Syria Today | IUST university hosts US academic staff

Professors from America’s University of Utah began the first phase of an academic staff training programme on class management at the International University for Science and Technology (IUST) on February 23. The joint initiative is the first of its kind to take place between a Syrian private university and a US tertiary institution.

The workshop will teach IUST professors different teaching methods in the classroom, such as group and pair work strategies, use of visuals, different lecturing styles and lesson planning. There will also be a focus on teaching strategies in English, an initiative which aims to build confidence in using English in the classroom.

“While there are many professors who are experts in their field, they feel that they need to build on their teaching methods,” Mary Ann Christison, professor and director of Graduate Studies at the University of Utah said. “We want IUST teachers to feel more comfortable teaching their materials in English, so that they don’t fall back into their first language.”

Bassel Ojjeh, senior vice president of strategic data solutions at Yahoo and IUST Board of Trustees member, expressed hope that the workshop would encourage professors to improve student-teacher interaction during class time.

“Some models in the US can be imported over here,” Ojjeh, who coordinated the Utah-IUST initiative, said. “We can use the benefits of the US system and mould them with Syria’s. IUST holds seminars, but they are conducted in the style of a lecture. We feel that the level of interaction needs to be improved.”

IUST is also in discussions with the University of Utah about coordinating a student exchange programme and arranging a joint master’s programme. Ojjeh said he was also discussing the possibility of student exchanges between IUST and universities in California and Ohio.

During the workshop’s opening ceremony, Syria’s Minister of Higher Education Ghiath Barakat said the initiative helped bridge the gap of cultural misunderstanding between Syria and the US.

“The ministry appreciates these activities and the efforts of Utah University to break the ice between Syria and the US in terms of education,” he said.

IUST opened in October 2005 and has a student body of roughly 3,000. IUST courses are mostly taught in English, covering dentistry, pharmacy, telecommunications, architectural and civil engineering, computer science and computer software engineering. The university also has a Faculty of Business and Finance which teaches business administration, marketing, accounting, banking and finance and management information systems and a Faculty of Arts with programmes in graphic and interior design.