On June 7th, Dr. Wael Mualla, President of Damascus University met experts from the European Commission assigned to evaluate the midpoint of the of the current phase of the UHES project, funded by the European Commission and valued at ten million Euros. Dr. Mualla explained the development of the project from its preliminary stages over the course of approximately two years, in which project components where defined accurately to ensure its value and positive repercussions on the entire sector of higher education in Syria, remaining consistent with the fifth year plan for economic and social development.
The University President emphasized the importance of pursuing all components of the project despite the obstacles that have stood in the way of implementation, even if this led to a one-year extension of the project's implementation phase, pointing out that cancelling components of the project will result in negative consequences for higher education on the grounds that the project addresses the entirety of the higher education sector, as the name suggests, and not merely the public universities. Thus omitting actions linked to the middle institutes and similar educational institutions opposes the essential goals of the project.
Dr. Mualla indicated that the project's current status is lacking promotion and publicity, as a number of university professors and other stakeholders in the higher education sector are uninformed.
In the conclusion of the meeting, Dr. Mualla expressed his hope for an agreement to extend the project for an additional year, and that no components of the project are omitted due to their great importance and necessity and careful placement at the beginning of the project. It was agreed upon by higher education stakeholders and European Commission experts that all project components form the infrastructure of the development of higher education in Syria, rendering it truly valuable for a generation of young people striving for a better future, and aspiring for knowledge by the best of means.
