Cardiff Met Event Success In Jordan

Cardiff Met has recently led a joint dissemination event between four EU funded scholarship projects operating in the Middle East region: Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon and Syria. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The event was held during September in Amman, Jordan at the Association of Arab Universities (AArU). ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cardiff Met led on the organisation of the event as part of its Erasmus Mundus project, EU Partnerships and International Cooperation with Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Palestine (EPIC). The other three Erasmus Mundus projects involved in the event included: Avempace II, coordinated by Technische Universitaet Berlin, Dunia Beam, coordinated by Pavia University, and PEACE, coordinated by University of Santiago de Compostela. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Circa 70 participants from 30 partner universities across all four projects attended the event. Representatives from the European Commission, British Council, National Erasmus+ Office (NEO) in Jordan, and guest speakers from Unione delle Universita del Mediterraneo (UNIMED), Education for Employment, and Talal Abu Ghazaleh Educational Services (TAG Educa), also attended. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

All four partners presented on their Erasmus Mundus projects and looked at the impact the projects have had on an individual, national and regional level. The creation of a prospective mobility network and platform, called GlobAl Mobility Network (GAIN), a joint venture between Cardiff Met and TAG Educa, was also presented with the aim for this to be the second sustainable platform as a result of Cardiff Met’s EU funded projects. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Cardiff Met representatives presented on the role of internationalisation in the nationalisation of higher education, discussed the ARELEN Network, a sustainable outcome of European funding through Tempus, and shared their experience and best practices within Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility. The European Commission and NEO in Jordan presented on future Erasmus+ opportunities with the aim of sustaining the collaboration between partner universities within the Erasmus+ framework. A number of breakout sessions gave delegates the opportunity to discuss key topics; the employability issue in the Middle East North Africa region, integration of refugees into higher education, and a comparison of Erasmus Mundus to Erasmus+. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

The joint dissemination event was followed by a Magna Charta Observatory workshop about the value of fundamental values. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

Professor Mohamed Loutfi, Pro Vice Chancellor (International) commented on the event in Jordan: “This joint dissemination event formed an excellent ground for disseminating best practice and lessons learned from the past few years. It was a great opportunity for over 30 partner universities, and external delegates, to gather together to ensure sustainability of the partnership of the four EU funded projects. It was interesting and useful to see how project outcomes can be sustained and developed further.” ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​