King visits Al Hussein Technical University

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited Al Hussein Technical University (HTU), which has graduated 688 students since its establishment in 2016, with a 100 per cent employment rate.
 
An initiative of the Crown Prince Foundation, HTU was established with the aim of bridging the gap between the number of graduates and their employment rates in technical fields, according to a Royal Court statement. 
 
Accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, His Majesty toured the university, which is based on learning through practical projects and experiences.
 
Crown Prince Hussein said the university is successful thanks to the outstanding efforts of the team behind it, which has worked to provide quality education and training, with a focus on jobs of the future, the statement said. 
 
The Crown Prince spoke about the steady growth in enrolment levels in HTU, starting with 180 students in 2017 and reaching 2,600 students today, adding that admission is based on students' desire and readiness.
 
HTU offers bachelor's and technical degrees, and includes specialties in engineering and information technology, providing modern courses in data science, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and videogame design and development.
 
During a meeting with members of HTU’s board of trustees and deans, His Majesty was briefed by HTU President Ismael Al Hinti on the university's role in promoting technical education in Jordan to achieve high employment rates, as well as increasing students' ability to keep pace with labour market needs and the rapidly changing industrial sector, according to the statement. 
 
He said the university has formed more than 245 partnerships with the public and private sectors locally and internationally to provide eight-month internship opportunities in a real work environment that provides students with practical and technical skills to ensure they later have the best employment opportunities.
 
The university's skills enhancement programmes have helped employ more than 2,800 young people in the ICT sector, while HTU’s THE CORE tech incubator and accelerator has supported more than 60 local start-ups, according to Hinti.
 
During a visit to the German Energy Academy, hosted at HTU’s School of Engineering Technology, His Majesty was briefed on the academy's role as a regional centre for honing the skills of professionals and engineers in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and smart grids.
 
At the robotics laboratory, the King also listened to a briefing on how the lab provides a dynamic environment for learning through experimentation and application.
 
At the university's library, which is the first public library at a Jordanian university opened in partnership with Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation, His Majesty and the Crown Prince spoke with a group of students and graduates and listened to their experiences at the university and their achievements.