Representing the President of Yarmouk University, the Vice President of Yarmouk University for Administrative Affairs, Professor Riyad Al-Momani, inaugurated the activities of Jusoor's first conference, "The Present Challenges and Future Prospects for Sign Language Interpreters", which was organized by the First Jordanian Association of Sign Language Interpreters in cooperation with the Deanship of Student Affairs at the university. In his opening speech of the conference, Al-Momani said that Yarmouk University has worked since its establishment to prepare qualified leaders in various fields of science and knowledge and that holding such a conference is an embodiment of the aspects of the university’s openness and support of sustainable development in Jordan. He added that sign language has become one of the important languages ​​in the world and that it is witnessing continuous developments in light of the advances taking place in all sectors as a result of technological and communications developments. He then stated that the university’s deanship of student affairs is keen to involve the deaf in various extracurricular activities and events and to provide those in need with sign language interpreters.

For his part, the President of the First Jordanian Association of Sign Language Interpreters, Osama Tahrawi, talked about the association’s establishment and its mission in consolidating the profession of sign language interpreter and developing it in accordance with international standards in partnership with all relevant institutions inside and outside Jordan. He also reviewed a set of tasks and achievements of the association, starting with providing interpretation services in sign language for people with hearing disabilities (deaf people), spreading the culture of the deaf and teaching sign language to non-native speakers in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Civil Defense, Public Security, Civil Status, and special education students in universities.

However, the conference program included a series of scientific sessions that discussed major themes about sign language interpreters in Jordan, indicative translation for the deaf, and the role of a sign language interpreter in raising the language inventory of students with hearing disabilities.

17 November 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, affirmed that Jordan is distinguished among its peers in the region by embracing a distinguished medical educational sector, which is one of the largest tributaries of the Arab and regional market of distinguished competencies in the field of medicine, nursing, and medical support services. During his meeting with a delegation from the College of Medicine at UCLA, which included Dr. Nevin Al-Farra, Dr. Cecily Gallup, Dr. Faisal Saab, and Dr. Zoe Statopoulos, Massad indicated that the Faculty of Medicine at Yarmouk University includes distinguished academic competencies pointing that the university adopts a training system for its medicine students in cooperation with the Ministry of Health and medical services hospitals. He added that the Faculty of Medicine in Yarmouk seeks to network with medical faculties of distinguished international universities to establish a solid base for student scholarships. Moreover, he pointed out Yarmouk's keenness to consolidate its cooperation with UCLA University by strengthening the student exchange program, which includes training and qualifying medicine students, stressing the importance of the Global Health Program "DGSOM" hosted by UCLA University, which aims at enhancing opportunities for improving health globally. He then emphasized that choosing the city of Irbid to be the home for implementing the DGSOM project is an ideal choice in view of the affiliation of Irbid’s hospitals with the Ministry of Health as well as the military and private sectors. In return, the members of the delegation confirmed the interest of the Faculty of Medicine at UCLA in cooperating with Yarmouk University in various fields, especially in the implementation of the DGSOM program, which focuses on training students in the countries of the Middle East including more than one stage for training students in practical terms and conducting scientific research.

The delegation also met with the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Prof. Manar Al-Luama, who reviewed the establishment of the faculty and its departments and accompanied the delegation on a tour in the various facilities and laboratories of the faculty. Besides, the delegation met with the Director of the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center, Dr. Reem Al-Kharouf, who indicated that the center seeks to achieve the university's vision of becoming a global center for research programs on asylum and forced migration.

17 November 2022

Yarmouk University students won first and third places in the pioneering Hackathon competition, which was organized within the activities of SAXEED.ECO supported by DAAD, in partnership between Yarmouk University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Mosteghanemi University in Algeria, and Cummins University in Germany. Such a gain, which was supervised by the Center for Leadership and Innovation at the university, came after a serious competition between 15 student teams from several universities that presented pioneering projects in the field of a friendly environment.

The student team, consisting of Ahmed Shehab, Sarah Husban, and Al-Harith Mahmoud from the Civil Engineering Department at Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology, won the first place for their project “Exploitation of Zibar from Olive Mills Waste in the Field of Construction”, while the student team, consisting of Abdullah Naamneh from the Department of Electronics Engineering, Muhammad Al-Awdat from the Electrical Power Engineering Department, and Lamis Rawashdeh from the Department of Chemistry, won the third place for their project "Main", which focuses on ways to reduce evaporation from Dams and bodies of water.

