Bank of Palestine and the Welfare Association launched the sixth phase of the “Zamalah” program for academic and vocational development, which aims to raise the caliber of university education in Palestine. The event comes as part of a completion of a series of successes achieved by the program for the fifth year in a row, in partnership with 13 Palestinian universities. The sixth phase aims to recruit more applications for grants and train professionals working at Palestinian universities.
The Zamalah program also aims to improve the quality of higher education and teaching methods in order to match the job market needs and requirements through the provision of practical remedies and building an academic model with unique modern specifications. Up until its fifth phase, the program benefited 120 men and women fellows from 13 Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, who, during their fellowship, managed to issue a total of 42 research papers in the fields of managerial science, economics, finance, banking, health and life sciences, engineering, information technology and literature.
From the beginning of this year, and until 10 March, 2017, the Zamalah program will open its doors to receive applications from professionals at Palestinian universities. The sixth phase of the program will also include the implementation of workshops for professionals at Palestinian universities to provide them with an idea about the program, the application mechanism and how to become members. It is also important to mention that the first conference for the Zamalah program will be launched this February.
Dr. Tafeeda Jarbawi, the Director General of the Welfare Association, called upon all university professors and lecturers at the various Palestinian universities to benefit from the program and fill out applications to develop their skills and knowledge. She also called upon various private sector and civil society organizations to provide their contribution and engage in supporting the program and its implementation, and stressed upon the importance of the program that focuses on university academic staff and aims to develop their capacities and skills in practical fields, especially in the field of academic research.
Dr. Jarbawi expressed her gratitude to Bank of Palestine, the mastermind behind this brilliant project, and stressed the importance of cooperation between the private sector and civil society in developing academic and scientific staff and achieving economic and social development within Palestinian society, as well as responding to the needs of other sectors, especially in the fields of science and technology. She also thanked Palestinian universities that demonstrated amazing cooperation in the program during the past years by encouraging and supporting their employees to participate in the program to develop human resources and promote their educational expertise.
Mr. Hashim Al Shawa, Chairman of Bank of Palestine, regards the Zamalah program as one of the biggest projects launched by Bank of Palestine, which aim to develop the level of higher education in Palestine. Al Shawa emphasized that this generation benefits from experiences all around the world in order to respond to vocational needs in the job market, which will reflect positively on the building and development processes, promote the economy and unique innovations, making Palestine shine with its vigorous youth.
The opinions of participating academicians were equally important in this unique initiative, whereby Engineer Shireen Al Qadi from the Polytechnic University in Hebron said that “Al Zamalah program is a great opportunity for academicians to develop their knowledge and practical skills,” and what distinguishes this program is “the unlimited training that we find in other traditional programs,” she added. “Fellows are able to choose the subject, design the training content and communicate with host organizations in a manner that suits their needs and ambitions and contributes to developing their performance.”
It worthy to mention that the Welfare Association is a Palestinian nonprofit civil society organization that was established in 1983. It conducts its work in Palestine and Palestinian diaspora refugee camps in Lebanon. The Association implements its development and relief projects under the umbrella of seven main projects: education, social development, youth empowerment, orphan support programs, culture, revitalization of historic cities, and the Palestinian Museum project.