​By Suha Alsubaihi

The University of Jordan (UJ) hosted the activities of the EU-Jordan Research Day, under the patronage of Vice President for Global Rankings and International Accreditation, Prof. Faleh Sawair, with broad participation from representatives of national and European research institutions, as well as a select group of researchers and academics from various central-region Jordanian universities.

The event was organized by the University's Deanship of Scientific Research in collaboration with the Higher Council for Science and Technology, aiming to expand academic and research cooperation between Jordan and EU, thus contributing to national development priorities and enhancing Jordan's particpation in global research projects.

In his opening speech on behalf of the event patron, Dean of Scientific Research, Prof. Yasser Al-Rayyan, emphasized that hosting this significant event reflects the University's firm commitment to strengthening ties with European partners and making optimal use of available research funding programs, particularly Horizon Europe, PRIMA, and COST, which have played an active role in advancing and elevating the University's research system.

On his part, Assistant Secretary-General of the Higher Council for Science and Technology, Dr. Raed Odeh, commended UJ's pioneering role in supporting and enhancing the national research environment, stressing the importance of deepening cooperation with European partners to open new and fruitful prospects for Jordanian researchers, particularly in vital and priority sectors such as water, energy, food security, and artificial intelligence.

Representative of the European Commission, Dr. Hiba Jaber, affirmed that the organization of this event reflects the depth and strength of the research and academic partnership between EU and Jordan, articulating the Commission's aspiration for more participation by Jordanian researchers, especially from UJ, in the research funding opportunities provided by these programs.

The scientific day's program included a series of comprehensive presentations introducing the European programs available to researchers, followed by three specialized and parallel workshops that provided participants with practical and detailed information on the application mechanisms and best utilization of Horizon Europe, PRIMA, and COST programs. The event concluded with a panel discussion and recommendations presented by a representative of the Higher Council for Science and Technology.

This important event comes as part of efforts to strengthen research cooperation with Europe. Its activities, hosted by leading universities across various regions of the Kingdom, focused on introducing the scope of these programs and how to integrate them to maximize impact and funding opportunities. This initiative falls within the Higher Council's efforts, as the national coordinating body for these programs, to expand recipients and enhance researchers' readiness to submit innovative projects.