Deanship of Scientific Research - Al-Ahliyya Amman University

Facilities and Infrastructure for Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary Research · Al-Ahliyya Amman University

Interdisciplinary research requires more than willing researchers. It requires physical spaces, digital platforms, and institutional support structures that make cross-disciplinary work practically possible. AAU has built an integrated research environment in which 22 facilities and centres operate not as isolated units but as complementary institutional resources, collectively enabling the design, implementation, publication, and real-world application of interdisciplinary research.

Institutional Access and Functional Integration

Access to these facilities is open across colleges and research teams. A researcher from the Faculty of Law working on a digital governance project can draw on the Computer Centre for computational tools, the Global Engagement Centre for international partnership support, and the Scientific Publishing Unit for dissemination. This cross-facility access model is what transforms individual expertise into genuine interdisciplinary output.

The 22 facilities below are organized into four thematic groups, each aligned with one or more of AAU's four interdisciplinary research teams. Together they form the operational foundation of AAU's interdisciplinary research ecosystem.

Group 1 — Digital and Data Infrastructure

Supporting Teams 1 & 3

This group provides the computational, analytical, and digital learning infrastructure that underpins AAU's technology-facing interdisciplinary research.

Databases and Bibliometric Analytics

Provides access to Scopus and Web of Science for cross-disciplinary literature mapping and citation analysis, and SciVal for institutional bibliometric intelligence including FWCI tracking, Topic Prominence analysis, and ISR alignment monitoring. SciVal is the primary data source for AAU's Interdisciplinary Research Performance Dashboard and KPI framework.

Computer Centre — Digital Infrastructure

Provides computational infrastructure for AI research, health informatics, bioinformatics, educational technology, and data science projects. Supports Teams 1 and 3 in running simulation, modelling, and machine learning workloads.

Al-Hurani Centre for E-Learning

Drives interdisciplinary research in educational technology, computer science, and pedagogy, providing a test environment for AI-assisted learning platforms and digital curriculum design.

Electronic Systems for Research Project Management

Offers integrated electronic platforms to monitor, document, and analyse research projects across all four interdisciplinary teams, supporting coordination and performance tracking.

Group 2 — Health and Life Sciences

Supporting Team 2

This group provides the clinical, laboratory, and behavioral research infrastructure that supports AAU's health-facing interdisciplinary research, linking pharmacy, psychology, social sciences, and community medicine.

Women's Health Centre

Supports interdisciplinary research at the intersection of health sciences, social sciences, and community medicine, with a focus on gender-responsive health policy and community health determinants.

Pharmacological and Diagnostic Research Centre

Enables cross-disciplinary research bridging pharmacy, chemistry, life sciences, and clinical health. A primary laboratory base for Team 2's pharmaceutical and diagnostic research agenda.

Hearing and Speech Centre

Bridges health sciences, psychology, and education for research on communication disorders, assistive technology, and behavioral interventions.

Oral and Dental Diseases Research Centre

Enables interdisciplinary dental research integrating microbiology, materials science, and public health, producing outputs relevant to both clinical practice and community health policy.

Smoking Cessation Clinic

Enables interdisciplinary research linking pharmacology, psychology, public health, and behavioral sciences, providing a real-world clinical setting for intervention design and evaluation.

AAU Health Training Centre

Supports interdisciplinary capacity building through continuing professional development and workforce research, connecting health sciences with education and social policy.

Group 3 — Innovation, Industry and Strategic Support

Supporting All Four Teams

This group provides the institutional bridge between AAU's research activities and their external impact, enabling technology transfer, international partnership, and strategic alignment with sustainability and global ranking objectives.

Centre for Innovation and Excellence

Bridges engineering, technology, and business disciplines to support applied research, start-up incubation, and entrepreneurial innovation. Serves as the primary interface between academic research and industrial application.

Al-Hurani Centre for Applied Scientific Research

Serves as AAU's flagship applied research hub, integrating multiple disciplines for community-oriented and industry-relevant research across all four interdisciplinary teams.

Global Engagement Centre

Manages MoU-based collaborations and enhances cooperation among AAU researchers, Jordanian institutions, and global academic partners, supporting the international collaboration dimension of ISR performance.

Sustainability and International Rankings Center

Aligns interdisciplinary research outcomes with UN SDGs and global ranking indicators. Monitors FWCI, Topic Prominence, and ISR alignment in real time through the Interdisciplinary Research Performance Dashboard, providing analytical and strategic support to all four research teams.

Research Partnerships and Scientific Collaboration Office

Operates within the Deanship of Scientific Research, responsible for building, formalizing, and sustaining research partnerships with publishers, funding bodies, regional universities, and international organizations. Active partnership: MDPI — strategic agreement covering open-access publishing support for AAU interdisciplinary research outputs across MDPI's indexed journals, enhancing global visibility and citation impact.

Mövenpick Hotel Amman (Hospitality, Events, and Service Innovation Environment)

Provides a professional hospitality environment supporting interdisciplinary research and applied collaboration in tourism, business, marketing, event management, customer experience, and digital service innovation.

Jordan Dairy Company (Dairy Manufacturing and Food Systems Environment)

Provides an applied industrial environment supporting interdisciplinary research in food science, nutrition, quality assurance, industrial engineering, supply chain management, sustainability, and market-oriented product development.

Al Maha Agricultural and Animal Investment Company (Agricultural and Livestock Production Environment)

Provides an applied agricultural environment supporting interdisciplinary research in animal production, agricultural resource management, food supply systems, environmental sustainability, and agribusiness development.

Group 4 — Human, Social and Communication Sciences

Supporting Team 4 & Cross-Team Dissemination

This group provides the humanistic and social science infrastructure that supports AAU's law, business, and education-facing research, and ensures interdisciplinary outputs reach relevant academic and societal audiences.

Centre for Education and Learning

Bridges education sciences, psychology, and technology to advance research on learning outcomes, curriculum design, and pedagogical innovation.

AAU Centre for Consultations and Psychological Care

Integrates psychology, social sciences, and health for community-focused mental health research, providing both a clinical setting and a research platform for behavioral and social inquiry.

Marketing and Communication Unit

Promotes interdisciplinary research outcomes to academic, industrial, and societal audiences locally and internationally, supporting the visibility and dissemination dimension of AAU's research performance.

Languages Centre

Supports interdisciplinary research in linguistics, education, AI for language learning, and cross-cultural communication, providing a research environment at the intersection of technology and the humanities.

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Operational Foundation

These 22 facilities provide the operational foundation for AAU's interdisciplinary research ecosystem. Their value lies not in what each centre does independently, but in what becomes possible when researchers from different disciplines access them together.