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U.S.-Jordanian University Cooperation Network

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Featured Announcements

Reflections from Patricia Parera, U.S. UCN Secretariat
Why does the UCN matter in the internationalization of higher education.
Network – Knowledge – Collaboration

Access Past Webinars Below

The webinars are organized by the Virginia Tech Language and Culture Institute (VT-LCI) as the U.S.-UCN Secretariat representative with the generous support of the United States Embassy’s Public Affairs Section, Amman, Jordan

Who we are?  We are a network of twenty Jordanian and U.S. universities that focuses on international outreach and engagement, joint research, partnerships and professional development programs as part of internationalization efforts among higher education institutions. 

  1. The Margaret McNamara Education Grants provides scholarships (up to US$15,000) to assist women from developing countries to pursue their education in the U.S and Canada. Eligible applicants include women who are at least 25 years old and are enrolled in eligible universities (certificate, undergraduate, graduate, postdoc students). Deadline: January 15, 2021
  2. The International Peace Research Association Foundation provides two fellowships (up to US$ 5,000) to two women from developing countries in the Global South for graduate studies in the field of peace. Selection is based on financial needs. Deadline: January 15, 2021
  3. The Daughters For Life Foundation provides scholarships to two young women in the Middle East who are in financial need and who will act as leaders and agents for peaceful social change in their communities. Applications are open to citizens and residents of Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Morocco. Deadline: January 15, 202
  4. The IIE Refugee EdTech Program-edX MircroMasters: The Refugee EdTech Program is a program administered as part of the IIE's Student Emergency Initiative (IIE SEI) and is designed to help displaced and refugee students pursue advanced education online, from anywhere in the world.The scholarship includes the full cost of the student's selected MicroMaster certificate, flexible learning and a virtual leadership program to be held over two days in summer 2021. 
  5. The Milepost One Scholarship. Warren Wilson awards up to 25-full tuition Milepost One Scholarships to students with a total family income equal or below $125,000 per year. Both international and DACA students who have been admitted to Warren Wilson College are eligible to apply. Deadline: February 1, 2021. 
  6.  The Network Science, Wireless, and Security Group (NEWS), a research group focused on developing fundamental mathematical tools, and principles to design, develop, and build smart, secure, and self-organizing systems, with applications to networks, wireless systems, Internet of things (IoT) systems, smart power grids, and cyber-physical systems at Virginia Tech is currently looking for PhD students for the Fall of 2021. If interested, please contact Dr. Walid Saad at walids@vt.edu with your CV and credentials.
  7. Tomorrow’s Leaders Graduate (TLG) program, sponsored by the U.S-Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), offers students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) an opportunity to pursue higher education through a leading American University with U.S accreditation in the MENA region. The program covers tuition and fees, monthly allowance, professional training on leadership and gender and others. Deadline: March 2, 2021.
  8. Atlas Corps invites social leaders from around the world to apply for the Blended, In-Person Fellowships and the Virtual Leadership Institute opportunities:
  • The In-Person Fellowship is a 12-18-month Fellowship in the U.S, in which Fellows are matched with a Host Organization and develop leadership skills and effective practices. Successful applicants will receive a monthly stipend and will also participate in over 200 hours of in-person and virtual training through the Global Leadership Lab.  Non-US citizens are eligible.
  •  The Blended Fellowship is a 14-month opportunity that combines a virtual service experience taking place in the Fellow’s home country and complemented with service in the U.S. Fellows obtain leadership training through the Global Leadership Lab and a stipend based on the local cost of living. Non-US citizens are eligible.
  • The Virtual Leadership Institute is a 7-month program in which applicants will enhance their professional skills, build their global networks, and increase their likelihood of being placed as an Atlas Corps Fellow. Female Non-US citizens and Female U.S citizens are eligible. 

9. The Fletcher School at Tufts University has announced a guaranteed scholarship of up to $13,000 to students who enroll in 2021. This scholarship targets students for the May 2021 cohort of the online Master of Global Business Administration.

The deadline to apply is March 19, 2021. If you need more information about this opportunity, please contact a Tuft’s admission counselor at 855-338-6886 or joyawale@globalbusiness.tufts.edu

  • Building Capacity for International University Cooperation and Research Collaboration International Conference and Workshops, sponsored by the U.S Embassy in Jordan - hosted at the University of Jordan in partnership with North Carolina State University.

On October 20th from 8:30-10:20 am EST join the webinar:
Health and Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19- Challenges and Opportunities for NGOs and CSOs in the Global South, co-organized by UNOSSC and the Alliance of NGOs and CSOs for South-South Cooperation (ANCSSC). The webinar will explore possible solutions and practical ways that NGOs and CSOs can tackle the COVID-19 situation and how we can move forward from a health and socio-economic perspective. To RSVP please email: ines@anssc.org

CIRED is pleased to share the announcement of the 2020 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report) Launch on Monday, October 12 at 9:00 a.m. EDT. This year marks the 11th year of publication and second year at Virginia Tech. Titled “Agricultural Productivity in a Time of Pandemics,” the report explores the impact of disease and pest outbreaks on agricultural productivity, food security and nutrition, livelihoods, and environmental sustainability.

Webinar- In person to Virtual – Adapting Youth Programs during the Pandemic

The Stevens Initiative awarded 18 grants to institutions committed to providing virtual exchange opportunities to youth in their community. Through this initiative, up to 4,500 new youth participants in 11 MENA countries and the Palestinian Territories and in 24 U.S. states, three tribal communities, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C. will participated in a virtual exchange.