17 November 2022

The program of Arabic for speakers of other languages at the Language Center of Yarmouk University received 313 male and female students from 17 western and Islamic countries, including the United States of America, Britain, Belgium, France, Russia, Lithuania, Bosnia, Thailand, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Peru, Turkey, Senegal, and Sweden. The center held an exam to determine the level of new students in the Arabic language for non-native speakers, where the director of the center, Professor Lamia Hammad, said that the exam measures students’ skills of reading, listening, speaking, writing, and grammar. Students who pass the exam, she explained, at an average of (60%) or above are exempted from registering “one level for the Arabic language course for non-native speakers”, and they get directly registered for the courses of their study plan. As for students with an average below than (60%), they get categorized into three levels according to their skills and are accordingly registered in “a one-level course of Arabic language for non-native speakers”. She then added that the center has recently computerized the placement test for non-Arabic students through the university’s e-learning and open education resources center, emphasizing that the computerized exam got effective in this first semester 2022/2023.

17 November 2022

Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology at Yarmouk University introduced three projects in the SOFEX Military Exhibition 2022, which was launched in Aqaba under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al-Hussein as part of the SOFEX 2022 Conference and Exhibition with the participation of 38 countries and more than 300 companies specialized in defense equipment and weapons. The President of the University, Professor Islam Massad, stressed the University’s pride in the ability of its students to link their projects with the needs of different knowledge economies. In his turn, the Dean of Al-Hijjawi Faculty of Engineering Technology, Dr. Muwaffaq Otoom, explained that the stages of selecting the three projects began with the nomination of 13 projects from the different departments of the Faculty. Seven projects were selected by the Research and Scientific Cooperation Department at the Jordanian Center for Design and Development for the official interview.  The first project, he explained, was for students, Iyas Abu Mousa and Razan Mashalji, supervised by Dr. Yousra Obeidat from the Department of Electronics Engineering, the second was for students Mahmoud Fayyad and Mohamed Jawabreh, supervised by Engineer Mamoun El-Tantawy from the Department of Electronics Engineering, and the third project was for students Salsabil Al-Hussainat, Sarah Al-Momani, and Nour Nasir, supervised by Dr. Sherif Abdel Razek from the Department of Communications Engineering.

17 November 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, sponsored launching the results of the evaluation study of Women Empowerment Program for Leadership Roles, which was organized by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Woman Studies at the university and funded by the Canadian government in cooperation with the Forum of Federations. Massad stressed the university’s keenness to provide its administrative and academic cadres with distinguished human skills as evident in the program of empowering women. He then appreciated the support of the Canadian government and the Forum of Federations in choosing Yarmouk University to be the first Jordanian partner to sign a memorandum of understanding in early 2018 for such a project, which is implemented by Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Woman Studies at the university.

For her part, the Director of the Forum of Federations, Dr. Laila Huawei, addressed the definition of the Forum, its goals and aspirations, noting that it is an international organization working to develop and exchange experiences on the practice of federal and decentralized governance through a global network. She added that the forum was established by the Canadian government in 1999, remarking that it includes a membership of 9 countries: Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Switzerland. She then mentioned that the forum seeks to promote inclusive and responsive governance, including pluralism and gender equality in federal and decentralized countries in transition.

The Director of Princess Basma Center for Jordanian Woman Studies, Dr. Nadia Hiasat, said that it was wise to conduct an evaluation study for this program to simulate the methodology used for implementing its plan to determine the extent of achieving the desired objectives and the extent of its impact on performance. She added that the results of the study represent a reference for the project’s implementers, financiers, and supporters as well as those interested in the field of promoting women's participation in leadership and decision-making positions.

The Director of the project, Dr. Amna Al-Khasawneh, presented the results of the study pointing out how they show that the training program contributed to enhancing the capabilities of the administrative staff at Yarmouk University and developing their learning skills. She added that the results also showed the participants' satisfaction with the training program.

