“Jump Start” Project Launched in Syrian Universities to Invest Students’ Energy, Creativity in Sustainable Development, Reconstruction

With the aim of encouraging and supporting innovation and creativity of the university students of engineering faculties, “Jump Start” project was recently launched at Damascus University, Tishreen University in Lattakia province and Al-Baath University in Homs. The project is to be implemented in cooperation between the Ministry of Higher Education and the United Nation Development Program (UNDP).  

“Jump Strat” comes within a series of programs and projects supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)  to provide support for students’ graduation projects in the applied engineering faculties of public universities for the academic year 2018-2019. The aim is to invest the energy and creativity of university students to contribute to sustainable development and reconstruction of Syria.

 The project aims to contribute to achieving the goals of sustainable development through focusing on graduation projects, which have sustainable economic and social feasibility and are able to form start-up companies that provide job opportunities, support the national economy and can become big companies in future.

Eng. Fadwa  Murad, “Jump Strat” project’s coordinator at Damascus university, reviewed to SANA correspondent  the project’s expected outputs and objectives, explaining that the graduation projects, which are due to benefit  from the support, will be distributed fairly among the targeted  universities. Each project will be given a grant of ten thousand dollars.

She referred to the possibility of inviting the private sector to finance and adopt additional projects.

Eng. Murad underscored that “Jump Strat” seeks creating stimulating environment for cooperation between universities and the business world by encouraging relevant applied projects, linking the outputs of the academic sector to the labor market, disseminating the spirit of entrepreneurship, providing new jobs and attracting investments to create innovative start-up companies.

Dr. Zuhair Sandouq,  Dean of the Faculty of Informatics at Damascus University, stressed that awarding prizes and providing support for outstanding projects facilitate their direct entry into practical life and the labor market and provide them with enough skills in the industrial and production field, calling on students to focus in their projects on high quality that opens the way for them to the labor market.

“Jump Strat  project falls within the policy of the university and its strategic plan which focuses on encouraging innovation and creativity and on the graduation of a young  generation of pioneers  and innovators ,” Dr. Bassam Hassan Rector of Tishreen University in Lattakia province said in a statement to SANA correspondent.

 Dr. Hassan underscored that the project is a partnership with UNDP to promote projects of  distinctive and creative ideas that can be turned into small startups.

On his part, Tarek Safar, Director of  the (UNDP) office  in Homs province, told SANA correspondent there that “Jump Strat” project  seeks supporting innovative graduation projects and linking them to the community to be small businesses that provide job  opportunities for youths.

Mr. Safar  pointed out that a scientific committee, represented by the University, the (UNDP)  and the industry and business sector, will be formed to select distinctive projects.

“Selecting the university is important because it is the scientific and creative incubator that can provide the community with specialized scientific expertise”. Eng. Ayman Al-Ra’i, coordinator of the “Jump Strat” project at Al-Baath University stressed.

On their parts a number of  students expressed their hope that “Jump Strat” will contribute to achieving  their aspirations and making their projects be of economic benefit, not just purely scientific, thereby enabling them to enter the field of business and investment and enhancing their confidence in their ability to accomplish projects that serve the nation and contribute to its reconstruction.

It is worth mentioning that the number of the graduation projects , which are due to be supported, are 30 projects in the field of mechanic, information technology , electricity and petroleum engineering.

Rawaa Ghanam