Amman- 29 November 2022
More than 60 students attended the meeting with GJU President Professor Ala’aldeen Al-Halhouli on the exchange of experience about the dual studies program.
The Deanship of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship (DI-TECH) is coordinating the implementation of Dual Studies at the University level and organized the session.
In his opening statement Dr. Nidal Alshwawreh, Dean of DI-TECH welcomed the students and explains that besides the huge success we have already achieved, dual studies are still in a learning phase. The event itself is part of this learning process and he encourage students to give us open and constructive feedback on their experiences.
Professor Al-Halhouli, states that Dual Studies will define the future of higher education in Jordan. “With this program, GJU raises its applied science dimension to a new level. And you, the students in the companies are the ambassadors of this change”, he addresses the participants.
The feedback from the students mentioned in the following discussion was overwhelmingly positive. All students reported that they were able to gather comprehensive knowledge for their major and that they had enormous learning gains, especially in the field of social skills. Nevertheless, also challenges faced by the students were addressed. Many of the students reported that the very tight puts a high pressure on them, especially when facing difficulties registering in certain courses.
Also the Dual Studies Core Courses were mentioned by the students. The very concise form in which the course content is presented is experienced as a particular challenge by many students. Some students also report that they would like to be better integrated into companies and contribute more to day-to-day work.
The dual studies team has already been able to solve some of the challenges mentioned. In the future, dual students will be given priority when registering. Through this measure it can be assured that dual students will have the chance to register for all necessary courses. Furthermore, GJU is already in talks with GIZ to receive further support from didactics specialists, who will support GJU lecturers in designing the core courses in a more supportive way. Also, the Dual Studies team is constantly working on communication with the partner companies to ensure that they offer our students a good experience. During the discussion, however, it also became clear that the way companies deal with this is very different. In some of the partner companies our students are already given responsibility for work areas during the first practical phase. Dimah Al Ghoul, an industrial engineering student who has already completed all three practical phases, urged the attending students of lower semesters to get involved, show initiative and bring their own ideas to the company. Her experience shows that this is always a win for the students.
A last point raised by the students was that they would like to have more exchanges among each other, even beyond the different disciplines. The President asked the students to organize themselves independently, and the establishment of a Dual Studies Students Club was suggested already during the meeting. Thanks to all students and academic staff who attended the meeting and for the open and fruitful discussion.
For more information, please contact: dual.studies@gju.edu.jo
