University of Jordan awarded membership in COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence

AMMAN — The University of Jordan (UJ) on Sunday held a ceremony announcing the university’s membership in the COMSTECH Consortium of Excellence, a network of top universities in the Muslim world. 

COMSTECH is the Ministerial Standing Committee on Scientific and Technological Cooperation of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), and was established in January, 1981 by the Third Islamic Summit of the OIC in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

“We at the University of Jordan are more than happy to host such scientific and research activities, because we believe in the power of knowledge to change the world for the better,” UJ President Natheer Obaidat said during his opening remarks. 

UJ’s membership in the COMESTECH consortium of excellence is considered a “remarkable achievement” for the university and a proof for the outstanding progress of higher education in the Kingdom, Obaidat said.  

“Education and research play a significant role in the economic growth and in the welfare of people of Islamic countries and humanity as a whole,” he noted. 

Meanwhile, COSMETCH coordinator general, Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary, said that Jordan has made “great strides” in higher education over the years, despite difficult circumstances and limited resources. 

“As we celebrate this milestone achievement today, it is imperative for the University of Jordan to keep in mind that the responsibility has increased and, consequently, it should appreciate the importance of fostering and strengthening partnerships with other universities and research institutions across different countries, particularly those in the Islamic world,” Choudhary said during his remarks. 

Choudhary added that these partnerships hold immense benefits, such as facilitating the exchange of knowledge and expertise, promoting innovation and research collaboration and increasing opportunities for international student mobility.

The core mandate of COMSTECH is to strengthen cooperation among OIC member states in science and technology, and enhance their capabilities through training in emerging areas, undertake follow-up-actions and implementation of the resolutions of the OIC, and to draw up programmes and submit proposals designed to increase the capability of the Muslim countries in science and technology, according to a statement from the consortium. 

The ultimate aim is to build and nourish a scientific culture in addition to using science and technology as a major contributor to socio-economic development and rapid industrialisation, the statement said.

The declaration will be followed by a three-day training workshop titled “Training Workshop on Modern Spectroscopic Techniques and Their Applications in Research.”