The First Preparatory Meeting for Launching Tempus MA Program in Intelligent Transportation Systems

Under the auspices of HE Prof. Dr. Sadeq Hamed, President of Al-Ahliyya Amman University, the Faculty of Engineering/Department of Civil Engineering at Al-Ahliyya Amman University, in collaboration with the partner universities and official entities in Tempus Program, organized a workshop on “Launching Joint MA Program in Intelligent Transportation Systems in Al-Ahliyya Amman University and Ain Shams University” during the period 31/10-1/11/2012, in collaboration with a number of local, European, and Egyptian partners, in the presence of the Director of Tempus Office in Jordan, Dr. Ahmad Abu Hija, deans and faculty members of the Faculty of Engineering, as well as representatives of local partners (University of Jordan, University of Science and Technology, Mutah University, the Ministry of public Works and Housing, and Jordanian Traffic Institute), European partners from Swedish, Polish, and Slovakian universities, in addition to the partners of the Egyptian universities (Alexandria, Ain Shams, Menoufia, and Minya). The project aims to introduce a Master’s program in “Intelligent Transportation Systems” in Al-Ahliyya Amman University and Ain Shams University, which will help prepare specialists in various fields to support the use of intelligent systems to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of the various transportation systems. This in turn will reduce accidents, save energy, reduce pollution and raise the efficiency of traffic on the roads to reduce the time and distance of trips and alleviate traffic jams. The participants discussed the mechanism of implementation, funding and development of the program, which will begin to receive students in two years. The allocations of the project amounted to Euro 890,000 provided by the European Union, 25% of which was allocated to local partners. The Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Amman Al-Ahliyya Amman University, Dr. Wael Awad, and the work team expressed their pleasure with adopting this joint MA program in “Intelligent Transportation Systems” in Jordan, which is the first of its kind in the region. Al-Ahliyya Amman University is proud to be the national sponsor of the program, they noted.