UJ graduates over past 50 years examine ways to give back to university

AMMAN — Graduates of the University of Jordan (UJ) from all walks of life gathered on Sunday to tell their stories, share experiences and look into means of paying back to the “mother university”.

Speaking at the First Alumni Forum, UJ President Ekhleif Tarawneh said the university renews its commitment on remaining a source of knowledge and enlightenment and a generator of “critical and effective” minds as it graduates its 50th batch.

He highlighted the university’s path towards further excellence and internationality amidst a region of divisions, wars, killings and destruction, adding that UJ has achieved “advanced” places in several international rankings.

Tarawneh also called on graduates and some 43,000 students currently studying at UJ to sustain open channels of communication with the university and its graduates’ club.

The two-day forum, which is taking place for the first time after a year-and-a-half of preparation, seeks to boost the connections between the university and its 200,000 graduates, according to head of the forum’s preparatory committee, Azmi Mahafzah.

The UJ vice president highlighted the university as part of the Kingdom’s “journey of achievements against regional challenges”, noting that changes in the international arena have created a fresh challenge for UJ in preparing a new generation to face obstacles and adapt to new circumstances.

“The university awaits active and systemised contributions and insights from its graduates who have built local, regional and international institutions,” Mahafzah told a full house of graduates from all batches in all fields.

Delivering a speech on behalf of UJ alumni, Sami Mufleh, a graduate of the university’s engineering faculty in 1991 and CEO of a Dubai-based advertising company, said the growing challenges create a greater need for knowledge and awareness.

Mufleh, who was recognised by Arabian Business magazine last year as one of the world’s 100 most influential Arabs, said education is a key tool to build communities and compensate for the lack of natural and economic resources.

He called for enhancing access to education and modern learning techniques for all, calling on students to carry on with the legacy of excellence that made Jordan a model country.

At the forum’s sessions, local author and professor Hind Abu Shaar, interventional cardiologist Ziyad Hijazi, economist and professor Maan Nsour, architect Sawsan Majid, advocate Bahaa Armouti and other UJ graduates shared memories and learning experiences at their alma mater.