The President of the University, Dr. Imad Al-Zeer, welcomed the guest and the attendees, pointing out that the invitation comes in the context of the University’s constant endeavor to strengthen relations with Arab organizations and universities, pointing out that the Union of Arab Universities is considered one of the most important Arab organizations working to unite Arab universities and enhance communication between them.
For his part, Professor Dr. Amr Ezzat Salama expressed his great happiness to be alone on this good land, the land of Palestine, saying, “Since the first day I assumed my position, I have been keen to visit Palestinian universities, and thank God I was able to fulfill my desire to be hosted by Palestine National University, and I am happy to be there.” “With you and between you.”
He thanked Palestine Ahliya University for this generous invitation and facilitating the visit to get to know the reality of Palestinian universities closely and meet university presidents.
He gave an overview of the Association of Arab Universities, saying that it is a non-governmental organization founded in 1964 based on a decision issued by the League of Arab States. Its membership includes more than 450 Arab universities and its headquarters are in the Jordanian capital, Amman.
He presented a set of figures about the reality of higher education in the Arab world, most notably the enrollment of 65% of students in humanities majors in universities, and 35% of students in other majors.
He said that about 600,000 students from the Arab world are studying outside their countries, including 50% who remain in these countries.
He talked about the reality of Arab universities in the international rankings, explaining that there are about 14 Arab universities among the top 500 universities in the world.
He said that scientific research and financing scientific research are considered the most prominent challenges facing higher education in the Arab world, adding that Arab countries spend less than 1% of their national income on scientific research only, and this percentage is very small compared to developed countries.
He talked about the role of universities in light of artificial intelligence, pointing out that there are many questions about the role of universities in the future and they will be discussed during a conference during the coming period.
He also spoke about the objectives of the Union, the most prominent of which are cooperation in controlling the quality of university and higher education and ensuring its quality, striving to achieve mutual recognition of academic degrees and certificates issued by educational institutions, supporting student excellence and creativity, encouraging joint student activities between educational institutions, encouraging the establishment of research centers and supporting the conduct of joint scientific research and exchange. Its results, paying attention to applied research, linking its topics to Arab economic and social development plans, strengthening cooperation between educational institutions and coordinating their efforts among themselves and with universities and relevant regional and international institutions, especially in keeping pace with the developments of the times and modern educational techniques and patterns.
He said that the Union includes under its umbrella 40 educational institutions distributed in various universities in the Arab world, and it also works to provide many awards in the subjects of scientific research, excellence and creativity
Source: Maan News Agency