STEP Final Conference

With International and local participation; An-Najah National University launched on Wednesday, June 2, 2016 ,in the hall of the  Korean Palestinian IT Institute of Excellence  , the conference covered a wide range of topics about innovation and the relationship between universities and the private sector through the five centers that have been established in the five Palestinian universities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip ; the mission of these centers is stimulating cooperation between universities and the private sector and helping students in their training and finding jobs, furthermore to encourage research  and innovation within the university, especially in cooperation with local companies and industry. The main focus of the conference is the challenges which are faced and the solutions found in the academic circles and the gained practices, the conference’s main topics revolved around innovation practices, entrepreneurship ,cooperation between the universities and the private sector,  knowledge and technology transfer and case studies of innovative and collaborative leadership in Palestine and abroad.

Participants from Palestine, the project Coordinator and the participants and resource persons from UNIBO, UA, and HTWK, involved in this conference activity. Participants acknowledged the organization and the implementation of the program. The all participated in the opening ceremony and gave blessings to the activities which were lasted for one full long day.

Opening

The opening session of the conference was attended by Dr. Mohammad El-Amleh, Assistant to the President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Nidal Jayyousi, Representative of the EU program "Erasmus Plus" in Palestine;  Dr. Imad Brik, Coordinator of the EU projects in An-Najah National University and the manager of STEP Project as well as Dr. Yahya Saleh, Director of Success Center for Innovation and Partnership (NaBIC);  the representatives of the partners universities  (the Palestinian and the European ones); the participants in the working papers at the conference, ; representatives from the private and governmental sector and civil society institutions, as well as a number of members of the administrative and teaching bodies at the university and  other students .

In his speech, Dr. Mohammad El-Amleh  welcomed the participants at the university, said, "We established at  Al-Najah University partnership and Innovation Centre about 4 years ago in order to combine academic experiences with businessmen experiences in Palestine, which promotes social and economic cohesion; It also promotes a culture of mutual cooperation by establishing a long-term  partnerships and research through the development of strategic and administrative thinking to increase the efficiency of local companies and to provide an appropriate environment for our aspirations in creativity and innovation for the interest of the Palestinian economy.

He added, Dr. El-Amleh  "An Najah National University, which runs from the message and philosophy of community service has a lot of specialized scientific centers and researchers who are ready to provide all that is possible to consolidate this relationship and developing it for the public interest.

On the other hand, Dr. Nidal Jayyousi;  Representative of the EU program "Erasmus" in Palestine has welcomed the attendees of the conference, and he gave a presentation about the Erasmus Plus program in Palestine and said that there were a number of obstacles facing the Palestinian labor market, that must be linked to education’s outcomes  and current  work reality, We try to do our best  through the program (Erasmus Plus) to qualify master students , promote scholarship programs, student exchange, and other cooperation with universities and the private sector, he also talked about the project STEP and its importance in addition to its impact that would leave and that the project will serve as a turning point in the field of programs a closer relationship between  the universities and the private sector in Palestine.

In the same context, Dr. Imad Brik , Coordinator of the EU projects at An-Najah National University said "This conference aims to discuss the prospects of future cooperation between the Palestinian universities and the private sector; they will present working papers to conclude the findings and recommendations that will enhance the relationship between academic circles and industry . " He also provided a brief presentation about the "Tempus STEP" project, which aims to "strengthen the relationship between universities and the private sector in Palestine." And talked about the importance of the industrial partnership centers that were established during the project and the importance of the competency building courses that have been held during the project period and the Palestinian Network for Creativity and knowledge transfer which was established to be a platform for dialogue to exchange experiences and good practices in cooperation between the universities and the institutions.

 Conference  Sessions

The conference consisted of three sessions. The participants discussed in the first session broad topics related to innovation and technology transfer, intellectual property and Palestine Polytechnic University’s experience in this area as well as the University of Bologna’s experience in Italy in the field of academic and Industrial Cooperation.  That was followed by four presentations via the Video Conference for the project’s partners in Gaza, from which they talked about: a framework towards academia-industry partnership in Gaza strip, IUGIC's Contribution in Reconstructing the Industrial Sector,” Putting university expertise at work, UCAS Center of Innovations and Business Development – Achievements and Challenges, the role of the private sector in establishing relations with universities in Palestine.

The second session included important topics as : NCCI furniture cluster in collaboration with Al-Najah National university “faculty of fine arts”, Palestinian Entrepreneurial Universities, the Case Study of PPU ,Participatory Foresight and Open Innovation Processes as tools for promoting University-Business Cooperation ,Collaboration with Academia and Behavior towards the Community, A Case Study Of: Royal Industrial Trading Company – Hebron , Experiences of Hebron University-Industry Linkages Unit(HUILU) ,University –Business Cooperation Can Benefit All, Integration between Clusters, Business Support Organizations and Academia “Innovation centres” , Experiences of An-Najah National University in Innovation and Partnerships via An-Najah Business Innovation and Partnerships Center (NaBIC) ,Strengthening Cooperation with Industrial Sector through ETRERA 2020 Project.

The third session included discussion topics; bridging the Gap between Educational-Industrial Sectors, a Case Study On: PPU Industrial Synergy Center , Academic Institution as Productive Unit, Shaping Social Innovation through User Experience: FLUX-3D as Strategic Tool for integrating Participatory Foresight in Business, Practical Insights from a local academic - industry mobility experience , Ibdaa, Entrepreneurship Success Story, Entrepreneurship Opportunities & Challenges, the 7 Cs of Success, Experiences of Sama Pharmaceuticals Company ,STEP Business Plan Competition winner, Electronic Smart Assist System for Blind People, and the winners of the best business plan presented the idea of ​​their project on the electronic system intelligent to help the blind . Finally, the winners were honored and rewarded.

Closing

The closing session for the conference included recommendations for both the public and the private sectors. 

At the end of the conference, certificates were distributed to the participants in the workshop. It is worth mentioning that the conference aims to determine the effect of the academic circles on the society from all points of view, and  combining the stakeholders who are working in scientific research, innovation and industry in Palestine and the region, to strengthen the relationship between universities, research institutions and industry, to highlight the existing mechanisms  to achieve  cooperation between the university the private sector, and to share  different experiences in that field, in addition to discussing the policies that govern the relationship between universities and the private sector as well as the involvement of the media in highlighting the importance of research and innovation in various areas of development.