Erasmus+ virtual meeting hears of social inclusion, innovation and employability

AMMAN — The National Erasmus Plus Office organised a virtual week for Higher Education Reform Experts on June 7-9.

During the meeting attended by Maria Hadjitheodosiu, ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Jordan, deputising for Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Mohammed Khair Abu Qudais, the secretary general of the ministry, Mamoun Al Debie, praised the efforts of the National Erasmus Plus Office, and thanked the European Commission in boosting social inclusion, innovation, entrepreneurship and employability, particularly in the field of higher education. 

The Secretary General highlighted the significance of sustaining collaboration and looking forward to increasing cooperation tools with European counterparts, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

Ahmad Abu Al Haija, director of the National Erasmus Plus Office, shared with the audience some figures on the funded projects under Erasmus+ programme in the three main key actions, which are International Credit Mobility, capacity building in the field of higher education and policy reform. 

Between 2015 and 2020, 53 capacity building projects involved Jordanian institutions, and 16 projects were coordinated by Jordan. While, 594 partnership involved academic staff and student exchange, the total number of mobilities from and to Jordan reached almost 6,000, he said.

Clivio Casali from the Education and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels highlighted the funded projects within the Erasmus+ programme in social inclusion, innovation, entrepreneurship and employability. 

He underlined that these aspects are reflected as overall priorities in the new E+ programme. Participants were invited to take this opportunity to identify possible needs to be addressed through new projects proposal under the new programme.

For her part, Hadjitheodosiou stressed that “through the next Erasmus+ programme, the EU will continue supporting higher education in Jordan and will include technical and vocational training, while emphasising equity and inclusion. It will also focus on systems strengthening and capacity building, and aim for the participation of other relevant national authorities to ensure ownership of reforms. 

She also hoped to increase synergies with projects financed through the country programme in the sectors where the major EU priorities will be mapped out: On green growth, digitalisation and innovation.

The three-day event witnessed participation of representatives from the Higher Education Reform Experts team, academic and administrative staff from various higher education institutions and official departments.

The topics highlighted during the event included social inclusion and increasing opportunities of vulnerable groups in higher education, Jordanian policies on social inclusion in higher education, as well as innovation and entrepreneurship in Jordan and Europe. On the last day of the event, a panel discussion on the digital skills needed to enhance graduates’ employability was held. 

Participants from different universities and enterprises discussed recent development in the labour market, and urged universities to develop their curricula accordingly, concluded the statement.