Amman- 21 June 2022

The German Jordanian University (GJU) organized “Applied University Teaching International Conference” in cooperation with Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences in Germany. The conference aimed to bring together academics, university teachers, and didactics experts from Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to explore and discuss the opportunities and strengths of applied university teaching in these countries.

In his opening speech, the President of  GJU, Prof. Ala’aldeen Al-Halhouli said that GJU was founded on two pillars: the first pillar is transitional education, where GJU has been collaborating with its nowadays 120 German partner universities not only to send students for study and internship but also to engage in joint projects in research, curriculum development, mobility, and capacity building.

Dr. Al-Halhouli added that the second pillar focused on employability for graduates and bridging the gap between academia and industry by introducing the successful model of applied science universities into the Jordanian higher education framework.

The conference included keynote speeches and panel discussions such as academic-industrial partnerships, the applied university teaching philosophy, and the lessons learned as a response to the pandemic; in addition, interactive workshops were held such as methods for activating large groups in applied universities, active learning in online teaching, and linking didactical theory with practical applications using service-learning as an instrument.

The “Applied University Teaching International Conference” is part of the project “German Jordanian Applied University Teaching (AUT), which offers online training on teaching and learning in higher education to support academics and university teachers from Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan to improve their teaching skills and focus on their professional development. It also aims to build effective transnational teaching collaborations and encourage joint research on higher education issues.