On 10 November 2010, BZU launched the Palestinian e-Government Academy Project, in the presence of the Minister of Communications, Dr. Mashour Abu-Daqqa, BZU President, Dr. Khalil Hindi, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology, Dr. Adnan Yahya, and a number of high ranking officials and European experts, as well as IT managers in Palestinian ministries and companies
This launching ceremony came after the Faculty of Information Technology at BZU won a financial support of half a million Euros from the European Union, within the TEMPUS program. The core idea of the project is to prepare qualified Palestinian human resources in the area of e-governance, through capacity building programs at the ministries and governmental bodies and non-governmental organizations, as well as companies and private sector institutions, aiming to establish a Palestinian Academy for Electronic Governance
The Minister overviewed the vision of the Ministry of Communications and its role in building a network of relationships with a group of European universities, stressing that this project represents a unique case, as a result of the exceptional Palestinian conditions, in terms of the state of siege, checkpoints and barriers to movement, stating: “this project will contribute to the provision of services to refugees inside Palestine, In light of the division between the West Bank and Gaza, and the refugees in the neighbouring Arab countries and Europe.
Dr. Khalil Hindi, said that since BZU’s inception, its mission was to link and interact between the national academic, knowledge and community tracks, and has sought and will continue to creatively respond to our society, through its programs, faculties, projects and activities, contributing to the pursuit of thought and action levels to reach the Palestinian society able to achieve liberty and to express its rights, in addition to the achievement of development and institutionalization.
Dr. Hindi explained the importance of accessing the world of technology and information, as one of the vital aspects of contributing to the development of institutional and community performance in general, noting that the building of an e-government would undoubtedly lead to the development and effectiveness of interactions between citizens and government institutions, and will avoid the waste of human, organizational, material resources, as well as time, which will eventually lead to reduced dependence on external support.
He added: This project and the information and technology space will provide the possibility to free communication between members of the Palestinian nation and its institutions at home and abroad.
Dr. Hindi stated: “BZU is a leading center for the production of knowledge and technology in Palestine, being committed to providing aid, training and consulting services to governmental and non-governmental Palestinian institutions, as well as to all private sector institutions. We will work on linking education with training and research, and provide the Palestinian community with the latest technological and knowledge developments through the experiences of our partners outside Palestine, particularly the European institutions involved in this project.
On the other hand, Dr. Yahya explained that the e-government project reflects the spirit of cooperation, sharing of experiences and capacity-building through the use of optimal international practices, aiming to provide advanced methods in e-government services. He pointed out that BZU is dedicated to provide electronic services through the harsh reality experienced by the Palestinian people under Israeli occupation and the obstacles imposed, no doubt that BZU has achieved remarkable success in the provision of services to the university community, and will also benefit from the experiences of colleagues and partners in the e-government project.Read phonetically
The Project’s coordinator, Dr. Mustafa Jarrar, made a presentation on the project, stressing the importance of the project, which comes in response to the national needs to benefit from technological and knowledge developments, since the project comes at a time to meet the development and economic needs in Palestine, especially via governmental work, and, more importantly, it will be implemented by Palestinian experts.
In fact, BZU is the author of the project and will be managed through a group of European and Palestinian universities namely: Pronto University in Italy, Free University of Brussels, Belgium, University of Namur, Belgium, University of Safuah in France, True Trust Co in UK, Polytechnic University in Palestine, Technical University of Palestine, in addition to a number of ministries, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Local Government.
The program “TEMPUS” is one of the most important cooperation programs between the EU and neighbouring countries, including Palestine, through the involvement of the Palestinian universities in the development of cadres and partnerships in joint educational projects that will develop and promote scientific research.
