ACK, KFAS host SPHERE
On May 3, 2017 the second Symposia of Private higher Education; Road to Excellence (SPHERE) was convened in the premises of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development. The one day symposium was held under the Patronage of the Secretary General of the Private Universities Council (PUC) and wasco-organized and sponsored by the Australian College of Kuwait (ACK) and the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS). The Proceedings included an opening session in which representatives of PUC, KFAS and ACK participated.
Dr Waleed Al-Kandari the Deputy of the Secretary General at the PUC highlighted that the PUC has taken a number of steps to encourage the private universitiesto enhance their research and developments activities. Dr Adnan Shihab Eldin in his address asked the private universities to link their research and development plans with national plans. Furthermore, the Chairperson of the Symposium Dr Mohammed AlRumaihi emphasized that the private universities should have an active role in research through cooperation with the national stakeholders and international partners.
Four “Technical” sessions where keynote presentations were discussed. Their topics were: Research and Development in Private Universities in the GCC, presented by Prof Hilal Al-Hanai, secretary General of The Research Council of Oman. Best Practices in promoting Research and Development in private Universities, presented by Prof. George Najjar, Provost-Lebanese American University. Role of Research and Development in supporting excellence in higher education, presented by Prof. Abeer Al-Bawab, General Director of the Scientific Research Support Fund (SRSF) in Jordan. Market-Driven Research and Development, Presented by Prof. Abdalla Al-Najjar, Chairman-Arab Science & Technology Foundation, UAE.
The sessions were chaired by: Prof. Tariq Aldowaisan, Prof. Moudi Al-Humoud, Prof Mustafa Marefi; and Prof Esam AlAwadhi respectively. At the beginning of each session the Chairperson of the session gave an introduction for a few minutes followed by 20 minutes for the speaker and 25 minutes for comments from the floor. A final discussion session composed of the main speakers was conducted by Prof. Adnan Badran, Chancellor of University of Petra and Chairman of the board of Trustees of University of Jordan.
The scholars contributing to the symposium were affiliated to public and private universities and colleges. In addition, a good number of participants came from national research and development centers and agencies. At the closing, the participants expressed appreciation for the joint event and urged ACK and KFAS to continue this endeavor.