility and cooperation projects that involve partners from "Programme Countries" and "Partner Countries" throughout the world. Four actions are relevant to Jordan, which are Capacity Building in Higher Education, International Credit Mobility, Erasmus-Mundus Joint master Degrees, and Jean Monnet.

For more information, visit www.erasmus-plus.org.jo or contact Professor Ahmed Abu-El-Haija, Director of the National Erasmus+ Office, Email: Erasmus-Plus@mohe.gov.jo.