The International Affairs Unit (IAU) and the School of Engineering at the University of Jordan organized on Thursday, March 31st, 2022 a workshop entitled “Establishing and Reinforcing the Collaboration between Industry and Academia” as part of the activities of the project to develop curricula for artificial intelligence and robotics (DeCAIR) funded by the European Union within the Erasmus Plus programme.
The one-day workshop, which was inaugurated by the Vice President for Academic Colleges Affairs, Prof. Inam Khalaf, included topics related to establishing and strengthening cooperation between industry and academia in the field of artificial intelligence and robotics, in which academics, company owners, and experts from Jordan, Lebanon, and European countries participated.
During the inauguration of the workshop, Khalaf affirmed the university's support, as part of its strategy, for the efforts to develop relations with external parties that support scientific research and capacity-building, offering joint graduate programs with international universities and international institutions, and exchanging experiences and knowledge globally, stressing the importance of strengthening the relationship between industry and academia.
The founder of the Italian company "Joint", Dr. Manuel Catano, spoke about soft robotics technologies, and the CEO of Al-Jawdah Company for Business Solutions, Mr. Ahmed Abu Qaoud, pointed out the role of skills development in providing job opportunities, while the Director of the Faculty for Factory (FFF) project at the university, Prof. Youssef Al-Abdallat, talked about ongoing efforts to link educational institutions with the industry sector.
According to the project’s general coordinator, Prof. Gheith Abdeh, the (DeCAIR) project is implemented under the leadership of the University of Jordan and aims to develop a new master’s program in artificial intelligence and robotics (AIR - Artificial Intelligence and Robotics) at the University of Jordan, and a new bachelor’s program in intelligent systems engineering at Tafila Technical University. It also introduces new AIR courses for current bachelor’s and master’s programs at Jordanian and Lebanese partner universities.
The project is based on building AIR capabilities by transferring European expertise, academia and industrial networks, developing new AIR laboratories, and enhancing cooperation with local, regional and European companies to implement AIR technically.