Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Marwan al-Halabi and Gerry Adams, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), and the Director of the SETF’s Expert Team discussed ways to develop the higher education sector and enhance competences development and capacity building.
During the meeting held at the Higher Education Ministry, Minister Halabi welcomed the project and reviewed the most prominent challenges facing the higher education sector in Syria, including the deterioration of infrastructure and technology, brain drain, academic isolation, and the lack of financial resources and its impact on laboratory infrastructure.
Halabi indicated that the Ministry has begun taking practical steps in the field of capacity building, by establishing incubators for excellence and innovation, such as the Biotherapeutics Research Center, the Digit Incubator for Digital Entrepreneurship, and the External Publishing Center at Damascus University. He also noted the formation of an Office for Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Ministry and the development of an Information Technology Center for Digital Transformation.
The Minister underlined the importance of forming a joint working committee to transfer the organization’s expertise to Syrian universities, starting with the University of Damascus and then the University of Aleppo, emphasizing that this is part of the Ministry’s vision to modernize and support technical education.
For his part, Adams indicated that SETF has worked to support the Syrian people in confronting the Caesar Act, especially in the north, and seeks to play a role with the University of Damascus in the education sector. He noted that, after liberation and the fall of the Assad regime, the organization is spearheading the project to develop the higher education sector in Syria through competences development and capacity building, which will be implemented in cooperation with a group of distinguished Saudi universities.
Adams highlighted the importance of boosting communication between Syrian, Saudi, and American universities, which would contribute to curriculum development, skill and innovation promotion. He emphasized that a pilot program would be launched at Damascus University in coordination with Saudi universities.
The Syrian Emergency Taskforce (SETF) is a Syrian-American non-profit organization working in advocacy, humanitarian, educational, and relief programs. It seeks to promote peace and end the violence in Syria through a broad network of partnerships with Syrian civil society organizations abroad.
