Islamic University of Gaza (IUG) received a delegation from the World Bank and Higher Education Quality Improvement Fund (QIF) financed by the World Bank, represented by Mrs. Samira Helles – Program Officer at the World Bank, Mr. Xiaonan Kao – Education Specialist at the World Bank, and Dr. Hani Najm – Quality Fund Coordinator in the Gaza Strip, and Mr. Tamer Al-Jarro – Compliance Officer in Gaza branch. The visit aimed at evaluating the projects implemented through the Education Quality Improvement Fund financed by the World Bank.
The delegation were received at the university by: Dr. Hisham Madi – Deputy Dean for External Affairs, Prof. Dr. Tawfiq Barhoum – Manager of project “Developing Capabilities of Information Technology Graduates to Integrate them in Freelancing work and Export Software”, Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdelaty, Manager of project “Preparing Faculty of Engineering Graduates to keep pace with the needs of the labor market in the field of energy and smart cities”, Mr. Maysara Al-Qishawi – Director of Public Relations, Engineer Amani Al-Maqadma – Head of External Relations Department, Mr. Muhammad Shamaa – Project Coordinator of Faculty of Information Technology, and Engineer Nihal Al-Nimr – Project Coordinator of Faculty of Engineering.
Dr. Madi welcomed the delegation, indicating the importance of the projects in raising the efficiency and ability of Palestinian universities to keep pace with the requirements of the labor market. During the meeting, the impact of the projects and their role in enhancing the educational environment for students of Engineering and Information Technology Departments at IUG was discussed.
Engineer Nihal Al-Nimr, gave a presentation on the project she coordinated in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Mohamed Abdelaty at the Faculty of Engineering. She explained that OIF project helped develop two engineering courses and created others, and it also helped university students prepare for the labor market in companies through developing their skills and keep pace with modern technology, noting that the laboratories funded by OIF have been equipped.
Mr. Muhammad Shamaa, coordinator of the project “Aligning Graduates’ Capabilities of Information Technology for Freelancing Market” reviewed the project’s overview, and confirmed that ninety students were trained to work on freelancing platforms and the results were satisfactory, adding that a large number of them became employees and trainers for freelancing market at the Islamic University. Each of them received (727) dollars during the past three months, and they received foreign trainers to train students.
Prof. Dr. Tawfiq Barhoum praised the level of teachers and teaching assistants who contributed to the training of male and female students, in addition to promoting the sustainability of the project by offering a specialized course within the Faculty of Information Technology’s study plan for remote working.
At the end of the meeting, the team commended the World Bank for the outputs reached from the projects, and discussed the most important points of success and the most important difficulties and sustainability criteria for these projects at the Islamic University.