Bulletin: Jordanian Academic Wins L’Oréal-Unesco Fellowship, Book Fair Delves into Translation Troubles
’The Future of Online Learning
In our new bulletin, Al-Fanar Media brings you our most prominent stories and news about higher education in the Arab world.
Today, we focus on how reliance on online learning has become almost the norm across the world, and in the Arab world in particular. Experts predict that this trend will only grow stronger in the future.
Many factors are behind the increase in reliance on online learning, including the Covid-19 lockdowns that forced schools and universities to switch to online learning.
Natural disasters and armed conflicts have also increased some countries’ reliance on online learning as a substitute for face-to-face learning.
Moreover, online learning is playing a role in closing the skills gaps that many industries are experiencing as artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies reshape the workforce. With millions of jobs around the world potentially affected, companies and individuals are turning to online platforms as a way for employees to gain more skills and invest in self-learning.
All of the above indicates greater reliance on online learning in the future, as postsecondary educational institutions seek to maximise their benefits from it.
In this bulletin, we bring you examples and op-eds about the online learning market.
Mohammad El-Hawary
Al-Fanar Media editor-in-chief
From the Region:
Jordanian Academic Wins L’Oréal-Unesco Fellowship
Sana Bardaweel, a professor of medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, has won a fellowship from the prestigious L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science Programme.
In a statement, the university said that Bardaweel was among six talented young researchers in the Levant region chosen this year to receive fellowships to support promising research projects. The Levant region includes Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.
Every year, the L’Oréal-Unesco For Women in Science national and regional programmes highlight outstanding female researchers around the world to encourage them to move forward in scientific research. Criteria for awarding the fellowships include the originality and applicability of the research proposal, and the researcher’s ability to promote the sciences to a younger generation and encourage young women to seek careers in science.
Also see:
- Palestinian Researcher Wins L’Oréal-Unesco Award for Arab Women in Science
- A Role Model for Female Arab Scientists
- Jordanian Pharmacologist Nancy Hakooz Receives International Honour
Iraqi-French Agreement for Cooperation in Higher Education
Iraq and France have signed an agreement to facilitate cooperation between higher education and research institutions in the two countries.
In a Facebook statement, Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education said that the agreement would foster cooperation in the fields of science, engineering, environment, archaeology, heritage, law, and the French language. The agreement also encourages academic exchanges, participation in conferences, joint research projects, scholarships, and academic residencies.
Lost in Translation: Experts Discuss Difficulties at Riyadh Book Fair
The literary critic Saad Albazei and the translator Radhi Al-Namasi participated in a discussion at the Riyadh International Book Fair 2023 about the difficulties of translation and knowledge exchange between peoples and cultures.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Albazei said readers should be aware that translation is a reformulation of the text, and that reading a text in translation “does not necessarily mean that the reader is reading the original text” as it was in its mother tongue. The main task of the translator, he said, is to act as a “bridge between civilizations.”
Al-Namasi cited the words of the Portuguese writer Gonçalo Manuel Tavares, who described translation as “carrying water by hand,” suggesting that something will inevitably be lost.
Regarding artificial intelligence and its impact on translation, Albazei and Al-Namasi agreed that despite recent developments, the technology still falls short, especially in handling texts that deal with complex feelings and deep thoughts.
The Riyadh International Book Fair 2023, hosted by King Saud University, continues through Saturday, October 7.
Egyptian University Students to Compete in Entrepreneurship Challenge
Egypt’s Ministry of Higher Education is inviting students and entrepreneurs at Egyptian universities to participate in the Gen-Z Competition 2023.
In a statement, the ministry said that the competition aims to spread the culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and scientific research among Egyptian university students who have innovative ideas for initiatives that address society’s difficulties and challenges, and to provide them with support to create startups. Each qualified team will receive financial support and the opportunity to attend training programs in financial management. International students can participate if they are members of an Egyptian student team.
To learn more and apply to the competition, click here.
From Al-Fanar Media:
Academics Map Opportunities to Benefit from AI in Arab Universities
As artificial intelligence (AI) picks up the pace of automating tasks within jobs, and sometimes entire jobs themselves, academics at several universities in the Arab world are stressing the importance of reinventing higher education to provide students and graduates with the skills necessary to find a place in the labour market. Read more in this article.
