Covid-19 and Money Trouble Create Hurdles for a Mediterranean Research Project
Despite delays, a $580 million research partnership between European, North African and Middle Eastern countries hopes for additional funding from the European Union’s next big innovation framework.
Will the Coronavirus Pandemic Help Reform Arab Higher Education?
While not diminishing the many difficulties in the crash transition to distance learning, many Arab educators also see an upside.
Where to Find Advice for Building Better Courses Online
The emergency adaptation of online learning during the coronavirus crisis left little time for reflection on best practices. Here is a sampling of resources for instructors who want more guidance.
A Quarantine Reading List: Escapist Nonfiction from the Arab World
Readers who need a break from news of Covid-19 and chronicles of disease may find welcome relief in these books from the Middle East and North Africa.
Arab Universities Struggle With Final Exams and Reopening Decisions
The Covid-19 pandemic forced Arab universities to hastily shift classes online–or in some cases shut down completely. Now they need to assess learning and decide how to safely re-open.
Tunisia’s Covid-19 Research Effort Brings Together Many Sectors
Engineering and medical schools are collaborating to design ventilators, and government projects are attracting hundreds of researchers. Industry and investors are helping, too.
The Shift to Online Education in the Arab World Is Intensifying Inequality
The attempted shift to online learning during the novel coronavirus pandemic is increasing inequality in access to education. In some countries, professors and students are suggesting online education be halted altogether.
Why Tunisia’s Once Superior Education System Needs to Reform Again
A long tradition of progressive reform prepared the country for independence in 1957. But now its universities are seen as “factories of unemployment.”
Relief Organizations Help Artists Affected by Covid-19
Funding groups in the Arab world and elsewhere are offering assistance to artists and other creative workers who face difficulties because of the Covid-19 shutdowns.
A Guide to Top Platforms for Online Courses
Al-Fanar Media explores some of the major Arabic and non-Arabic online learning platforms that offer university-level courses at low cost or free.
