Addressing National Priorities in TEMPUS Projects

1. Addressing National Priorities in TEMPUS Projects TEMPUS Project for Establishing a Center of Excellence for Research & Training at Damascus University Dr. Talal Al-Shihabi, Damascus University TEMPUS 6th Info Day, Aleppo University 12/12/2010

2. National Priorities for Syria in TEMPUS IV - Third Call • Governance Reform • University management and student services • Introduction of quality assurance • Equal and transparent access to higher education • Higher Education and Society • Knowledge triangle: education-innovation-research • Training courses for public services (ministries, regional/local authorities)

3. Our Project Establishment of a Center of Excellence for Research and Training in Construction and Environment at Damascus University (RTCCE)

4. The Consortium • Syrian Academic Members • Damascus University • Aleppo University • Tishreen University • EU Acacdemic Members • University of Salford, UK • Northumbria University, UK • University of Kassel, DE • University of Lyon I, FR • Institute for Development of New Technologies, PT

5. The Consortium • Non-Academic Members • Ministry of Local Administration, SY • Syndicate of Syrian Engineers, Damascus Branch • Technical Office for Engineering and Consultancy, SY

6. Project Data • Duration • 3 years • Official start date • Oct 15th, 2010 • Expected date for Kickoff meeting • Jan or Feb 2011 • Budget • 598.866,32 € + 10% co-finance

7. Motivation for the project • Universities are the central pillars in societies for the creation (through research) and dissemination (through teaching) of knowledge. • Damascus University, and other Syrian public universities, have many of what it takes to be major research institutions • Attract the best and brightest among SY students • Offer a wide range of degrees and programs of study • Enroll sizeable number of students • Have their own financial resources in addition to the government fund

8. Motivation for the project • YET, Scientific output of Syrian universities through research is far below the expectation • WHY, Among many reasons • Poor research infrastructure: libraries, ICT, research labs, .. • Outdated curricula in many programs of study • weakness in research supervision skills • Weakness in developing research plans • Misunderstanding of research outputs and research conduction ethics among research students • …

9. Motivation for the project • Implications of ignoring research • University ranking • University reputation • Devaluing the profession of science in the eyes of the public • Isolation from the world-wide network of universities • No motivation for developing advanced curricula or adopting modern teaching methods • Severing the links between the university on one side and industry and society on the other hand

10. how this project addresses the priorities mentioned before • provide a research infrastructure in the fields of construction and environment including • research facilities • supporting research materials • access to electronic libraries. • provide training for researchers on the skills needed for conducting research

11. how this project addresses the priorities mentioned before • outlining important research topics to be pursued within the center beyond this project • Providing training courses for public services (ministries, regional/local authorities) and to the general public in areas related to research themes within the center

12. Research Themes in the proposed center • Information and Communication Technologies in Construction: • visualization of construction objects and processes, building information modeling, and artificial intelligence applications in construction • Investment and Infrastructure Management • construction economics and financing, contracting and procurement strategies, risk management, and real-estate economics and finance • Strategic Management, decision support systems, and management information systems • Environment and Sustainable Development

13. Project Specific Objectives • to elaborate on the research sub-themes within the center • to provide the center with required research facilities • to provide access to electronic and physical libraries relevant to research themes

14. Project Specific Objectives • to develop modules in line with matrix approach to course development. These include course modules; training modules/continuous professional development (CPD) • to provide the center with required training facilities • to enhance the links with the industry through research and training

15. Project Specific Objectives • to facilitate sustained participation in international research activities and collaboration with research active institutions • to build competence: consolidation of current competence and capacity building of new competencies • to enhance reputation at national, international, and industry levels

16. The Project Stages • The Inception Stage • The first nine months of the project • The Realization Stage • Starts in the 10th month of the 1st year and ends in the 9th month of the 3rd year • The Evaluation Stage • Starts in the 9th month of the 1st year and continues to the end of the project

17. The Inception Stage • Review and examination of the suggested list of research themes and training areas • visits to the research and training centers in the EU institutions • Exploration of the technical requirements for research studies in the suggested research themes as well as the technical requirements for training in the suggested training areas.

18. The Inception Stage • round-table discussions with representatives from the related sectors including professionals and government representatives for prioritization and refinement of research themes and sub-themes as well as training areas • a set of modules will be suggested to help in providing future researchers in the center with the required background for conducting research studies in the center themes

19. The Inception Stage • a dedicated space will be provided and furnished by Damascus University which will be later equipped by the project • Dissemination and sustainability activities will start during this stage by launching a website for the project and the center.

20. The Realization Stage • developing the background materials defined during the inception stage • detailed contents for training courses within the selected training areas will also be provided • develop training courses for research skills including • research methodology • Formulation of research problems • technical writing • quantitative and qualitative methods • presentation skills • ethical codes of research conduction.

21. The Realization Stage • highlight sets of research topics within each research theme to be pursued by the center staff. • In parallel with these, activities will be undertaken to enhance competence of Syrian staff for conducting research as well as supervisory capabilities

22. The Realization Stage • acquiring the needed research and training facilities of hardware and software. • A list of needed books will be compiled and a list of electronic resources will be identified. • A research conference is planned to be convened at Damascus University around the middle of the third year of the project. This activity will be mainly financed by Damascus University

23. The Evaluation Stage • Outcomes and deliverables of the project will be evaluated starting with the list of adopted research themes and training areas. • Other materials developed through the realization stage will also be evaluated. • This will be done along with evaluating the project implementation as planned and as scheduled.

24. thanks