Participants in the training workshop held by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Jordan in cooperation with Dar Al-Kutub UBCC, entitled "Enhancing Higher Education for Employment: Competency-Based Learning and Emerging Technologies in Comprehensive Contexts" stressed the need to enhance cooperation between universities and the labor market through strategic partnerships, developing educational curricula in line with the competencies required in the future, and adopting modern technologies to improve higher education outcomes.
At the conclusion of its two-day work, the workshop recommended the importance of integrating field training and career guidance programs into curricula in order to better prepare students for market requirements, emphasizing the link between higher education and the labor market, and supporting student readiness according to international standards, which enhances the status of universities and their developmental role in the future.
The workshop, which was held in the presence of the Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr. Menwer Attarakih, and with the participation of members of the Career Readiness and Field Training Committee at the college, aimed to provide faculty members with skills and experiences that enable them to develop the educational process and link it to the requirements of the labor market.
Its sessions also addressed a number of topics, presenting the best global educational practices that keep pace with technical developments aimed at improving the quality of higher education, and the latest digital technologies used in the education sector, which contributes to enhancing the capabilities and skills of students and university graduates; to enter the labor market strongly, and obtain distinguished job opportunities, unlike others, through understanding the needs of the labor market and effective communication with the relevant parties.
The workshop, which combined both theoretical and practical aspects, received great interaction from the participating faculty members, as it included theoretical sessions presented by a number of experts whose interventions had a great impact in enriching their experiences and enhancing their competencies, and practical training that provided them with an opportunity to experience modern technologies directly. Ways to adopt these technologies in the university education sector were also discussed, which helps in enhancing students' academic and professional capabilities, in addition to preparing practical plans that would develop curricula in line with the needs of the renewed labor market.
It is worth noting that what distinguishes this workshop is the participation of a wide elite of local and international experts and specialists in the higher education sector in presenting a number of its sessions. On the international level, Dr. Alan Bruce, CEO of Universal Learning Systems, gave a presentation on competency-based learning methods and how to apply them effectively in modern academic contexts.
From Finland, Mr. Timo Patala, Co-Founder and Director of Context Learning, presented a number of practical insights into the importance of using collaborative technologies to improve the quality of the educational process, while also drawing attention to practical examples from his international experiences.
On the local level, Jumana Jaber, Assistant Consultant at Universal Learning Systems - Jordan, gave a speech in which she spoke about the importance and role of digital technologies in education within local contexts, pointing out the practical aspects that meet the requirements of the local labor market.