On September 5, right after the end of the Eid al-Adha, three GJU students went down to Aqaba and presented themselves the following morning 9 am at the office of Mr. Hakam Abulfeilat, the General Manager of Aqaba Logistics Village (ALV).

The reason being that the students will undergo a combined academic and hands-on training in ALV’s facilities in intensive form - 8 hours per day, 6 days per week - to experience a variety of logistics activities in depth.

The three students are the first ones to be selected for this module, which serves as a pilot to test cooperation between company and university in the dual learning mode. The training plan has been developed jointly by ALV staff and lecturers from GJU’s School for Management and Logistics Science (SMLS), and two of GJU’s lecturers will enrich the course on the spot with focused teaching in Warehouse Management and Export & Import Management

On Lecture Day 1, Dr. Ismail Abushaikha introduced the three GJU logistics students and two warehouse supervisors to the basic concepts of Warehouse Management. Dr. Ismail explicitly mentioned that the sharing of the experiences, which the students had made during the past two days in the field, clearly enriched the lecture and the quality of discussions. The last 30 minutes of Day 1 were devoted to a visit of ALV’s Distribution Center, to obtain a general view.

On Lecture Day 2, the I.T. Manager and two warehouse supervisors also joined the classes. In addition, ALV’s General Manager and HR Manager visited the classroom from time to time. The lecture was a mix of theoretical concepts and expertise of the supervisors, linking theoretical concepts with practice. Another visit of the Distribution Center, to observe the back-to-back cross-docking process finalized Day 2.

The participating students were chosen among several interested volunteers, assuring that the most excellent and motivated ones were sent to ALV and perform well, to make the cooperation a success for all sides involved. It is expected that the students immediately use the knowledge they gained before at GJU and through the two crash courses given by the GJU lecturers while at ALV (whose staff is invited to join these lectures), thus adding value to the company and widening their horizons at the same time.

The creation and execution of the pilot module is based on the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between GJU and ALV, aiming at increased cooperation between the partners.

For more information, please consult Dr. Malik Alsharairi, Dean of SMLS, or Mr. Randolph Galla, Dual Studies Advisor at the OIL.