Putting New Learning Systems in Place Isn’t Easy, Educators Say
The need to move from traditional educational models to creative new methods is clear, but obstacles often block the way, speakers said during a panel discussion held at the Knowledge Hub in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital late last year.
Tarek Shawki, a former Egyptian minister of education and professor emeritus of engineering at the American University in Cairo, described how Egyptian students had responded well to a new platform for delivering educational materials in innovative ways, but their parents did not. “The biggest problem was parents’ rejection of the new process,” he said. “They adhere to the old memorisation-based system, without considering the value of thinking.”
At the same discussion, Jawad Yousaf, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Abu Dhabi University, called for replacing old educational methods with new systems based on innovative thinking. “Graduates will be skilled workers who can think in new, creative ways, away from traditional ideas that do not meet the needs of the modern world,” he said. Read more here.
Opinion:
Online Learning and the Path to More-Inclusive Higher Education
Despite education’s pivotal role in shaping the future of our world, getting an education is still a challenge for many people rather than a guaranteed right. This often results from socio-economic factors, such as financial hardship or systemic inequality. Thus, many individuals need assistance to access higher education, due to financial hurdles or lack of educational opportunities. Here, online learning emerges as a way to make a difference and address some of these challenges. Read more in this commentary by Malake El Haj, director of knowledge and innovation at the Abdullah Al Ghurair Foundation for Education.
Tips and Resources:
First-Time Students, Check These Sites for Help Adjusting to University Life
As Arab universities begin a new academic year begins, many first-time students are making the difficult transition to a new educational environment.
Al-Fanar Media has brought you a sampling of useful websites and other resources with advice that can help first-time students gain confidence, as well as academic and life skills. Read more in this article.
A Guide to Top Platforms for Online Courses
Online learning platforms offer training courses at different levels for students, academics, health workers and creative arts professionals. Al-Fanar Media has created a brief guide to the most prominent international and Arab educational platforms that we believe will be of most interest to young adults and college students, and that offer free or affordable educational content. Explore more in this article.
A Students’ Guide to Learning Programming Languages Online
To enhance their opportunities in today’s labour market, many university students are keen to master one or more computer programming languages. The benefits of acquiring programming skills go beyond job opportunities and attractive salaries. If you are interested in a career as a software developer, learning to code will teach you important skills useful across the labour market, like problem-solving and critical thinking, this article introduces you to the world of programming and suggests a starting point for learning programming languages through free courses online.
Culture:
French-Lebanese Author Amin Maalouf to Head Prestigious French Academy
The French-Lebanese author Amin Maalouf has been elected permanent secretary of the Académie Française, the nearly 400-year-old institution charged with ensuring that the French language remains “pure, eloquent, and capable of treating the arts and sciences”.
Maalouf, a novelist and former journalist who has lived in France since 1976, succeeds Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, who died in August. Maalouf is known for historical novels inspired by the Arab world and a focus on the convergence of civilisations. Rima Abdul Malak, France’s minister of culture, described his election to the academy’s top post as a “magnificent symbol for all French-speakers in the world”. Read more in this article.
In Conflict:
American University of Beirut’s Strategic Planning Help It Survive Lebanon’s Crisis
The American University of Beirut has managed to survive Lebanon’s continuing financial crisis because of plans put in place before the currency collapsed in 2019, its president, Fadlo Khuri, says. In an interview with Al-Fanar Media, Khuri said the crisis had just accelerated a plan for financial sustainability that the university had already formulated to ensure survival without compromising the quality of education. Read more in this interview.
Scholarships
Al-Fanar Media maintains a database of quality scholarships available to Arab students, which we continuously update. To stay up to date on the latest scholarships available in international universities, check the Scholarships section here, and watch for updated feedback on free learning opportunities in our News and Reports section, here.
Recent postings to the scholarships database include:
- NL Scholarships for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Study in the Netherlands
- Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) Scholarships in the U.K.
- Chalhoub Scholarship for Undergraduate Study at Sciences Po, in France
