Higher Education Towards an Objective Approach to Reality and the Future: A Dialogue Session at Damascus University

Damascus University held today a dialogue session entitled "Higher Education Towards an Objective Approach to Reality and the Future: Damascus University as a Case Study", with the aim of discussing the reality of higher education, the challenges it faces, and the proposed mechanisms. The session was held in Reda Saeed Conference Hall at Damascus University

Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Bassam Ibrahim, stressed the importance of the workshops organized by the Ministry in universities on various topics with the aim of describing the reality of higher education and the difficulties and challenges it faces. It also provides an analysis of the educational reality from all its aspects, whether from the components of the educational process, starting from university admission to technical teaching methods, the reality of laboratories, equipment and most importantly the reality of the teaching, educational and laboratory staff, in addition to the analysis of the reality of scientific research and technical education and its role in serving society.

Dr Ibrahim pointed out that the workshop addressed the quality of university graduates, praising the graduates of Syrian universities who have proven their worth and efficiency in various sectors, and many of them have won distinguished awards in several fields despite the difficult circumstances.

President of the National Union of Syrian Students, Dr. Dareen Suleiman, explained that this workshop came after a series of workshops related to university admission held by the National Union of Syrian Students, in addition to other workshops supervised by the Ministry of Higher Education and Syrian universities, in order to address the reality of education, which has become unsatisfactory at the governmental level and the level of university students.

During the session, President of Damascus University, Dr. Muhammad Osama Al-Jabban, gave a presentation that included an analysis of the reality of higher education in Syria, the opportunities and challenges it faces, and future aspirations.

Prof. Al-Jabban reviewed the impact of the war on the indicators of the education sector in Syria, where the rate of enrollment in university education decreased by 5% and the number of faculty members decreased by 12%.

Prof. Al-Jaban explained that the university is making efforts to obtain international accreditation, noting that the College of Medicine obtained accreditation last year. He also referred to the university’s achievements in terms of developing curricula and integrating technology, as it established the Biotherapeutics Research Center, the Digital Dental Unit, and the Digital Medical Education Development Center.

The dialogue session was attended by representatives of the National Union of Syrian Students, a number of presidents of private universities, vice presidents of Damascus University, Director of the Higher Commission for Scientific Research, deans of faculties and their deputies, heads of departments, a number of professors and graduate students at the university, and those interested in the higher education sector.