Hear from three of these grantees on September 23rd, 2020 from 12-1 U.S. Eastern Time as they share about their experience transitioning their planned summer programs to virtual exchanges. Learn about the challenges, impact on participants, best practices, and learnings. Featuring:

·       Chad Detloff, Director of Professional Learning and Curriculum, Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG), @GebgCommunicate

·       Sarah Martin, Special Programs Manager, Global Ties KC, @globaltieskc

·       Brian Peckrill, Vice President, WorldChicago, @BrianPeckrill and @WorldChicago

Please click here here to register for this webinar. 

We hope you can join. If you have any questions, please email StevensInitiative@aspeninstitute.org.

U.S. Activities 2020

The U.S. Secretariat activities focus on international outreach and engagement, research partnerships and professional development programs as part of internationalization efforts among higher education institutions in Jordan and the United States. 

Some of our current activities include:

  • Webinars on current issues on internationalization, one health, technical and vocational training, among others   
  • U.S.-UCN E-newsletter with network updates and information about relevant scholarship and grant opportunities
  • U.S. UCN Blog with current news, analysis and announcements
Patricia

Dear UCN members. 

Firstly, we hope that you and your families are doing well during this pandemic.  We are glad to be back and working under the UCN. 

I would like to share some exciting news:

  • Newsletter.  We will continue with our monthly newsletter starting at the end of September.  If you would like to submit an article or any relevant announcements (research, funding, webinars, among others), please send us an email to patric7@vt.edu so we can discuss and decide whether to include it in issue #3 of our newsletter.  Call for submissions:  the deadline for submission for the September issue of the newsletter is 21st September.  After that, the deadline for submissions for the newsletter will be the 15 of each month.
  • Webinars.  We will be contacting you soon about upcoming webinars organized by the U.S. UCN.  These webinars will be free of charge and we hope to have four iterative webinars before the end of 2020.  We would appreciate it if you could send us themes that interest your institution to be considered for selection.   We also invite you to nominate speakers/panelists.  You can also  selfnominate by indicating relevant theme and sending us an abstract of the rationale for the theme.    We will have a selection committee comprised of Jordanian and US UNC members to do the final selection of the webinars.  The themes that were proposed for the in-person conference that had to be canceled back in April 2020 included two main themes: One Health and Internationalization of the Campus.  We might initiate with those themes framed under the current COVID-19 challenge but we could broaden our focus to subjects which are of relevancy for Jordan, such as best practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion through international exchange, impact of COVID-19 on refugees and the broader society; economic recovery; the role of universities during COVID-19; recruitment during COVID-19; linkages between higher education and the labor market for inclusive growth, among others. 

For now enjoy the following articles which we think are of relevancy for the UCN.  Let’s keep in touch and imagining our return to the new normal.

Kindest regards,

Patricia Parera
Associate Director for Partnerships Virginia Tech

“I have been impressed by the sincerity and capability of many members of the academia from Jordan. I stay committed to my two major passions , “research is global, education is global” and interdisciplinary research—a paradigm for a sustainable future. Talks I heard from our visitors strengthened my belief in what I think are worthy ideas. Thank you again for this opportunity!”

-Roop L.Mahajan, Bell Labs Fellow, ASME Fellow. Lewis E. Hester Chair Professor of Engineering. Thapar Chair Professor of Frontier Materials. Department of Mechanical Engineering. Ex-Director and current Global Ambassador Institute for Critical Technology & Applied Science. Virginia Tech
A man speaking at a lectern to a conference

The U.S.-Jordanian University Cooperation Network (UCN) aims to strengthen strategic and long-term institutional cooperation between U.S. and Jordanian universities and develop new mechanisms for bilateral cooperation that enhance the productivity and impact of university linkages.

Men and women posing for a photo

At a meeting in Amman in March 2018, U.S.-Jordanian University Cooperation Network (UCN) members agreed to establish a university-led secretariat comprising two institutional leads to ensure shared governance and facilitate cooperation among members. 

Virginia Tech and the University of Jordan agreed to serve as the first secretariats for an initial two-year period (2018-2020). Together, the two hubs coordinate network activities, including resource mobilization and facilitation of communication and information sharing among members. 

The U.S.-Jordanian UCN promotes mutual understanding and international goodwill between Jordan and the United States. These hubs were developed to improve UCN mechanisms for information sharing on institutional research priorities, including a database of member university contacts in the international offices and key faculty members and researchers. 

This initiative is governed by a UCN Charter signed by 16 U.S. and Jordanian universities in 2018.  

FUNDING AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The Fletcher School at Tufts University has announced a guaranteed scholarship of up to $13,000 to students who enroll in 2021. This scholarship targets students for the May 2021 cohort of the online Master of Global Business Administration.

The deadline to apply is March 19, 2021. If you need more information about this opportunity, please contact a Tuft’s admission counselor at 855-338-6886 or joyawale@globalbusiness.tufts.edu

Fellowships For Threatened Scholars Around The World

The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) is the only global program that arranges and funds fellowships for threatened and displaced scholars at partnering higher education institutions worldwide. At the heart of IIE-SRF is the idea that each scholar we support is a beacon of hope in our world.

Pursuing the co-benefits for Health and Environments through food system change

Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) is pleased to announce a new Research Ideas Competition to promote health, sustainability and equity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Deadline for applications is December 11th 2020.