At the end of the ceremony, an extensive discussion took place among the audience about the project and its importance in terms of developing the scientific and practical skills of the administrative staff and motivating them to build on the quality and progress of the administrative work at the university.

17 November 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with a delegation from Spain that included the Director of the Spanish Cultural Center in Amman, Juan Becente Bequeiras Salinas, the Education Coordinator at the Center, Dr. Almudena Hassan Bosque, and the Training Coordinator, Christina Thagri. During the meeting, Massad stressed Yarmouk University's constant endeavor to expand its network of cooperation with various prestigious international universities and centers adding that the university offers courses in the Spanish language through the Department of Modern Languages ​​in the Faculty of Arts and the Spanish language package offered by the University's Language Center.

In response, the delegation members praised the university’s distinguished academic reputation, appreciating the active role of the Department of Modern Languages ​​at the university, which has been organizing many cultural activities concerned with the Spanish language, which always supports the educational process and students’ love of Spanish culture and language. Thus, the Spanish delegation participated in the activities of the Spanish Language Day, which included a series of Spanish language and cultural presentations introduced by Spanish language students and some other activities including a video presentation about Spanish proverbs, and the famous traditional foods and tourist sites in Spain.

17 November 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, met with a delegation from Leiden University in the Netherlands, which included the advisor for educational grants and international projects, Kathleen Smits, and the director of the International Mobility Program in the Dutch office of Erasmus Plus, Alexandra Rimmekers, to discuss ways of enhancing scientific and research cooperation between the two sides. Massad stressed that Yarmouk is always interested in scientific and research cooperation with various international educational institutions, pointing out that Yarmouk has many cooperation agreements with universities and international educational institutions, according to which the university implements projects and scientific research, and exchanges students and faculty members, especially through the Erasmus Plus program. He also praised the prestigious scientific reputation of the Dutch University of Leiden, especially in the field of archeology and anthropology. In return, the delegation members acknowledged Yarmouk University for its successful cooperation with international universities and institutions of higher education attributing such success to the diversity and uniqueness of the specializations offered by Yarmouk. They then reviewed the development of Leiden University where more than 150 study programs are offered and more than 40 national and international research institutes are found.

Besides, Massad met Dr. Philippe Moreau from the Office of International Relations at Saint Louis University in Belgium to strengthen the existing cooperation between the two universities. Massad stressed the importance of continuing cooperation with Saint Louis University, mentioning that 6 students, two faculty members, and a member of the administrative staff were sent to Saint Louis University through Erasmus Plus to benefit from its expertise in the French language. He also mentioned that Yarmouk received 4 students from Saint Louis in its program of Arabic for speakers of other languages. In response, Moreau stressed the importance of continuing the effective academic cooperation between the two sides in a way that enhances the educational and cultural process in both universities.

17 November 2022

The President of Yarmouk University, Professor Islam Massad, discussed ways of research and academic cooperation with the Director of the Institute of Asian and Multicultural Studies at Lithuanian Vilnius University, Dr. Henry Diab, who was accompanied by Dr. Violetta Gevorgianin, a professor at the Faculty of Social Sciences at Vilnius University. Massad emphasized Yarmouk's belief in the significance of opening its doors to various types of research and academic cooperation with international universities and institutes, which provides opportunities for Yarmouk students to complete their higher studies and learn about different cultures. He then praised the important role played by Dr. Henry Diab in enhancing prospects of cooperation between Yarmouk and several European universities, stressing Yarmouk's readiness for further cooperation with the Institute of Asian and Multicultural Studies through conducting scientific research, especially in the field of refugee studies and community service.

Diab praised the institute’s cooperation with the Refugees, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center at Yarmouk, which provided the opportunity for students of the Lithuanian Vilnius University to learn and benefit from the center’s expertise in the field of refugee studies and community service. He mentioned that organizing scientific visits to refugee camps, such as Zaatari camp and Azmi al-Mufti camp, and meeting a number of Syrian and Palestinian refugee students at the university contributed to enhancing Lithuanian students’ experience and knowledge of refugee-oriented issues. However, during the delegation’s visit program, a seminar was held at the Refugee Center entitled: “Dialogue across Cultures and Disciplines: Migration Challenges from the Perspective of Language and Social Work”.

30 October 2022